In this episode, I sit down with veteran journalist and author Mark Pinsky, whose career has taken him from high-profile crime reporting to covering racial justice and religion. Mark shares how his political awakening at Duke University in the 1960s and the civil rights movement shaped his worldview, how his interest in social justice led him to cover crime and religion, and how he’s navigated the tightrope between advocacy and objectivity throughout his work.

We talk about his reporting on landmark cases — including his rare jailhouse interview with Ted Bundy, the Jeffrey MacDonald murder trial, and the 1979 Greensboro Massacre. Mark opens up about how race, class, and bias influence the criminal justice system, and the ways journalists have to balance empathy with detachment when covering violent crime.

We also dive into his coverage of televangelism, the political rise of white evangelicals, and how shifts in grassroots attitudes foreshadowed major political changes. Along the way, we discuss wrongful convictions, the impact of projects like the Innocence Project, and the role of media as a kind of “last-resort appeals court” for injustice. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about values, choices, and the lived experiences that shape a journalist’s craft — and the human stories that keep us doing this work.

This episode includes a tribute to Jessica Olive Cash, a researcher for this podcast and The Prosecutors Podcast. Jessica was a true gift to me and the team and will be missed.

Submit a question for or raise your hand to join the Listeners Episode:

https://forms.gle/yf9aRU7BokGUTAFj6

To listen to me on Jessica's own podcast, Version of Events, talking about Missing and Murdered Indigenous People:

Interview with Jayson Blair - Version of Events | Podcast on Spotify

To donate to support a charity that fights for the cases that Jessica believed in:

https://gofund.me/0f3cb380d

Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com

Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website at:

https://silverliningshandbook.com/

Check out our Patreon to support the show at:

https://www.patreon.com/thesilverliningshandbook

Join our Facebook Group at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1361159947820623

Visit the Silver Linings Handbook store to support the podcast at:

https://www.bonfire.com/store/the-silver-linings-handbook-podcast-store

Visit The True Crime Times Substack at:

https://truecrimemessenger.substack.com

The Silver Linings Handbook podcast is a part of the ART19 network. ART19 is a subsidiary of Wondery and Amazon Music.

See the Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and the California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.