If you want to know what criminal investigation is like in real life, then get ready for a podcast that puts YOU at the crime scene.
This series will look at the latest developments, the famous cases and how the forensic scientists are meeting the challenge laid down by a criminal who is forensically aware.
Lynda La Plante has always been fascinated by criminality and the people that solve crime. Her books are celebrated for their authentic depictions of crime scenes and police procedures – something she achieves through meticulous research with her colleague, CSI Cass Sutherland.
Over six episodes, Lynda and Cass will investigate six branches of forensics: discussing their own experiences, talking with experts, hearing how real life crime scenes are worked, exploring the latest innovations and demonstrating how CSI fact is even more thrilling than CSI fiction.
Episodes will reveal how plant regrowth can be used to track a killer’s path months after a crime was committed; how a fly on the wall can be more than an observer; why the ‘sibling defence’ can unravel DNA evidence; and why a dog’s nose can sniff out cases of arson that the scientists miss.
A murderer is 20% more likely to be convicted if forensic evidence can be presented in court by the prosecution. Yet fingerprints are currently recovered from only 40% of crime scenes, and DNA at a mere 10%. Now more than ever, forensic scientists are under pressure to improve their success rate – their challenge is to advance their crafts and uncover the hidden clues that are left at every crime scene.
Join author Lynda La Plante and former detective Cass Sutherland for a series that reveals the real secrets of CSI.
This is the second in a two-part mini series on forensic taphonomy centres or body farms. This week Lynda and Cass are meeting Dr Anna Williams, Professor of Forensic Science at the University of Central Lancashire.
At present there are only a dozen body farms established around the world and none in the UK, but Anna has been advocating for establishing one in the UK for over a decade. In this episode we look at the reasons why Anna has found it so challenging to establish a UK body farm and what value it might bring to our forensic sciences.
Forensic taphonomy is the study of what happens to a body between death and discovery. It’s one of the oldest forensic disciplines and one of the most controversial. Why? Because to properly study forensic taphonomy you need bodies. The Victorians took them from graveyards, these days we have body farms.
Body farms have proved to be a vital resource for forensic scientists to learn more about how and why bodies decompose in certain conditions. It’s a hugely complex subject which brings in factors like climate, soil, insects, scavengers, diet and many more.
To learn more about Anna’s work on Forensic Taphonomy in the UK, visit:
https://htf4uk.blogspot.com (https://htf4uk.blogspot.com) and http://www.forensicanna.com
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Lynda La Plante's new book The Scene of the Crime, featuring a team of forensic scientists, is out on the 31st July 2025 in all formats.
To find out more about upcoming episodes of Listening to the Dead and Lynda's other books, visit www.lyndalaplante.com (http://www.lyndalaplante.com/)
Credits:
This podcast was made by Bonnier Books UK
Hosts: Lynda La Plante, Cass Sutherland and Jon Watt
Director: Jon Watt
Producer: Laura Makela
Theme Music: Game Over by Magic in the Other
5 Aug 2025
S4 Ep5: Body Farms - Part 1
Forensic taphonomy is the study of what happens to a body between death and discovery. It’s one of the oldest forensic disciplines and one of the most controversial. Why? Because to properly study forensic taphonomy you need bodies. The Victorians took them from graveyards, these days we have Body Farms.
Body Farms have proved to be a vital resource for forensic scientists to learn more about how and why bodies decompose in certain conditions. It’s a hugely complex subject which brings in factors like climate, soil, insects, scavengers, diet among other things.
This week Lynda and Cass meet Dr Daniel J. Wescott, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University. The Texas Body Farm where Danny works is largest in the world and has helped to further the knowledge of scientists and law enforcement around the world.
This is the first in a two-part mini series on Body Farms. Next week we’re looking at the picture in the UK.
To learn more about the Texas Forensic Anthropology Center visit: https://www.txst.edu/anthropology/facts.html (https://url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/fNqtCzn9VSRv6yAsXhDi9i9HT?domain=txst.edu)
IG: @factxstate
FB: @forensicanthcenterTXST
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Lynda La Plante's new book The Scene of the Crime, featuring a team of forensic scientists, is out on the 31st July 2025 in all formats.
To find out more about upcoming episodes of Listening to the Dead and Lynda's other books, visit www.lyndalaplante.com (http://www.lyndalaplante.com/)
Credits:
This podcast was made by Bonnier Books UK
Hosts: Lynda La Plante, Cass Sutherland and Jon Watt
Director: Jon Watt
Producer: Laura Makela
Theme Music: Game Over by Magic in the Other
29 Jul 2025
S4 Ep4: Forensic Geology – Part 2
This is the second of a two-part mini series discussing the extraordinary science of Forensic Geology with leading expert Dr Laurance Donnelly.
Forensic geology is the application of geology to aid the investigation of crime – and it's arguably the broadest of all the forensic sciences, covering everything from crime scene examination and searches for burials, to investigating art fraud and the smuggling of precious metals and gems. Geology has been used by police and law enforcement since the middle part of the 19th century, however it's only recently that it's become more widely used across the world - and Laurance Donnelly has been at the forefront of that evolution.
In this mini series, Laurance takes Lynda on journey around the world as he explains his extraordinarily varied career and the cases he has worked on.
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Lynda La Plante's new book The Scene of the Crime, featuring a team of forensic scientists, is out on the 31st July 2025 in all formats.
To find out more about upcoming episodes of Listening to the Dead and Lynda's other books, visit www.lyndalaplante.com (http://www.lyndalaplante.com/)
Credits:
This podcast was made by Bonnier Books UK
Hosts: Lynda La Plante, Cass Sutherland and Jon Watt
Director: Jon Watt
Producer: Laura Makela
Theme Music: Game Over by Magic in the Other
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
17 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
48 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 22 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
7
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
92
Contact Listening to the Dead - Forensics uncovered
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