Forensic science matches skeletal remains to missing persons and cold cases on ‘What Remains’
Wondery’s “What Remains” links true crime and forensic science in this WRAL Studios series hosted by veteran crime reporter Amanda Lamb. In the average year, 600,000 people are reported missing in America, and 4,400 sets of unidentified human remains are found. These remains are often stored inside medical examiners’ offices and collect dust as the evidence slowly vanishes and cold cases go unsolved, getting trickier to crack as time goes by.
On “What Remains,” we’ll hear from investigators and scientists using forensic science to match skeletal remains to missing persons. They’ll get evidence from the bones and find people’s identities. From unsolved murders to unidentified missing persons cases, families are left without answers, and we’ll hear about forensic scientists and more working to bring closure and serve justice.
Start the series from episode 1 to hear each story, running less than an hour each on average. Listeners will learn how unidentified remains are connected to missing and murdered victims with episodes covering forensic anthropology, how cold cases are solved, how DNA profiling is used, forensic artists’ roles, and much more in over 10 episodes. New episodes are released weekly through August and are available in advance for subscribers.
We’ll hear about a slew of folks dedicated to the cause and fighting for common goals: to identify remains, serve justice, and bring closure to families. Hear from a veteran detective set on getting answers for missing persons’ families. Learn how a volunteer forensic genealogist uses tools like GEDmatch to ID victims.
Hear about a part-time web sleuth who helped create the national missing persons database, NamUs. In other episodes, learn about a forensic anthropologist using DNA testing to identify race, sex, body type, and features to match remains with names. Learn about scientists who study human decomposition at a western North Carolina body farm. There are forensic artists who create facial reconstructions to solve cases.
“What Remains” is a thoroughly-reported series for true crime fans who like learning about cases and the incredible teams working tirelessly to solve them.
Discover
