The Girlfriends S1/E9: A Sisterhood

Transcript

Speaker 1 This is an iHeart podcast.

Speaker 2 This is Matt Rogers from Los Cultures with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

Speaker 3 This is Bowen Yang from Los Culture Resistance with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

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Speaker 6 Novel.

Speaker 11 Hey, listener, here we are at our final episode. If you're concerned that you will miss miss our music, don't worry.

Speaker 11 I want to let you know that we've released the Girlfriend soundtrack composed by Louisa Gerstein and featuring members of Deep Throat Choir.

Speaker 11 You can listen now on Spotify and other streaming services. You can also purchase the album by going to bandcamp.com and searching for the Girlfriend's podcast soundtrack.

Speaker 11 All proceeds go to our charity partners at NoMore.

Speaker 11 Now for the trigger warning. In this episode, we talk about domestic violence, violence against women, and femicide.

Speaker 11 And I'll warn you, the ending has had our production team in tears, so listen in public at your own risk.

Speaker 11 But within all that, there's also stories of hope and recovery and a haven for those suffering. And you guessed it, old Pottymouth is here swearing again.

Speaker 11 Throughout this series, I told you one story, the story of Bob and Gail.

Speaker 11 But the sad fact is Gail's case is one of many. According to the UN in 2021, on average, more than five women and girls were killed every hour by their husband, partner, or relative.

Speaker 11 Now, perhaps murder feels a little unrelatable to you, but before Bob was a murderer, he was an abusive and controlling partner. And those stats are even more frightening.

Speaker 11 The UN estimates that across our lifetimes, one in three women are subjected to physical or sexual violence. This number hasn't really changed at all in the last decade.

Speaker 11 Let's take this podcast as an example.

Speaker 11 Over one-third of the women we interviewed for this story have alleged that they've been impacted by gendered violence or emotional abuse, and that's not including the abuse inflicted by Bob.

Speaker 11 My first husband, he was emotionally abusive, not physically, but emotionally.

Speaker 11 And I wish I had been stronger.

Speaker 21 You

Speaker 11 think if you do the right thing, it won't happen again.

Speaker 20 Because you can't believe somebody who loves you is really going to hurt you.

Speaker 11 And I said to my father, you know,

Speaker 11 you're an abuser.

Speaker 20 And he said, What are you talking about?

Speaker 11 I never left a mark on her.

Speaker 20 And I was like, Wait, are you kidding me? Is this really happening?

Speaker 11 Because that's like a classic abuser lying.

Speaker 22 I was bent over the railing on the side of a boat in the ocean, nothing around us. And I'm telling you, if I would have fallen in, it would have been curtains.

Speaker 11 It's heartbreaking to me to hear all these incredible women describing the hurt they have suffered.

Speaker 11 At times, it feels like there's nothing we can do about it.

Speaker 11 Even Elaine, Gail's sister, battled with that feeling.

Speaker 23 There's nothing that I could ever do to change the fact that Robert Baron Bahn killed my sister in July of 1985. The question has always been, simply, what am I going to do with that?

Speaker 11 So Elaine pivoted from her her original passion of poverty and labor law to family law. That means every day she helps vulnerable women and children escape bad marriages.

Speaker 23 I do everything in my power to control and protect the lives and the well-being of my clients with a motivation that far exceeds what a professional motivation should be.

Speaker 11 In 1996, Elaine started working as a consultant for the Pace Women's Justice Center in White Plains, Westchester County.

Speaker 11 The center offers free legal aid, advice, and services to vulnerable women who want to escape their abusive relationship, relationships like Gail and Bob's.

Speaker 11 But Elaine never told her friends at the center about her sister.

Speaker 23 Because I was in the closet. They didn't know until it was on 1010 Winds, you know, Bob Bierenbaum indicted.

Speaker 23 I'm driving home from the indictment and I'm realizing I better call all these people who think they're my best friends because they're finding out on the news that I had a sister and she was murdered by her husband.

Speaker 11 When Elaine told her friends at the Women's Justice Center about Gail, they decided to name their building Gail's House in her honor.

Speaker 11 At the naming ceremony, Elaine decorated the tables with Gail's pottery and poems. Friends and family came.
Even people who worked on her case were there.

Speaker 23 I'll never forget the naming.

Speaker 23 We were in a public room called the Tudor Room at the Law School. And as we were almost leaving, a tall, beautiful woman ran in.

Speaker 23 And I happened to be close to the door. And she said to me, where's Elaine Katz? And I said, I'm Lane Katz.

Speaker 23 And she said, you changed my life.

Speaker 23 She said, Gail's story gave me the courage to leave an abusive husband. I'm an immigrant, and he was threatening me that I would be deported and I would never see my children again.

Speaker 24 And

Speaker 23 you were telling Gail's story gave me the courage to leave that relationship.

Speaker 11 And that is why we tell these stories.

Speaker 11 I wish I could say that now, after all these years, Elaine and everyone else impacted by this case could rest and simply focus on helping others in Gail's honor.

Speaker 11 But now we've got a new fight on our hands, keeping Bob behind bars.

Speaker 23 I had 20 years of like solid peace, and it was heavenly.

Speaker 23 I never thought about Bob for 20 years, and then the paroles process started.

Speaker 23 I will do anything to keep him in. He is a danger to everybody.

Speaker 11 I'm Carol Fisher, and from the teens at Novel and iHeartRadio, you're listening to The Girlfriends.

Speaker 11 Our final episode, episode 9: We Are a Sisterhood.

Speaker 11 I guess I've got

Speaker 11 you.

Speaker 11 I've got

Speaker 11 you.

Speaker 11 I've got you, got you. I guess I've got

Speaker 11 you, got you, I've got you, got you, I've got you, got you, I've got you.

Speaker 11 After Bob was charged with Gail's murder in 2000, he was incarcerated at Otisville Correctional Facility in Orange County.

Speaker 11 Over the course of Bob's 20-year sentence, he's undertaken anger management courses, helped other prisoners with their studies, and spoken with the prison rabbi.

Speaker 11 As far as we know, he's only had one altercation in prison, which was right at the start where he was beaten up by a prisoner who wanted to steal his wedding ring.

Speaker 11 In those 20 years, you'd hope Bob would have had time to think.

Speaker 11 Perhaps he would have reached out to Gail's family, but he didn't. Instead, he continued to insist he was innocent.
He appealed his case. He refused to be interviewed or to testify at his trial.

Speaker 11 His silence has been deafening.

Speaker 11 Then, on December 30th, 2020, Bob came up for parole and for the first time he spoke. And Mindy and I, we have the transcripts.

Speaker 20 All right, so Carol, who are you going to be?

Speaker 11 So I'm the commissioner.

Speaker 20 Great. I get to be Bob.

Speaker 11 Uh-huh. Yeah, you get to be Bob.

Speaker 6 Okay. You ready? Mm-hmm.

Speaker 20 I'm ready.

Speaker 6 Okay.

Speaker 11 Tell me what happened on July 7th, 1985. What happened that led to her death, sir?

Speaker 20 What happened was during that weekend, we spent the whole weekend together and we had a pleasant weekend.

Speaker 20 At the time, I was working about a hundred hours a week, and at my secondary job, I was working about another 20 hours a week.

Speaker 20 On that morning, we had planned on going to a birthday party for my nephew. My wife told me she did not want to go to the party, and we had an argument about it.
It was initially a verbal argument.

Speaker 20 We were arguing with each other, and things escalated.

Speaker 20 I wanted her to stop yelling at me and I attacked her.

Speaker 11 How did you attack her, sir?

Speaker 20 I strangled her.

Speaker 11 After you strangled her, what happened, sir?

Speaker 20 After that, I was frightened about what happened and concerned about what had happened.

Speaker 20 So I left the apartment and I went for a walk to think about what I should do about it.

Speaker 20 I was cowardly about it and I did the wrong thing.

Speaker 20 I was scared about what happened.

Speaker 20 I went out and made arrangements to rent an aircraft.

Speaker 20 I went back to the apartment and brought her out to the airport and put her in the airplane.

Speaker 11 How did you manage to carry the body out of the apartment?

Speaker 20 I put her in a duffle bag.

Speaker 11 Did you dismember her body, sir?

Speaker 20 No, I did not.

Speaker 11 So why didn't you just call the police?

Speaker 20 Because I was frightened, scared, and a coward.

Speaker 11 So you rented a plane and you took her to the airport and you put her on the plane. Is that correct?

Speaker 20 Yes, that's correct.

Speaker 11 And then what?

Speaker 20 I went flying. I opened the door and then took her body out of the airplane over the ocean.

Speaker 11 And her body was never recovered. Is that correct?

Speaker 20 Yes, that's correct.

Speaker 11 You fucking believe this?

Speaker 20 I mean, for me, it's like watching the Twin Towers fall. You know, it's just eerie.

Speaker 20 And because it's him,

Speaker 20 I don't really even know if it's true.

Speaker 11 You know, his language in there just sounds so scripted.

Speaker 20 Yeah, and I was a coward. I can't imagine him saying that.

Speaker 6 No.

Speaker 11 But I also want to tell you this. What really got me the most out of this was that in my mind, Mindy, I always thought it was just a tragic accident.

Speaker 11 The story that I've told myself for years is that he got into an argument with her, things escalated, and he pushed her. Like, this was purposeful.
Like, he fucking strangled her.

Speaker 20 Yes, it is sickening. It is sickening to me.
But to then go and take a walk and think about how to proceed and rent an airplane, that to me is the most sickening thing.

Speaker 11 And then he went back to his normal life the next day.

Speaker 20 He just goes back as if everything and he went to the party. Right.
He went to the damn party.

Speaker 11 Yeah. He didn't report her missing right away.
I mean, what, oh my God. And I am horrified beyond like horrified.
I dated him for six months. I slept in the same bed.

Speaker 11 I allowed him to take my daughter on a ski trip with just her. I am,

Speaker 11 I just couldn't wait to talk to you about this. I am just so disappointed in myself, and I am so fucking angry at him.

Speaker 11 He's a sick fuck, and he deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his freaking life.

Speaker 20 Absolutely, and he should never be allowed out. No.
He is a danger to others. I mean, I don't think this shows any remorse.
None. I mean, there's no remorse here.

Speaker 6 None.

Speaker 11 No remorse. I was scared.
I did the wrong thing. No shit, asshole.

Speaker 11 He's just a sick fuck.

Speaker 11 Bob was not granted parole after his confession in 2020, so he appealed it. had another hearing and lost again.

Speaker 11 But that doesn't mean he won't be successful in the future. And And that terrifies me.

Speaker 11 But if it scares me, I can't imagine how Elaine must feel.

Speaker 20 You know what I would like to do at some point when this is all aired and done?

Speaker 11 What's that?

Speaker 20 I would like to meet her sister.

Speaker 11 Yeah, me too.

Speaker 20 It would give me a little closure.

Speaker 11 Yeah, it would make me feel complete. And I'm wondering if it would be healing for her too.

Speaker 20 Yeah.

Speaker 11 After the break, Mindy and I, we meet Elaine for the first time.

Speaker 26 Incoming with the old gays, it's Jessie, Bill, Robert, and Mick with a special bonus episode of Silver Linings with the Old Gays.

Speaker 26 No matter what time of year it is, we know it's important to uplift the spirit of pride, which is relatively easy when Palm Springs celebrates in November.

Speaker 25 The first Pride I went to, it made me feel like I was really part of something.

Speaker 25 People being so joyous in the streets and being themselves.

Speaker 25 We've really come a long way, and I realized I am standing on the shoulders of so many millions of queer people who sacrificed their lives for what we have today.

Speaker 26 Silver Linings with the old days is brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Viv Healthcare. Listen on the iHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 2 This is Matt Rogers from Los Culture Resist with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

Speaker 3 This is Bowen Yang from Los Cultural Resist with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

Speaker 2 What if you could boost your Wi-Fi to one of your devices when you need it most? Because Xfinity Wi-Fi can. Like when you need to upload 200 photos of your cat in a Santa hat to post online.

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Speaker 11 Elaine, hello.

Speaker 23 Hi. Nice to meet you, Carol and Mindy.

Speaker 20 Nice to meet you, Elaine.

Speaker 11 Very nice to meet you. I'm a little nervous, I have to tell you.

Speaker 23 What are you nervous about?

Speaker 11 Well, I mean, we're meeting for the first time, and I'm hosting this podcast. So that's been a real honor during that to get to know Gail.

Speaker 11 And I've gotten to know you rather well, even though we haven't met. So yeah, I just am in awe of you.
You're an amazing woman, a real inspiration. I just want you to know that.

Speaker 11 And from the bottom of my heart, I am just so sorry for your loss.

Speaker 23 Oh, that's very sweet of you.

Speaker 23 I also feel anxiety. I feel the anxiety of every time I do something like this,

Speaker 23 I have to center myself back in

Speaker 23 something that's incredibly traumatic.

Speaker 11 Yeah.

Speaker 11 We just,

Speaker 11 Mindy and I just read the transcripts from the parole hearing.

Speaker 11 We read them together. I actually got them a couple of days ago from Anna, and it was a very moving moment for me when I read that.

Speaker 11 Not that I didn't believe that he murdered Gail. I didn't want to imagine it the way he did.

Speaker 23 So,

Speaker 23 obviously, that he finally confessed was

Speaker 23 monumental, although I was really annoyed when I read the quote-unquote confession.

Speaker 23 And I don't know if you remember where they read, you know, this is what happened at the trial on July 7th, 1985, what happened. And he started to go into a story about how hard he works.

Speaker 28 Yes, yes. Go on.

Speaker 23 I found it very

Speaker 23 unsatisfying

Speaker 23 because I wanted what I would call a full-throated confession. And when I read that, it's like the commissioner is saying, and did you do this? And he's saying, yes.

Speaker 23 And we've never gotten what I would call details. And I remember during the trial when we never thought we would win, saying to Dan and Steve, I'll agree to manslaughter.

Speaker 23 I'll agree to, you know, a really reduced sentence. I want to know.

Speaker 23 And as far as I'm concerned, I still don't know.

Speaker 20 Yeah, you're in such a liminal space and have been in one for such a long time. My heart goes out to you.

Speaker 6 Thank you.

Speaker 23 I mean, I used to say, I want to know, was she in pain? You know, she had spoken to someone before she died, and the woman said she sounded weird. And I've always wanted to hear that he drugged her.

Speaker 23 She didn't know what was happening. Of course, that he'd have to admit premeditation, but I really do believe there was premeditation.
I believe it's a bunch of bullshit that they had a fight.

Speaker 23 As a matter of fact, there's a neighbor who says they fought every Sunday. This one was quiet.
I thought they were away for the weekend. I think it's absolute bullshit.
Yeah.

Speaker 23 I've always believed that this was completely premeditated. And therefore, I'd like to believe that he drugged her and that she had no idea what was happening to her.

Speaker 29 Right.

Speaker 23 How long did you date him for?

Speaker 11 Only for six months, thank God. But may I just say,

Speaker 11 I had a lot in common with your sister.

Speaker 6 In what way?

Speaker 11 Well, her love to have fun, her love for people. You described her as being in love with love.
That's my whole mantra. I've been married three freaking times.
So it could have been me.

Speaker 11 And I, you know, those six months, I denied my reality. And by the way, he broke up with me and I was upset.
Like, But it was a horrible six months. It wasn't that much fun.

Speaker 11 The flying in the plane was fun, but I was always justifying his behaviors as any woman does who's with a domestic.

Speaker 23 And the behaviors.

Speaker 11 Oh, he had a temper.

Speaker 23 So he was showing his anger

Speaker 23 early on in the relationship. Yeah.

Speaker 11 But not to the degree that he did, I think, with Stephanie or the degree certainly he did with Gail.

Speaker 11 But I knew he had a short fuse.

Speaker 11 Did you ever think he would get convicted? I'd love to hear that part of your experience and thoughts.

Speaker 23 I did not think that we would have a conviction. You know, there's a village of women that convicted Bob.

Speaker 23 Three of them are here.

Speaker 6 Yeah.

Speaker 23 And I remember feeling that I've got West Coast sisters. And I know you guys, Vegas isn't quite the West Coast, but it's certainly not the East Coast.

Speaker 23 All of us, this village of sisters of women, were were working together.

Speaker 23 I even remember talking to Dan and Steve when I knew that many of you were flying into New York to testify, you know, what can I do to make their lives easier? So I said, how about child care?

Speaker 23 Like they can come with their kids and I'll arrange child care for everybody.

Speaker 23 And I wasn't allowed to meet you because there was the whole witness tampering possible problem. But I want both of you to know that I always felt a tremendous kinship, a tremendous appreciation.

Speaker 23 I always knew that there were so many of us. And in fact,

Speaker 23 when the jury reached their verdict, they tell the alternate jurors to leave the jury box because they're no longer needed.

Speaker 23 And I'll never forget this beautiful woman of color who was an alternate juror sitting down next to me. and holding my hand.

Speaker 23 And it was like she was saying to me, the women in the jury pool are with you.

Speaker 23 So, no, I know that was a long answer to, no, I did not think we were going to get him.

Speaker 11 And do you think he'll get out?

Speaker 23 Do I think he's going to get out?

Speaker 23 The parole process only allows incarceration for up to 24 months, up to.

Speaker 23 It is automatically every two years, and it can be less than every two years.

Speaker 11 By this, Elaine means if a prisoner has served their sentence, they are entitled to a parole hearing every two years. But for a variety of reasons, it can happen sooner.

Speaker 11 Bob was due to have his next parole hearing a while ago, but for reasons unknown to us, he keeps adjourning it. It really could happen any day now.

Speaker 23 I know this is going to sound like cruel and inhuman treatment, but for some reason, they cannot contact me and tell me that there's been a decision.

Speaker 23 So I know every month when he's supposed to to be there, and I know two weeks later is when the decision can be. And I start to call the Office of Victim Services on that day, every day,

Speaker 23 until I get an answer.

Speaker 23 I think that, lucky for us, the transcripts of his parole hearings are treasure troves.

Speaker 23 He is the same,

Speaker 23 sociopathic, psychotic, lying, unremorseful.

Speaker 23 And

Speaker 11 in the

Speaker 23 second hearing, the appeal hearing, one of the commissioners, a female, went after him for the lying shit he was. He kept saying, you know, I was angry.

Speaker 23 And she said, no, she defied you about smoking. She defied you about going to a birthday party.
It was about bullying, violence, and control. It wasn't about I'm immature and I made a mistake.

Speaker 23 And I don't know if he's ever getting out. I hope not, because unfortunately, people like Andy Rosenzweig, the chief investigator, has said to me, You're in danger.

Speaker 11 Really?

Speaker 11 Yeah.

Speaker 23 Or he's going after my kids to hurt me even more.

Speaker 14 Andy's a tough guy.

Speaker 23 I mean, I don't think he's saying this to me because he wants to make me afraid.

Speaker 11 So, what can we do to help you keep him in?

Speaker 23 You can send letters at every parole board hearing.

Speaker 21 Okay.

Speaker 23 One of the things that he said at the first parole board hearing that was very aggravating to me was, Gail was an anomaly.

Speaker 23 So if you experienced, or anyone you know experienced, a violent episode with him, the more of those stories that are given to the parole board,

Speaker 23 the more the parole board says, Gail was not the anomaly. It's not a one-time thing.

Speaker 20 In 2020, I stopped practicing critical care medicine and went back to school to become a hospice and palliative care. physician.

Speaker 20 But what I've learned in the past years and have thought a lot about is

Speaker 20 when you speak to someone who's dying, you ask them how their body is,

Speaker 20 and then you ask them how they are.

Speaker 20 And

Speaker 20 we may never find Gail's body, but

Speaker 20 what an incredible legacy

Speaker 20 she

Speaker 20 has

Speaker 20 been the impetus for. And a legacy is how the people who love you remember you.
And you have created an incredible legacy for her.

Speaker 11 Thank you, Mindy.

Speaker 11 Elaine, you've kept her story alive and you've allowed her to help countless numbers of women.

Speaker 11 And I get teary as I say that.

Speaker 11 And so to think about the number of women that you've helped thus far and the number of women that will be helped in the future, understanding that domestic violence has absolutely no boundaries.

Speaker 20 The power dynamic has to change.

Speaker 20 You know, rape is not a sexual crime, it's a crime of power, which is exactly the way I think about this horribly sad story, because in our own heads, heads, we've created lives and stories around this incident.

Speaker 20 And it has had an enormous power for all of us.

Speaker 20 But we have to be united in a common idea that the end point is this must stop.

Speaker 20 This cannot continue.

Speaker 11 You know, by hosting this podcast, I've really learned to trust my inner voice, listen to my intuition.

Speaker 11 You know, Gail knew that she was making a big mistake, but Gail never deserved to have a mistake that ended in death. And that could have been me.
I didn't listen to my intuition.

Speaker 11 And, you know, when Maya Angelou says, you know, and I love that quote, when people show you who they are, believe them. And Bob showed me who he was on the first date.

Speaker 11 And Bob showed Gail who he was consistently throughout the relationship. Yet she had a lot of reasons for not believing him or for thinking that she could influence it with a better outcome.

Speaker 11 And she paid the price for that with her life.

Speaker 11 And I'm very, very fortunate that I did not.

Speaker 11 I have this mantra that I live by, and I think it's applicable here for me. I strive to always live my life, perform my life better today than I performed yesterday.

Speaker 11 And hosting this podcast has allowed me the opportunity to,

Speaker 6 I'm going to cry,

Speaker 11 get to know Gail,

Speaker 11 get to know Elaine,

Speaker 11 get to know the family and her friends,

Speaker 11 and I have a much better understanding

Speaker 11 that violence against women is an epidemic, it's been a problem, and it continues to be a problem.

Speaker 11 And that I,

Speaker 11 I just want to be part of that solution.

Speaker 11 Yeah.

Speaker 11 Elaine, Carol, the torso, the torso that was found.

Speaker 29 Do you have some thoughts about her?

Speaker 23 I remember sitting in the hallway at the courthouse after the ME

Speaker 23 testified at Bob's trial, Charlie Hirsch and I were sitting on a bench.

Speaker 23 And I turned to Charlie and I said,

Speaker 23 Are you absolutely sure

Speaker 23 that this isn't Gail?

Speaker 23 And he said to me, very unfortunately, I am absolutely sure.

Speaker 23 And

Speaker 23 I said to him,

Speaker 23 And what are you doing

Speaker 23 to find out who she is

Speaker 23 so that another family

Speaker 23 gets peace that I didn't get for so many years? And he said,

Speaker 23 the best we can with the limited resources and information that we have.

Speaker 23 She is someone who died a violent death.

Speaker 24 And

Speaker 23 she was found in May of 1989. By the way, like two days after I got married, the

Speaker 23 anthropological studies determined that she was probably

Speaker 23 murdered in early 1989, which was entirely inconsistent with her being Gail, by the way. We all knew that at the time.

Speaker 23 But she was seemingly Gail's age.

Speaker 23 And I feel terrible. There's a family out there that does not have closure.

Speaker 11 After the break, we tell you everything we know about the torso.

Speaker 26 Incoming with the old gays, it's Jessé, Bill, Robert, and Mick with a special bonus episode of Silver Linings with the Old Gays.

Speaker 26 No matter what time of year it is, we know it's important to uplift the spirit of pride, which is relatively easy when Palm Springs celebrates in November.

Speaker 25 The first pride I went to, it made me feel like I was really part of something.

Speaker 25 People being so joyous in the streets and being themselves.

Speaker 25 We've really come a long way and I realize I am standing on the shoulders of so many millions of queer people who sacrificed their lives for what we have today.

Speaker 26 Silver Linings with the Old Days is brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Viv Healthcare. Listen on the iHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 2 This is Matt Rogers from Las Culturises with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

Speaker 3 This is Bowen Yang from Los Cultures with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

Speaker 2 What if you could boost your Wi-Fi to one of of your devices when you need it most? Because Xfinity Wi-Fi can. Like when you need to upload 200 photos of your cat in a Santa hat to post online.

Speaker 27 You won't believe what my new friend just told me about dinosaurs.

Speaker 9 Is your child having conversations you never imagined?

Speaker 14 Are they learning without realizing it?

Speaker 10 It's not a tablet. It's not a toy.

Speaker 12 It's Miko Mini Plus, the AI-powered companion that turns curiosity into endless learning.

Speaker 9 Hear the future of playtime.

Speaker 12 Meet the extraordinary Miko Mini Plus, only at Costco.

Speaker 14 Costco.

Speaker 11 Psoriatic arthritis symptoms can be unpredictable.

Speaker 16 I had joint pain and I couldn't move like I used to. I needed relief.

Speaker 11 I got Cosentix.

Speaker 30 It helped me move better.

Speaker 16 Cosentix Seccukenumab is prescribed for people two years of age and older with active psoriatic arthritis. Don't use if you're allergic to Cosentix.
Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis.

Speaker 16 An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur, like tuberculosis or other serious bacterial, fungal, or viral infections. Some were fatal.

Speaker 16 Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough, add a vaccine or plan to, or if inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen.

Speaker 16 Serious allergic reactions and severe eczema-like skin reactions may occur. Learn more at 1-844-COSENTIX or COSENTIX.com.

Speaker 16 Ask your rheumatologist about Cosentics.

Speaker 11 For the best part of a year, my producer Anna and her team have been trying to confirm the identity of the torso that was misidentified as Gail.

Speaker 11 It never felt right to reduce her existence to a cliffhanger and just leave it at that.

Speaker 11 But even after hours and hours of research and conversations with the chief medical examiner's office and local police forces, we have not been able to confirm anything, despite several very, very promising leads.

Speaker 11 The sad fact is trying to identify her really made it hit home how many other women's stories are out there not being told.

Speaker 11 In their search, Anna and our researcher Maddie have gone through hundreds, if not thousands, of women's cases on the missing persons database, and that was just in the state of New York.

Speaker 11 Sadly, I can't tell you all of their stories, but I did want to give them a place in this podcast because they're our girlfriends too.

Speaker 11 So if you all tell me when you're ready, I'll tee us up.

Speaker 20 Okay.

Speaker 23 I'm ready.

Speaker 11 I'm ready. Okay.

Speaker 11 These are some of the names of the missing and murdered women from the state of New York starting from July 7th, 1985, read to you by myself, Mindy, and Elaine.

Speaker 11 Elaine?

Speaker 21 Okay.

Speaker 23 Gail Katz.

Speaker 11 Rosa Westbrook.

Speaker 20 Aquila Hodrick.

Speaker 23 Flossie Wilbur.

Speaker 11 Olynthia Harper.

Speaker 20 Helene Rubstein.

Speaker 23 Tammy McCormick.

Speaker 11 Candida Hernandez, Rita Fioretti,

Speaker 23 Cindy Rowles,

Speaker 11 Colleen Brooks,

Speaker 20 Erica Franolich, Mary Sassen, Eileen Neuberger, Mary Monroe, Frances Peters,

Speaker 11 Sandra Runkel, Sharon Pulaski, Gail Richards, Isabel Rizzo, Francia Penna, Sonia Archie, Ella Taylor.

Speaker 20 Elizabeth Mundelli.

Speaker 23 Shirley Clemgard.

Speaker 11 Anne Lubrano.

Speaker 20 Norma Parkinson.

Speaker 23 Monique Santiago.

Speaker 11 Marilyn Mara.

Speaker 20 Wilson Marino.

Speaker 23 Barbara Lane.

Speaker 11 Jessica Soto.

Speaker 20 Harriet Hoyt.

Speaker 23 Noreen Haguchi Brown.

Speaker 11 Marie Muselle.

Speaker 20 Judith Guerin.

Speaker 23 Ebony Trura.

Speaker 11 Denise Griffin.

Speaker 20 Elise Farmer.

Speaker 23 Leona Rodriguez.

Speaker 11 Tanya Blairove.

Speaker 20 Charmine Smalls.

Speaker 23 Krista Nicole Belusco.

Speaker 11 Tiffany Dixon.

Speaker 20 Tani Morgan.

Speaker 23 Shomara Rodriguez.

Speaker 11 Young Pack.

Speaker 20 Lena Hamm.

Speaker 23 Inez Silverio.

Speaker 11 Deborah Overbach.

Speaker 6 Margaret Riley.

Speaker 23 Teresa Schroeder.

Speaker 11 Glenda Lise Valentine.

Speaker 20 Evelyn Henriquez.

Speaker 11 Christine Markey. Suzanne Leol.

Speaker 20 Arlene Abbas.

Speaker 20 Elizabeth Bump.

Speaker 11 Judith Conraro.

Speaker 20 Stacey Pennant.

Speaker 23 Sarah Wood.

Speaker 11 Tracy Collington.

Speaker 20 Erica Pavoca.

Speaker 21 Heidi Allen.

Speaker 11 Catherine Chiang.

Speaker 20 Sandra Sali.

Speaker 23 Elizabeth Gusman, Laura Williams, Jane Kelsey, Angette Petroski, Lucy Fuentes,

Speaker 20 Charlotte Fuller,

Speaker 11 Robin Murphy, Joan Adler, Wen Wang, Catherine Minningham, Sarah Hodgney, Jennifer Bolduck, Andrea Robinson, Sonia Oliver, Lori Bova, Michelle Isan, Jennifer Gordon, Richardine Middleton.

Speaker 23 Camden Sylvia.

Speaker 11 Judith Vallows.

Speaker 20 Cynthia Bollmer. Michelle Garland.

Speaker 5 Sylvia Cabden.

Speaker 11 Leon.

Speaker 20 Anna Savetti.

Speaker 23 Velita Gambrell.

Speaker 11 Kristen Kupka.

Speaker 20 Frances Clark.

Speaker 23 Irene Silverman.

Speaker 11 Tajana Lupach.

Speaker 20 Cynthia Quarles.

Speaker 23 Patricia Kineari.

Speaker 11 Leanne Halsbrook.

Speaker 18 Stiana Ignatovich,

Speaker 23 Debbie Ferris,

Speaker 11 Denise Hierman,

Speaker 18 Samia Hytchich,

Speaker 11 Helen Young, Grace Gatamaso, Indira Monteiro,

Speaker 23 Francois Moissan, Harriet Olson, Lorraine Grunage, Jennifer Pooh,

Speaker 24 Ashley Carroll, Patricia Bartza,

Speaker 29 Tiamanja Palasso,

Speaker 11 Dahlia Averimia, Jennifer Mattish,

Speaker 23 Ivy Mantello,

Speaker 11 Irena Troscheri, Gretchen Wachner, Mara Gorlich,

Speaker 24 Haley Rissler, Heather Ballard,

Speaker 23 Kaylin Martinez,

Speaker 24 Linda Mann, Natoya Stevens,

Speaker 11 Faith Prescott, Alexandria Balahoy, Thalia Gorsis,

Speaker 23 Christine Kilhouli,

Speaker 24 Shannon Mary, Sunia Sutana,

Speaker 11 Latricia Banks, Casey Peterson, Amanda King,

Speaker 24 Sharon Ross,

Speaker 24 Kathleen Wayner, Marie Carolinini, Amy Goldberg,

Speaker 11 Rosemarie Gari-Leon,

Speaker 24 Patricia Cagueso,

Speaker 5 Dominique Patrick,

Speaker 5 Maria Kinwatos, Pamela Malave, April Parker,

Speaker 24 Mu Iket, Ivelise Bonia,

Speaker 24 Laura Shea,

Speaker 29 Rosalina LaFontaine, Patricia Cabrera, Kaya Harris, Tunchia Camphouri, Sonia Lewis,

Speaker 23 Sophia Lobas,

Speaker 24 Nini Kashi Kandafalu, Marian Kalani, Margarita Rivera, Jamai Westminster, Sereno, Angela Bernie Sierra, Mercedes Basil, Kalia Boomer, Maria Rabazan, Heather Coburn,

Speaker 24 Karine Ramudez, Heidi Shanetes, Maybe Sereno, Mariana

Speaker 24 Johe Torres Morio,

Speaker 24 Sonia Manning, Mariano Akar, Tarissa Combs, Farai Mattan, Shakia Sun, Jaden Jimenez, Deborah Winkowski, Alba Lopez, Cassandra Ramirez, Fada Abdil, Marin Jeves-Rivera, Skylar Simpson, Jeanette Charmella, Vimari Pizarro-Ninez, Pranisha Sarki, Zeta Casanova, Tina John-Pierre, Manashi Babanga, Somarbai, Rita Hollis, Tuting Lin, Karima Malendres.

Speaker 11 Tanija Wright.

Speaker 20 Maya Cray.

Speaker 23 Fidelina Roblero Gonzalez.

Speaker 11 Lorin Lacana.

Speaker 20 Jessica Lopez.

Speaker 23 Regina Williams.

Speaker 11 Sunhi Miller.

Speaker 20 Lysiana Lapkowski.

Speaker 23 Tatiana Mohammed.

Speaker 28 Kai Gorman.

Speaker 20 Cheyenne Lightfoot.

Speaker 23 Amaya Rashid.

Speaker 11 Dina Feinstein.

Speaker 20 Nevia Smith.

Speaker 23 Diana Menjavar Tershwa.

Speaker 11 Brittany Delgado Delgado.

Speaker 11 If you all made it with us this far, thank you.

Speaker 11 Truth is, we could have kept going.

Speaker 23 I'm emotionally

Speaker 23 drained and I'm in awe of you contextualizing where my sister stands in the universe.

Speaker 11 The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel, visit novel.audio.

Speaker 11 The series is hosted by me, Carol Fisher, and produced by Anna Sinfield.

Speaker 11 Our assistant producer is Julian Manugera Patton, and our researcher is Madeline Parr.

Speaker 11 The editor is Veronica Simmons. Max O'Brien is our executive producer.
Our fact-checker is Valeria Roca.

Speaker 11 Production management from Cherie Houston and Charlotte Wolf.

Speaker 11 Sound design, mixing, and scoring by Daniel Kempson and Nicholas Alexander.

Speaker 11 Music supervision by Anna Sinfield. Original music composed by Louisa Gerstein.

Speaker 11 Story development by Isaac Fisher. Willard Foxton is Creative Director of Development.

Speaker 11 Special thanks to Sean Glynn, David Waters, My Villy Raule, Katrina Norvell, David Wasserman, and Beth Ann McAluso.

Speaker 11 We did reach out to Bob and his legal team to ask if he'd like to comment on the podcast, but we never heard back.

Speaker 6 Novel

Speaker 7 Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.

Speaker 9 Where did that story come from?

Speaker 6 Book?

Speaker 10 Dream?

Speaker 9 Nope, it came from a conversation.

Speaker 13 Meet Miko Mini Plus, the AI companion that co-creates personalized story adventures with your child in real time.

Speaker 7 What color was the hamster's cape? And what did he pack for lunch?

Speaker 10 Unlock your child's imagination.

Speaker 14 Discover Miko Mini Plus and the magic of AI exclusively at Costco.

Speaker 8 Meet Lisa, a mom of two who loves the holidays, but not the endless to-do list.

Speaker 1 So she turned to Airtasker. Local taskers help decorate, wrap gifts, even build a cardboard sleigh for the school play.

Speaker 8 Download the Airtasker app or go to Airtasker.com.

Speaker 1 Airtasker.

Speaker 11 Get anything done.

Speaker 4 Hey, audiobook lovers. I'm Cal Penn.
I'm Ed Helms. Ed and I are inviting you to join the best sounding book club you've ever heard with our new podcast, Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club.

Speaker 30 Each week, we sit down with your favorite iHeart podcast hosts and some very special guests to discuss the latest and greatest audiobooks from Audible.

Speaker 3 Listen to Iarsay on America's number one podcast network, iHeart.

Speaker 4 Follow Iarsay and start listening on the free iHeart radio app today.

Speaker 28 Hey guys, it's Aaron Andrews from Calm Down with Erin and Carissa. So as a sideline reporter, game day is extra busy for me, but I know it can be busy for parents everywhere.

Speaker 28 You're juggling snacks, nap time, and everything else.

Speaker 28 Well, Gerber can help create a more parent-friendly game day because they have the most clean label project certifications of any baby food brand.

Speaker 28 So, you can feel good about what you're feeding your little ones. I mean, Mac loves them.
You can't go wrong with the little crunchies.

Speaker 28 You just put him in a little bag or you put him in a little container and he's good to go. Make sure to pick up your little ones' favorite Gerber products at a store near you.

Speaker 1 This is an iHeart podcast.