Episodes

  • Rerelease: EMMILEE RISLING (MISSING)
    Dec 30 2024
    On this week’s rereleased bonus episode, we're covering the case of missing woman, Emmilee Risling. In October 2021, Hoopa Tribe member, Emmilee Risling, vanished from an isolated part of the Yurok Reservation in Northern California. But her story is not just about being a missing person, it’s about an entire system that failed to protect her when she needed help. What you should also know is that Emmilee is the cousin of our Floodlights producer, Jack Kohler. When we describe this podcast as a personal project, we mean it. Jack, like many Native Americans, knows at least one missing or murdered relative. This crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people is real – and too often it’s up to Native people to fight the good fight alone. Do you have a story you'd like to see covered on Floodlights? Follow us on Instagram @floodlightspod and send us a message. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS! You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to bluethistlemedia@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    36 mins
  • BONUS EPISODE: The Creation of Floodlights
    Dec 23 2024
    How did Floodlights come to be? Originally aired in July 2024, this bonus episode explains how Floodlights was founded. JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to bluethistlemedia@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    9 mins
  • SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
    Dec 21 2024
    We have a new fan of Floodlights! JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to bluethistlemedia@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 mins
  • SCANDAL: Medicaid Fraud Scheme
    Dec 11 2024
    In the summer of 2024, an investigator reached out to Floodlights to warn us about a Medicaid fraud scheme targeting people on reservations. Today, that investigator is interviewed under the name of "Liza." In this episode, Liza explains how organized groups are actively working to trick vulnerable people on reservations who want to get sober. The scheme, which essentially defrauds Medicaid for millions if not billions of dollars, offers fake sober living facilities to people who are suffering from addiction. Liza walks us through how the fraud scheme works and the warning signs that people should look for if they're approached by "representatives" claiming to work for sober living facilities. She also touches upon the reservation system at large, human trafficking and the potential correlation between this Medicaid fraud scheme and missing people cases. JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to bluethistlemedia@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    48 mins
  • UNSOLVED MURDERS: The East Bay Three
    Dec 3 2024
    What are the chances that, in the same area just a few months apart, three young women all go missing and are all found murdered? In this episode, we take you to the East Bay near San Francisco where Elaine Davis, Leona Roberts and Cosette Ellison were all kidnapped from their homes. But what we also ask in this episode is why American suburbia seems safer to so many of us even when these types of crimes take place. And why is it that Tribal reservations have such a reputation for "danger," when brutal crimes take place in the "safest" parts of the US too? JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to bluethistlemedia@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • MISSING: Melissa Montoya
    Nov 26 2024
    After attending a celebration at a local bar in Dulce, New Mexico, Melissa Montoya walked towards the back of the bar and was never seen again. More than two decades later, questions continue to swirl about the events of that night and the aftermath. From disturbing stories about her former boyfriend, to his mysterious death after her disappearance, Melissa's story has been overlooked for too long. So, where does Melissa Montoya's case stand today? And is it really possible that law enforcement are close to a breakthrough? JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to bluethistlemedia@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    39 mins
  • UPDATES: Daniel Robinson | MISSING
    Nov 18 2024
    Daniel Robinson was last seen leaving his job site in Buckeye, Arizona on June 23rd, 2021. The 24 year old hydro-geologist reportedly began driving westward in his Jeep before vanishing. His family have not seen or heard from him since that day. Earlier this year, we interviewed Daniel's father, David Robinson, who broke down the timeline of his son's case. In this UPDATES episode, we provide you with six key updates which came from our follow up interview with David in September 2024. If you missed the first interview with David, we've included it after the updates. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to bluethistlemedia@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • MYSTERIOUS DEATHS & DISAPPEARANCES: Nick, Virgil, Trey, Cole, & Noah
    Nov 11 2024
    You may have heard the phrase “missing and murdered indigenous women.” It’s movement that’s gained a lot of traction largely thanks to Native populations speaking up. But, in reality, Indigenous men are also at risk of violence. Sometimes, I think we forget that. Native people are roughly 10 times more likely to experience violence compared to the rest of the population. So, in this episode, we’re telling the stories of five men who either went missing or ended up dead on Tribal lands. These stories are from the archives. Please share this episode with your loved ones and across social media to help the families of Nick, Virgil, Trey, Cole, and Noah. Do you have a story you'd like to see covered on Floodlights? Follow us on Instagram @floodlightspod and send us a message. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS! You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to bluethistlemedia@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    57 mins