Continuation of Part 1. Heather and Tom Frizzell further discuss the July 31, 2020 First Circuit Court decision to overturn Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev's death sentence. In this episode, we talk about the remainder of the appellate rulings and the significance of the "smaller" issues, including the far-reaching consequences of anti-Muslim bias, new c…

Heather and Tom Frizzell discuss the July 31, 2020 First Circuit Court decision to overturn Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev's death sentence. In this episode, we talk about the issues the defense won on, as well as the four biggest takeaways from the decision: Judge O'Toole's failure to properly vet jurors for bias during voir dire, the debate over failu…

Tom "Attorney Dad" Frizzell joins Heather for a legal breakdown of Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev's December 2019 appeal hearing. We discuss the most potent of the appellate team's legal arguments, including the Patriarca rule, the failure of Judge O'Toole to ask potential jurors content-based questions about their exposure to pretrial publicity, and th…

In this three-part podcast miniseries, Tom "Attorney Dad" Frizzell plays host and invites his daughter Heather to share what she learned in her Master's program in International Studies at the University of Washington. She discusses how writing her academic thesis on Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev's case helped her better understand not just the Boston …

Heather dives into her process for writing her thesis, the hospital confession notes, prejudiced FBI protocols, the dubious nature of the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group, how the politics of policing Jahar relates to Guantanamo, and just how far the devastating effects of Orientalism reach. Read Heather's thesis here: https://usvtsarnaev.or…

In this three-part podcast miniseries, Tom “Attorney Dad” Frizzell plays host and invites his daughter Heather to share what she learned in her Master’s program in International Studies at the University of Washington. She discusses how writing her academic thesis on Dzhokhar “Jahar” Tsarnaev’s case helped her better understand not just the Boston …

Heather is joined by Tom "Attorney Dad" Frizzell and resident historian Eric Bowsfield to discuss their initial impressions on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's opening appellate brief. Then they take a deep dive into Dzhokhar's suppressed hospital confession, the contents of which were kept from the public until October 2018, when they were unsealed by Dzhokhar…

Heather and Tom dive into developments in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's appeal. In a July 2018 filing by appellate counsel, his lawyers have forecasted some of the many arguments they intend to make on appeal, which may be filed this November. We discuss venue changes; negative pre-trial publicity at the hands of a recently suspended Boston Globe journalist,…

In a special New Years installment, Heather and Tom tackle recent questions from readers and listeners. We discuss where Heather has been, prospects for Dzhokhar's appeal, alternate theories of the case, rehabilitation for prisoners, implications of Dzhokhar's sentencing statement, our hopes for the case going into 2018, and more. Be sure to check …

What is an alibi defense, and does Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have one in regards to the charges for which he was convicted? Attorney Tom Frizzell returns to break down trial transcripts and help Heather determine whether Dzhokhar was involved with gathering the bomb-making materials that were used in the Boston Marathon bombing. Despite what was reported i…

In the final installment of our historical series, Eric Bowsfield joins Heather to talk about the history and evolution of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s home country, Chechnya. The region and its people have a fascinating but tragic past, facing centuries of violence and oppression at the hands of the Russian government. Together we navigate the hallmarks of…

Eric Bowsfield returns to help Heather hash out the issue of Islamophobia and how it affected the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. We discuss the basics of Islam as a religion, the definition of Islamophobia, and the difference between Islamism and Jihadism. Then, we break down the academic career of Dr. Sebastian Gorka, a top aide to President Trump wi…

Historian and fellow investigator Eric Bowsfield joins Heather to talk about historiography. We discuss how the discipline gives us the tools to study the Marathon Bombing and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's court case as a historical event. We also share our own firsthand knowledge of living through the bombing and the lockdown of Boston four days later, demo…

Attorney Tom Frizzell returns to dive into submitted questions about the Boston Marathon bombing and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's case. He and Heather sink their teeth into constitutional law as they tackle the impact the case has had on the American legal system, and discuss how many times Dzhokhar may have had his constitutional rights violated. For more …

Heather tackles some "alternative facts" about the note found in the boat after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture. Then attorney Tom Frizzell returns to finish up our discussion about the narratives presented about the case in court: what we do and don't believe, our current theories about the events in question, and what can be expected for Dzhokhar's c…

How important is the accuracy of a story? When it’s a matter of life and death, it turns out the details matter quite a bit. Heather is joined by “Attorney Dad” Tom Frizzell to talk about the four narratives of the case: the one told by the media, the one told by the prosecution, the one told by the defense, and the one that went unspoken. Continue…