Examined: The Backfire Effect | New Podcast
Summary
Journalist Josie Duffy Rice previews her new podcast, Examined: The Backfire Effect, which investigates the 1986 murder of Scott Macklem in Port Huron, Michigan. The series explores the conviction of a suspect who has spent 40 years in prison claiming innocence, supported by 11 alibi witnesses. Rice examines the case through the lens of police corruption, prosecutorial misconduct, and the psychological concept of belief perseverance, aided by retired detective Herb Welzer’s decades of independent research.
Topics discussed
Sponsor: ChatGPT Work and Mastercard
Sponsor: Whoop fitness tracker
Introduction to The Backfire Effect podcast
The shooting at St. Clair County Community College
Witness accounts and the victim's death
Host's personal connection to the case
Detailed witness testimonies from the parking lot
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Sponsor: California manufacturing and agriculture
Sponsor: Optum healthcare services
Host's background and motivation for the story
Profile of Scott Macklem and his engagement
Conflicting descriptions of the suspect and car
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Sponsor: California business and synergy
Sponsor: Optum mental health support
Arrival in St. Clair and meeting Herb Welzer
Herb Welzer's police career and investigation
Psychology of belief and the backfire effect
Scott's life, stress, and the immediate aftermath
The first suspect and show credits
Sponsors and episode preview
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