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CRIME
& CRIMINAL JUSTICE
A PORN STASH AND A FALSE
CONFESSION
A pornography stash, a false confession and a shaky
witness ID—how to ruin someone’s life
in the American justice system.
PSmag.com
HUMAN LIE DETECTORS:
THE DEATH OF THE DEAD GIVEAWAY
Amateurs and experts alike overestimate their ability
to divine truth and deception. But when criminal investigators
do it, it can be very bad news for the accused.
PSmag.com
RED FLAGS: EARLY WARNINGS OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
Experts find recurring themes. Some jurisdictions
are now creating in-house review units to ensure convictions
are righteous, but commonly repeated mistakes continue
to mar cases.
PSmag.com
WHY CAN’T
LAW ENFORCEMENT ADMIT THEY BLOW IT SOMETIMES?
Law enforcement and forensic scientists are only human.
So it’s all-too natural if they’re sometimes
reluctant to admit to—or even to see—some
of their mistakes.
PSmag.com
ARSON CONVICTIONS,
FIRE INVESTIGATIONS FEEL THE HEAT
As decades of flawed and unscientific fire investigation
techniques call arson convictions into question, new
recipes emerge for a system-wide overhaul.
Miller-McCune.com (now PSmag.com)
COPS UNDER FIRE
Aggression towards law enforcement is only one challenge
cops face. We take a look inside their secret world.
American Legion magazine (abbreviated version)
DISASTER MASTERS
Since 9/11, thousands of emergency responders have
flocked to Disaster City, the curious mock town in
Texas, to train for terrorist attacks and natural
disasters alike.
American Legion magazine (abbreviated version)
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FORENSICS,
SCIENCE & FIRE
WHY
FINGERPRINTS AREN’T THE PROOF WE THOUGHT THEY
WERE WERE
Fingerprint matching is a vital investigative tool.
But courtroom claims of fingerprints’ uniqueness
are slowly receding.
PSmag.com
BIAS AND THE BIG FINGERPRINT DUST-UP
Cognitive neuroscientist Itiel Dror found that the
analysis of fingerprint data by human examiners can
be ruined by unintentional bias.
Miller-McCune.com (now PSmag.com)
EXPERTS LIVE AND DIE
WITH MENTAL SHORTCUTS
Understanding human thought processes puts a different
spin on everything from global financial meltdowns
to fighter pilot errors. It can also help make technology
more brain-friendly.
Miller-McCune.com (now PSmag.com)
SMELLY SOCKS’ ALLURE FOR MOSQUITOES MAY HELP
SWAT MALARIA
Improbable sounding ‘sock science’ could
be important.
healthymagination.com
THE FIRES DOWN BELOW:
“LOOK-DOWN” TECHNOLOGY
Far above the rough terrain where wildfires thrive,
satellite and aerial technology is being used to give
firefighters on the ground the big picture. (Part
1 of a 5-part series for Miller-McCune.com.)
Miller-McCune.com (now PSmag.com)
CATCHING ARSONISTS
RED-HANDED
Catching a fire-starter involves a specialized kind
of detective work. While many wildfires are started
accidentally by humans, a small but significant number
are intentionally set by repeat offenders.
Miller-McCune.com (now PSmag.com)
SMOKEY BEAR NOW STUDIES
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Research scientists’ efforts to better understand
fire spread and to create accurate predictive computer
programs may hold the keys to a whole new range of
breakthroughs in fighting wildfires.
Miller-McCune.com (now PSmag.com)
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ON
THE LAW
ANIMAL RESEARCH’S
CHANGING EQUATION
Gavels and courtrooms are replacing placards and bullhorns,
says the biomedical research community, as determined
legal eagles work to increase animals’ rights.
PSmag.com
SHOULD ANIMALS
BE CONSIDERED PEOPLE?
A controversial core of philosophers and attorneys
are trying to develop laws to declare animals “legal
persons.”
PSmag.com
LITIGATING LINEUPS
The single biggest cause of wrongful convictions:
mistaken eyewitness identification. Better ways.
PSmag.com
SEEKING SECOND
CHANCES WITHOUT DNA
In the vast majority of criminal cases, there is no
DNA to test. What can the legal system offer those
inmates whose convictions are flawed?
PSmag.com
THE
RIGHT AND PRIVILEGE OF POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING
Almost half the DNA tests conducted at prisoners’
request confirm their guilt. However, many support
widely accessible post-conviction testing, especially
for Death Row inmates.
PSmag.com
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SUE’S
CRIMINAL JUSTICE STORIES ON SALON.COM
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SOCIAL
ISSUES
WHEN EXTREME ANIMAL
RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ATTACK
Lawmakers, researchers, and peaceful activists all
say they deplore violence committed in the name of
animal rights. But laws that may label some protesters
as “domestic terrorists” are upsetting
activists.
PSmag.com
HOW SOCIAL NETWORK CONNECTIONS CAN AFFECT HEALTH
Peer influence can change thoughts and feelings and
can impact health, from flu spread to obesity.
healthymagination.com
“I WAS IN A VIOLENT
GIRL GANG, NOW I’M HELPING OTHERS GET OUT”
The former leader of a brutal New York girl gang,
Isis Sapp-Grant earned a master’s degree in
clinical social work and set about paying her debt
to society.
The Independent, UK
MORE OF A MONSTER THAN HOLLYWOOD COULD PICTURE
The film “Monster” transformed Aileen
Wuornos into a victim who began killing to fend off
a rapist. But one problem: It didn’t quite happen
that way.
Washington Post
WHAT’S
REALLY HAPPENING ON U.S. FIRELINES?
Some California firefighting agencies may have fancy
new technology but in places like South Carolina,
some firefighters still ride atop bulldozers older
than they are.
Miller-McCune.com (now PSmag.com)
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HEALTH,
FITNESS & MEDICINE
HOW
SOCIAL NETWORK CONNECTIONS CAN AFFECT HEALTH
Research into people’s social network connections
has revealed that peer influence can change thoughts
and feelings and impact health, from flu spread to
obesity. Now, identifying a network’s top “influencers”
is set to have a big pay-off for the field of healthcare.
healthymagination.com
TAMING
IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME
As many as one in six American women suffer from this
embarrassing and unpleasant ailment.
healthymagination.com
PUTTING
OUT THE FIRE
Perhaps it’s not just heartburn? Longterm treatments
for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (aka GERD).
healthymagination.com
VIEWPOINTS:
THE HEART/GUM HEALTH LINK
Dr. Bradley Bale and Pamela McClain, DDS, share their
takes.
healthymagination.com
WHY
ARE CHILDREN’S FOOD ALLERGIES ON THE RISE?
Research is underway to try to stop the alarming food
allergy increase in its tracks.
healthymagination.com
GOOD
NEWS ABOUT FIGHTING FLU
Influenza is on everyone’s radar. It hits between
five and 20 percent of Americans annually.
healthymagination.com
BIOFEEDBACK:
A HIGH-TECH WEAPON AGAINST MIGRAINES
What helped NASA astronauts cope with space sickness
may help those with migraines and tension headaches.
healthymagination.com
COULD THE “NOCEBO EFFECT”
BE MAKING YOU SICK?
Thanks to the “nocebo effect,” the evil
twin of the “placebo effect,” negative
thinking can become a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Southwest Airlines’ Spirit magazine
published a version of this story.
YOGA: PRETZEL LOGIC
Don’t be put off by the contortionist poses.
Even the most basic yoga practice offers concrete
health and spiritual benefits.
BeautyWalk, USA
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THE RICH & FAMOUS
MURDER, SECRETS
AND LIES
Two famously wealthy European financiers died under
highly mysterious circumstances; one in a bizarre
shooting, the other when an arson blaze engulfed his
Monaco penthouse.
Asia Tatler magazine
THE SECRET LIFE OF FEASTS
Your next power dinner or soiree may have more in
common with a decadent medieval banquet or politically
strategic White house dinner than you ever imagined.
Asia Tatler magazine
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BLOG TALKS/PODCASTS
Generation
Why podcast: Aaron Habel interviews Sue about
Aileen Wuornos.
Blog
Talk Radio. Dan Zupansky interviews Sue about
Aileen Wuornos.
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