In this episode, Adam chats with award-winning journalist and podcast host Melissa Jeltsen, whose latest true-crime series What Happened to Talina Zar dives deep into one of the most unsettling disappearances in recent memory.

During the early days of COVID lockdown, 50-year-old Talina Zar posted an eerie message online and then vanished. What followed was a search unlike anything we’ve seen: led not by detectives, but by relentless internet sleuths. Melissa walks us through the bizarre twists, the murky ethics of amateur investigation, and the deeply human story at the center of it all.

Adam and Melissa unpack the emotional weight of telling stories about violence against women, the toll of carrying other people’s trauma, and the power of narrative to both honor and expose.

It’s a gripping conversation about journalism, justice, and the gray space in between.

Listen to the podcast:

• What Happened to Talina Zar on iHeart

Follow Melissa Jeltsen:

• X: @quasimado

• Melissa’s wesbite: melissajeltsen.com



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