Silver Linings Handbook Podcast

09/17/2026

Gary Ridgway didn’t just write back — he opened a window into the mind of the Green River Killer.

In Part 2, Maria DiLorenza shares what she learned from years of letters and conversations with Ridgway, including the manipulations, contradictions, and moments that revealed who he really was.

Listen to Episode 216 here: https://bit.ly/46kFAtj

09/17/2026

“He described it that he simply had no feeling for people.”
Maria DiLorenza’s chilling insight into Gary Ridgway — the Green River Killer — captures the incomprehensible psychology behind decades of violence.

In Episode 215 of The Silver Linings Handbook, we explore how a journalist confronts the moral ambiguity of reporting on a man who weaponized normalcy.

Listen here → https://bit.ly/3STuTKU

09/09/2026

Gary Ridgway — the Green River Killer — lived a life so ordinary that it helped him hide decades of violence. Journalist Maria DiLorenza spent years investigating how he blended in, how investigators missed him, and what his crimes reveal about the vulnerabilities in our systems and communities.

In Part 1, Maria takes us inside the case, the victims’ stories, and the emotional toll of reporting on one of America’s most prolific serial killers.

Listen here: https://bit.ly/3STuTKU

09/08/2026

Michele Wood returns with an unfiltered look at the cases that haunt her — the ones that cracked open years later, and the ones she’s still hoping will close.
She talks witness intimidation, cold‑case breakthroughs, and what justice really looks like in neighborhoods living with daily violence.

Listen to Episode 214: Speaking for the Dead → https://bit.ly/3ULDbVO

09/07/2026

One or our group, Caity Laurie, recently suffered a stroke and is out of work for an indeterminate amount of time. She's a single mom. If you have an extra dime, here's a GoFundMe her friends set up.

My good friend, Caity has had an incredibly difficult stretch of ci… Kristyn Ceruti Rubet needs your support for Supporting Caity Through Her Toughest Times

09/01/2026

Michele Wood returns — and this time, she goes deeper into homicide and cold case investigations.

In this conversation, she opens up about the cases that stay with her, the emotional weight of homicide work, and the resilience required to speak for the dead.

Her honesty in Part 2 reveals what it really means to carry other people’s trauma while still fighting for justice.

Listen to the full episode: https://bit.ly/3ULDbVO

08/31/2026

🔥 New Episode: Speaking for the Dead with Michelle Wood — Part 1

Michelle Wood spent 25 years with the Chicago Police Department, rising through homicide and cold‑case units and serving as an FBI‑certified hostage negotiator. But her story starts long before the badge — in gang‑plagued Logan Square, where she survived a violent attack at age 11 that sharpened her instincts and set her on the path toward policing.

In Part 1, Michelle talks about growing up in Chicago, navigating danger as a kid, joining the Army, becoming a flight attendant and finally stepping into the career she always felt called to: speaking for those who can no longer speak for themselves.

🎧 Listen now: https://silverliningshandbook.com/2026/08/25/213-speaking-for-the-dead-with-michelle-wood-part-1/

08/25/2026

At 11 years old, Michele Wood survived an assault in the stairwell of her apartment building.

That moment sparked the determination that carried her through 25 years as a Chicago homicide and cold‑case detective.

In Part 1 of our conversation, Michele shares how surviving violence shaped her empathy, her toughness, and her commitment to speaking for the dead.

Listen to the full episode: https://bit.ly/4caPuku

08/24/2026

🔥 Jennifer Eskew returns for Part 2 of Girl on Fire, sharing the realities of undercover work, the emotional toll of living a double life, and the cases that shaped her career. She reflects on breaking barriers as one of Virginia’s few female undercover officers and how those experiences prepared her for federal cases and national crises.

🎧 Episode 212: Girl on Fire with Jennifer Eskew, Part 2
Listen now → https://bit.ly/45wMEmf

08/19/2026

🔥 New Episode: Girl on Fire with Jennifer Eskew, Part 2

In this second part of Jennifer Eskew’s story, we go deeper into her undercover work — the danger, the isolation, and the emotional toll of living a double life. Jennifer also reflects on major investigations, including the Colonial Parkway murders, and the cases that still stay with her decades later.

Her honesty, resilience, and commitment to justice make this one of the most powerful conversations we’ve had.

🎧 Listen now: https://bit.ly/45wMEmf
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