Episode
139: The Women Who Talk to the Dead: A Conversation with Katherine Schweit
- Published
- Jun 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3109
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://audioboom.com/posts/8917055
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Summary
Most people assume that unidentified persons' cases are actively investigated, that somewhere, someone is still working to restore a name to the dead. But the reality is often far more complicated. This week, She Goes by Jane presents a special interview with author and former FBI agent Katherine Schweit about her new book, Women Who Talk to the Dead: The True Story of 200 Forgotten Murder Victims and the Relentless Pursuit of Justice by an FBI Agent and a Detroit Police Detective . Together, we discuss the unidentified dead of Detroit, the challenges of solving decades-old cases, and the investigators who refuse to let victims disappear into forgotten file boxes and evidence rooms. We also explore media neglect, institutional barriers, and the quiet, persistent work required to restore names and histories to those who have been lost. At the end of the episode, actress Mary Lynn Rajskub reads Aimée Baker's poem "Detroit, and Other Sorrows," a meditation on memory, absence, and the lives that remain even when names are forgotten. Because every unidentified person was once known. And every name returned is a story reclaimed. 📍 Detroit, Michigan | 1950s-Present 📖 Featuring an original poem written in honor of one of Detroit’s formerly unidentified Jane Does read by Mary Lynn Rajskub. ➡️ Help bring attention to missing and unidentified women —subscribe and share this episode. 📍 Find us on Instagram & Facebook . 📚 Get Katherine’s book, The Women Who Talk to the Dead , now at Bookshop.org . 📰 For more women-centered true crime content, subscribe to Aimee’s newsletter, GIRLHUNT . More about Katherine Schweit: Katherine Schweit is an author, attorney, former Chicago prosecutor, and career Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent who helped jail bank robbers, kidnapper…