James is joined by Dakota Spotlight researcher Mari Zoerb Hansen for a conversation with investigative reporters Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd about the making of Valley of Shadows, their deep dive into the disappearance of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Aujay. It’s a discussion about reporting, persistence, and what happens when a case refuses to stay buried. Following the interview, you’ll hear Episode 1 of the series.

Listen to Valley of Shadows: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/valley-of-shadows

About Valley of Shadows: How the search for a missing deputy uncovered the Mojave Desert's meth epidemic, the outlaw bikers supplying it, and the corrupt police force covering it up.

On June 11, 1998, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy Jon Aujay went for a run in California’s Devil’s Punchbowl park. A long-distance runner and former military, Aujay felt at home in the rocky terrain, but when he didn’t return home by nightfall, his wife reported him missing. Nearly 30 years later, Aujay has yet to be found and the mystery surrounding his disappearance has only deepened.

Some say Aujay is just another missing hiker, claimed by the inhospitable landscape of the Southern California desert. Some say he took his own life out there. But there’s another theory that many of Aujay’s friends and LASD colleagues are convinced is true… that he was the victim of foul play, and that his own department is covering it up.

Through exclusive interviews, revealing wiretaps, and buried police files, investigative reporters Hayley Fox and Betsy Shepherd dig into what the sheriff’s department has kept hidden all these years.

Told over 8 episodes, Valley of Shadows follows the hairpin turns of the Aujay case, and breaks new ground in the search to uncover what really happened to the missing deputy.

Episode 1: The Devil's Punchbowl: Deputy Jon Aujay is former military, an ultramarathon runner, and a part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s elite SWAT unit, so when he fails to return home from a run in Antelope Valley’s Devil’s Punchbowl…no one knows what to think. The sheriff’s department launches a widespread search for him, but finds no trace. Theories of accident, suicide, and desertion swirl, but Aujay’s former boss — retired CaptainMike Bauer — is convinced there’s something darker at play.

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Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

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James sits down with award-winning filmmaker and host of Someone Knows Something, David Ridgen. We talk about his approach to storytelling, how he works with families, and what it really means to stay with a case over time. We also get into his latest investigation, the disappearance of Jaclyn Ferland-Smith, and how a simple trip to Costa Rica turned into something much more. Following our conversation, you’ll hear Episode 1 of the Jaclyn Ferland-Smith investigation from Someone Knows Something.

Jaclyn Ferland-Smith moved to Playa del Coco with her husband Sebastien to find and build a new life. But then Jackie disappears, with no trace found. Jackie's family, with David's help, begins the process of picking up the pieces. More episodes of of Someone Knows Something are available wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/SKS10xDSP

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Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

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Years pass, and the case remains. In this final episode, we hear from people still connected to that night, to the investigation, and to what followed. They reflect on what has changed, what has not, and the question that still lingers at the center of it all, who killed Joel Lovelien.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in 2023.

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Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

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Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

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Inside the courtroom, the story is told again, through testimony, through argument, through the structure of a trial. And when it is all over, the jury returns a verdict, not guilty. A moment that resolves one question, and leaves others behind.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in 2023.

Explore the full catalog: https://DakotaSpotlight.com

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Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

To advertise on Dakota Spotlight, contact [email protected]

Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

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Here, we look at the case as it was built. What investigators believed, what prosecutors brought forward, the evidence piece by piece. And the questions that come with it, not just what it shows, but what it cannot fully explain.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in 2023.

Explore the full catalog: https://DakotaSpotlight.com

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Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

To advertise on Dakota Spotlight, contact [email protected]

Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

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Before all of this, there was Joel. In this episode, we step away from the investigation and spend time with the people who knew him. The stories are simple, but they stay with you, offering a picture of who he was and a quiet reminder of what was lost.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in 2023.

Explore the full catalog: https://DakotaSpotlight.com

Listen early and ad-free with Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus

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Have information about a case or want to get in touch? Email: [email protected]

Join the Dakota Spotlight community on Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight

Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

To advertise on Dakota Spotlight, contact [email protected]

Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

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Now the focus turns to Travis Stay, who was there that night, moving through the same space and crossing paths with the same people. As investigators begin to build a timeline, his name comes into sharper view. It leads from those early questions toward something more defined, and eventually, toward arrest.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in 2023.

Explore the full catalog: https://DakotaSpotlight.com

Listen early and ad-free with Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus

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Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

To advertise on Dakota Spotlight, contact [email protected]

Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

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In the hours after Joel is found, the story begins to shift and scatter. Witnesses recall different things, a clown, a cowboy, a hunter, a lion, people arriving and leaving, a party bus pulling in and out. Detectives are left to sort through fragments of a night that feels crowded, blurred, and just out of reach.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in 2023.

Explore the full catalog: https://DakotaSpotlight.com

Listen early and ad-free with Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus

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Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

To advertise on Dakota Spotlight, contact [email protected]

Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

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We begin with a 2026 interview with Sergeant Suby of the Grand Forks Police Department, sharing where the Joel Lovelien case stands today. Then we return to the original 2023 episode, and back to October 27, 2007, a crowded Halloween night at the Broken Drum Bar. Costumes, noise, people coming and going. Outside, in the parking lot, something happens. Joel is found unconscious and badly injured, and by the end of the night, he is gone.

Music by HandTurner and Wowza in Kalamazoo.

If you have information about Joel Lovelien’s murder, you can submit a tip through the tip411 app, or contact the Grand Forks Police Department at 701-787-8000.

This episode is part of a rebroadcast of Season 8, Unresolved: The Murder of Joel Lovelien, originally released in 2023.

Explore the full catalog at https://DakotaSpotlight.com

Listen early and ad-free with Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus

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Watch Dakota Spotlight on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dakotaspotlightpodcast4800

To advertise on Dakota Spotlight, contact [email protected]

Dakota Spotlight is produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and sound design, is the property of Six Horse Media. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. For permissions, contact [email protected]

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Journalist Melissa Jeltsen joins me to discuss the investigation behind her podcast What Happened to Talina Zar.  In April 2020, a woman posted a troubling message on Facebook about COVID-19 and then vanished. What followed was an unusual search involving online sleuths, hidden identities, and a mystery that captured national attention.

Listen to What Happened to Talina Zar wherever you get podcasts and https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-what-happened-to-talina-z-310583841/

Learn more about Melissa Jeltsen’s work: https://melissajeltsen.com/

Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/

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Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

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James sits down with investigative journalist Gina Barton, host and creator of the USA Today true crime podcast Untested, to talk about a case that illustrates the real-world consequences of untested rape kits. In this episode of Untested, Detective Annie Harrison learns that a man she is investigating for rape in Michigan has also been accused hundreds of miles away. The evidence existed. The reports were filed. But delays and gaps in the system allowed years to pass before patterns came into focus. This conversation looks at how evidence can sit on shelves, how survivors are left waiting, and how one detective refused to let the case go quiet.

Listen to Untested wherever you get podcasts. To read the companion piece and the full investigation, in addition to listening to the podcast: https://usatoday.com/rapekit

Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/

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Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: [email protected]

Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: [email protected]

All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

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