The In Between Podcast with Mel Barrett

In December 1993, a young man named Brandon Teena was trying to build a life in rural Nebraska—one built on truth, freedom, and finally being seen for who he was. Instead, he walked straight into a storm of transphobia, violence, and a criminal justice system that treated him like a joke rather than a victim. Days after reporting a brutal assault, Brandon, along with Lisa Lambert and Philip DeVine, was murdered in a farmhouse outside Humboldt. In this deeply personal episode, Mel revisits Brandon’s life, the failures that led to his death, and the courtroom battles that followed. She also reflects on her own journey—coming out in homophobic Texas at seventeen, traveling to Nebraska to stand vigil at the trials, and recognizing the same chilling patterns in the recent death of Sam Nordquist. This isn’t just a story about the past. It’s a warning that echoes forward. If you like Mel's work, PLEASE TIP : venmo.com/melbarrettwrites Watch SOMETHING'S OFF on YouTube @somethingsoffpod You can now join the YouTube channel! Click the join button to select your favorite level. Follow @realmelbarrett on all socials / TT: @jackofalltradesdc Listen to the In Between Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!

Rebecca and Mel had a lot to talk about today that weighs heavy on the heart, but luckily they also know how to take a hard left at a tangent and keep the laughter shining a light. This shit is tough to talk about. Thanks for being with us. If you like us, please tip us: venmo: @melbarrettwrites If you too have been a victim of impersonation of the McAlbert's fundraiser, you can contact GiveSendGo here to lodge a complaint: https://help.givesendgo.com/portal/en... You can now join the YouTube channel! Click the join button to select your favorite level. Follow @realmelbarrett on all socials / TT: @jackofalltradesdc Listen to the In Between Podcast wherever you get your podcasts! Follow ‪@reblavoie‬ on all socials Listen to Crime Writer's On wherever you get your podcasts Watch the Brian Walshe hearing on @bostone25news / @boston25news

Mega Something's Off episode with a few menopause breaks.  Mel and Rebecca are talkers...what can we say. 🤷🏻‍♀️  In this episode the hosts--who like to interrupt one another often--breakdown historic cases like OJ Simpson, Pamela Smart, and Matthew Shepard, while getting into the nuances of why the defense chose NOT to put on a case in the Brian Walsh Trial. We'll be on verdict watch starting (probably) tomorrow, but in the meantime, something's off...especially with all those Lowes and Home Depot buckets. WHERE ARE THE BUCKETS?? If you like us, please tip us: venmo: @melbarrettwrites If you too have been a victim of impersonation of the McAlbert's fundraiser, you can contact GiveSendGo here to lodge a complaint: https://help.givesendgo.com/portal/en/newticket  You can now join the YouTube channel! Click the join button to select your favorite level. Follow @realmelbarrett on all socials / TT: @jackofalltradesdc Listen to the In Between Podcast wherever you get your podcasts! Follow ‪@reblavoie‬ on all socials Listen to Crime Writer's On wherever you get your podcasts Watch the Brian Walshe hearing on @bostone25news    / @boston25news   Join the Investigator Club (The In Between Podcast) or Crime Writer's On Patreon for the audio drop of Something's Off, AD FREE, exclusive behind-the-scenes, and bonus content. SO IN THE INVESTIGATOR CLUB: https://tinyurl.com/INVESTIGATORCLUB SO IN PARTNERS IN CRIME: https://tinyurl.com/SOCWOPIC

In October 1998, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard was lured from a Wyoming bar, beaten, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, and left alone in the freezing dark for eighteen hours. His murder shocked the nation, ignited a global outcry, and reshaped the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in America. But behind the headlines and the legislation that now carries his name was a real kid — small, gentle, hopeful — who trusted the wrong people on an ordinary Tuesday night. In this episode of The In Between, Mel Barrett reconstructs the final hours of Matthew Shepard’s life . She walks listeners through the investigation, the trials, the brutal arrival of Westboro Baptist Church, the angel-wing counterprotest that became legend, and the sweeping cultural and legal aftershocks that followed. And she asks the question many of us are wrestling with today: how did a nation that fought so urgently for justice in Matthew’s name find itself, decades later, drifting backward? This is not just the story of a murder. It’s the story of a movement, a mother’s resolve, a community’s grief, and a warning from history about what happens when we let the tide turn. If you like Mel's work, PLEASE TIP : venmo.com/melbarrettwrites Watch SOMETHING'S OFF on YouTube @somethingsoffpod You can now join the YouTube channel! Click the join button to select your favorite level.  Follow @realmelbarrett on all socials / TT: @jackofalltradesdc  Listen to the In Between Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!

Mel + Rebecca take a train to tangent city PLUS the new Turtleboy hearing v. Cosgrove where Cosgrove argues for emails verses hard copies, days 4+5 of the Brian Walshe Trial--including testimony from Ana Walshe's DC boyfriend, William Fastow...and vampire facials? If you like us, tip us. http://www.venmo.com/melbarrettwrites  Thank you!!! You can now join the YouTube channel! Click the join button to select your favorite level. Follow @realmelbarrett on all socials / TT: @jackofalltradesdc Listen to the In Between Podcast wherever you get your podcasts! Follow ‪@reblavoie‬ on all socials Listen to Crime Writer's On wherever you get your podcasts Watch the Brian Walshe hearing on @bostone25news    / @boston25news   Join the Investigator Club (The In Between Podcast) or Crime Writer's On Patreon for the audio drop of Something's Off, AD FREE, exclusive behind-the-scenes, and bonus content. SO IN THE INVESTIGATOR CLUB: https://tinyurl.com/INVESTIGATORCLUB SO IN PARTNERS IN CRIME: https://tinyurl.com/SOCWOPIC