The Ballad of Dena & Andrea

Hosted by Becky Poole, The Ballad of Dena & Andrea is a podcast that sits at a difficult intersection, weaving together original musical compositions with deep, reflective conversation. Each episode grapples with the harrowing, true story of Andrea Yates and Dena Schlosser, two mothers from the early 2000s whose lives ended in the same unthinkable act. Poole’s initial entry point was a startling, lesser-known detail: after their crimes, the two women briefly shared a room in a North Texas mental institution. This factual coincidence sparked a deeper exploration into the parallel paths their lives had been on long before that moment-paths marked by isolation, profound mental illness, and a societal context that failed them. The podcast doesn’t seek to sensationalize but to understand, using the traditional folk form of the murder ballad to process the emotional weight of the narrative, then stepping back to talk through the complex themes of justice, mercy, motherhood, and madness that the story inevitably raises. Listening to this podcast means encountering a story told with both artistic sensitivity and journalistic curiosity, where haunting original music sets the stage for conversations that are as thoughtful as they are challenging. It’s an attempt to hold space for a tragedy that defies easy explanation, making it a unique entry in both true crime and music commentary.