The Ballad of Dena & Andrea
“The Ballad of Dena & Andrea” is a podcast featuring original murder ballads and conversations in reaction to the story of Andrea Yates and Dena Schlosser, two women who murdered their children in the early 2000s.
Host Becky Poole was originally drawn to this story when she learned that Dena and Andrea ended up as roommates, briefly, in a North Texas mental institution. She soon discovered that their lives had been heading in the same tragic and preventable direction for years. Poole wrote an album in the style of Appalachian murder ballads and Americana to create empathetic myths about these mothers.
With this podcast, she invites artists, colleagues, and friends to have conversations in reaction to the story - covering topics like religion, mental health, women's health, misogyny, our failing justice and healthcare systems, motherhood, creating work about tragedy, and more. Each episode includes a bit of Dena and Andrea's story, an interview chat, and an original song. Not a classic true crime doc but myth-making by ballad with honest conversations. Please join us to discover what might come up for you.
The Ballad of Dena & Andrea
Gentle Letters - Episode 04
In the episode, I'll briefly intro the song "Gentle Letters". Based on Dena's story. Dena wrote her surviving daughters a letter once a week after her arrest. The letters piled up, and were unsent - Dena's children weren't ready for them. Some letters include drawings of children, all are filled with how much she loves and misses her daughters. Dena calls them her "gentle letters."
This ep's interview is with the very producer of the music for “The Ballad of Dena & Andrea,” Abby Posner. Abby is an award winning songwriter and multi-instrumentalist specializing in genre bending music that she calls, ameri-kinda. She blows minds and breaks hearts all across the US and UK. Has music on Hulu, Netflix, This American Life, The CW. She’s scored music for documentaries including the fully engaging “Lady Buds.” Try to see her when you can and in the meantime listen to her here, right now. We talk about writing through a trance state of grief, her album “Second Chances”, the healing power of music, and about working with this podcast’s material in particular.
Show and Guest Links
Abby’s Website: https://www.abbyposner.com/
Trevor Project https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Tools for peace https://www.toolsforpeace.org/
Ballad of Dena & Andrea Links
Postpartum Support International
PSI Yates Children Memorial Fund Legal Justice Program
A bit about the Yates Children Memorial Fund
National Suicide Hotline: You can call 998 or find help online at
Support the Podcast Links
Hosted & created by Becky Poole
Songs written & sung by Becky Poole
Musical Saw by Becky Poole
Song & Theme Instrumentation, Production, & Mix by Abby Posner
Mastered by Dave Locke
Podcast Audio Editing & Mixing by Evan Mosher
Graphic Design by Stefan Lawrence
Photo by Logan Futej
Thank you for listening. For more about postpartum psychosis, go to Postpartum Support International. For the full album click here . Join the conversation on Instagram.
