This week, The Smithsonian Channel premiered a new episode of the show Forensic Firsts, entitled “Proving Poison,” focusing on forensic toxicology. The episode details cases from the 1840′s and 1990′s, and features several forensic experts, including toxicologists Dr. Michael Rieders and Dr. Robert Middleberg. Dr. Michael Rieders is the Chairman of the Board of Directors at NMS Labs and serves on the board at the Fredric Rieders Family Renaissance Foundation, home of the Center. Dr. Middleberg is the Quality Assurance Laboratory Director at NMS Labs. Both are very involved at the Center, giving frequent lectures for students in our various programs. The episode will be aired several more times this week, and the full schedule can be found online.
To learn more about the episode, watch the trailer, and find scheduled air times, click here. To check out Forensic Firsts and watch full episodes online as they become available, click here.
Episode description from The Smithsonian Channel:
A rash of unexplained deaths at a Northport, New York hospital in the 1990s and the suspicious death of a wealthy businessman in the 1840s have one thing in common: poison. These sensational cases, 150 years apart, are landmark moments in the history of forensic toxicology. Revolutionizing crime fighting, then and now, toxicology may one day be ahead of the crime. Join our investigation as scientists, detectives and criminal historians trace the poisonous compounds and indispensable tools of crime fighting.