When interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was spotted in July 2025, social media rushed to call it an alien probe. But as any forensic scientist knows, evidence comes first, speculation later.

In this episode of The Forensic Lens Podcast, I unpack why a comet discovery is a perfect case study in disciplined reasoning. From classification to hypothesis testing, I explore how science systematically rules out natural explanations before entertaining extraordinary ones — and why this mindset matters not just for astronomy, but for justice, media, and civic life.

📖 Read the full article on Agham Road.
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#ForensicScience #TheForensicLens #Astronomy #CriticalThinking #3IATLAS

Are Filipinos simply “bad voters”—or are our brains and choices shaped by poverty, stress, and survival? In this episode of The Forensic Lens Podcast, I explore how neuroanthropology helps explain why clientelism and vote-buying persist, linking scarcity, cognitive load, malnutrition, and education deficits to short-term decision-making.

The problem isn’t just political—it’s biological and cultural. To break the cycle, we must invest in nutrition, early childhood programs, and cognitive capital so that voters can engage critically and rationally with democracy.

📖 Read the full article on Agham Road.

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Ghost projects, padded contracts, and billions lost — the Philippine flood-control scandal has become a case study in systemic corruption. But beyond the headlines lies a deeper question: why do certain personalities keep rising to the top, and why does the system seem to reward them?

In this episode of The Forensic Lens Podcast, I explore corruption through the lens of forensic behavioral science and evolutionary psychology. From the dark triad of psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism to the cultural values that both resist and enable graft, I examine how governance becomes an “ecology” that selects for opportunists — and what we can do to change it.

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Luxury bags, ski trips, private jets — viral posts tied to the flood-control scandal ignited outrage across Philippine social media. But beyond memes and “nepo baby” backlash lies a forensic question: when do social posts stop being gossip and start becoming evidence?

In this episode of The Forensic Lens Podcast, I explore how digital traces — screenshots, metadata, chat logs, even TikToks — can become probative in corruption cases if properly preserved and authenticated. As traditional biological evidence gives way to digital trails, the challenge is not just capturing scandal but converting it into justice.

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When an IED explodes, most see wreckage. A forensic eye sees fragments that can reveal bomb-makers, supply chains, and networks. This is the essence of forensic intelligence — turning traces into strategy.

In this episode of The Forensic Lens Podcast, I explore how forensic intelligence shifts the focus from courtroom evidence to operational foresight. Drawing from cases in the Philippines — from the Jolo Cathedral bombing to Marawi’s digital front — and international lessons from Iraq, Salisbury, and MH17, I show how science connects micro-traces to macro-networks. The message is clear: the officer of tomorrow must not only fight, but also think forensically.

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How much of who we are is written on the face? From family resemblances and DNA phenotyping to doppelgängers, expressions, and cultural interpretations, the face lies at the crossroads of biology and society.

In this episode of The Forensic Lens Podcast, I explore what genes can and cannot reveal about appearance, how Filipino expressions carry unique meanings, and why snap judgments about “criminal-looking” faces echo the pseudoscience of physiognomy. The face is more than features — it is a layered text of inheritance, culture, and perception.

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What happens when the demands of forensic science collide with Filipino cultural beliefs — from fears of disturbing the dead to values like pakikisama, hiya, and utang-na-loob? In this episode of The Forensic Lens Podcast, I examine the tensions between tradition and scientific rigor, and why the Philippines must build a forensic science that is both methodologically strong and culturally responsive.

I call this vision Agham Pangkatarungan — a science of justice grounded in Filipino realities. From weak science education to colonial legacies of rote learning, I explore why our forensic system struggles, and how rooting science in culture — without compromising its standards — can close both the science gap and the justice gap.

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Behind every forensic technique lies a deeper truth: someone is missing, and someone else is waiting. From Australia’s National Missing Persons Week to the UN’s International Day of the Disappeared, the world remembers those taken by disaster, violence, or dictatorship.

In this episode of The Forensic Lens Podcast, I reflect on the global struggle to recover the missing — from Latin America to the Middle East, and here in the Philippines. Forensic anthropology is not just a technical science. It is an act of love: restoring names, dignity, and memory where silence once prevailed.

📖 Read the full article on Agham Road.

🌐 Learn more about my work here.