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
Garden in Kerrville - 08 - With Educator/Facilitator/Artists Carly DW Bones & Zach Bones
In this final episode of the Ballad of Dena & Andrea I read a bit from the old bible and wonder about our current institutions for mental health and our sick carceral system.
I speak with two folks who've worked in various positions as educators and facilitators in restorative justice, sex education, and art programs.
I'll mention the fund that Andrea started with her lawyer to support mental health of young mothers. It is linked below as well...
The song is a fictional POV from Andrea inside the Kerrville, TX mental institution.
Show Links
Article: Sorrow and the Shame of the Accidental Killer
Restorative Justice Definition: https://www.vera.org/
The L.A. jail system is the largest mental health institution in the U.S.
adrienne maree brown & a list of her books we mention
Octavia Butler: Parable of the Sower
The Witch Wave Podcast with Pam Grossman
Nicole Brewer - Anti-Racist Theatre: “The grace to speak in draft and the responsibility to edit if it is harmful"
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
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.
