Welcome to the second session of the Black Dahlia Book Club!

I finally got tired of talking about George Hodel and Steve Hodel (at this point, I know Steve’s monologues from memory) so I decided to spend some time looking at the portrayals of the Black Dahlia case. I consider myself first and foremost a historian of the Black Dahlia case, and think it’s important to examine the source material in detail to emphasize the challenges of researching the murder of Elizabeth Short.

I also discussed Michael Connelly’s podcast Killer in the Code on purported links between the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases, and the problems with his “source,” Alex Baber. Steve Hodel wrote recently that Baber engaged in an extended email exchange in which Hodel shared his material, after which Baber “ghosted” him.

I read a February 4, 2026, text from retired homicide Detective Rick Jackson, a Connelly consultant, inviting me to appear on their show. I read my responding February 5, 2026, text agreeing on condition that they also invite author Elon Green and Zodiac cipher expert David Oranchak, and make a donation in memory of Elizabeth Short to a charity of Connelly’s choice in an amount of Connelly’s choosing. So far, no response.

Retired FBI profiler Julia Cowley of “The Consult” podcast on the differences between the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases.

In this session, I looked at the accounts by four journalists involved in the Black Dahlia Coverage:

–Aggie Underwood’s “Newspaperwoman.” https://archive.org/details/1949-news…

–“Aggie: Biography of Los Angeles Newspaperwoman Agness Underwood,” by Shirley Jean Saito. https://archive.org/details/aggie-und…

–Jim Richardson’s “For the Life of Me.” https://archive.org/details/forlifeof…

–Will Fowler’s “Reporters.” https://archive.org/details/reporters… –Jack Smith’s assorted columns. https://archive.org/details/jacksmith… The next Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case is March 3. The next Black Dahlia Book Club session will be March 17. I’ll announce the subject a week before.