She Has A Name — Dear Truth Be Told

Set against the backdrop of the drug epidemic in 1980s Detroit, She Has A Name blends elements of investigative journalism, memoir, and speculative fiction to tell the story of Anita, a sister that Tonya learned about more than a decade after she went missing. It’s a story of loss and redemption, mending broken family ties, and facing the trauma experienced by countless individuals who've lost loved ones to violence.

EPISODES

She Had A Name podcast tile featuring characters from the story, including host Tonya Mosley and her cousin Antonio Wiley.

Host Tonya Mosley has spent most of her career sharing other people’s truths. In this gripping series, Tonya now shares elements of her family’s story.

In the summer of 1987, Tonya’s sister Anita disappeared without a trace. It took 33 years of searching and her son’s DNA to connect Anita to a grave just outside of Detroit. But finding her remains is just the beginning of the story: Anita was murdered.

Part one of this 10-part series drops on Thursday, March 28th. Subscribe now.

Episode 1: Unknown Woman 1987

For more than 20 years, Tonya and her nephew Antonio have kept up with each other through phone calls and long discussions about the disappearance of Antonio’s mother, who vanished from her home in Detroit in 1987.

In 2020, a DNA match helped locate Antonio’s mother who had been buried in a mass grave for unidentified bodies. It’s a bittersweet discovery because Tonya and Antonio also learn that Anita was murdered and her body was found in a vacant burned-out house just months after she disappeared. Listen now.

Episode 2: Natural Born Hustler

Who was Anita outside of the image Antonio shared with Tonya? And how can Tonya’s exploration of her short life help us understand what led to her disappearance and murder? In this episode, Tonya goes back to Anita’s early years and the choices she made as a young woman in Detroit to survive. Listen now.

Episode 3: Sinking of the Titanic

In the late seventies and early eighties, things were looking up for Anita. She was in her early twenties and coming out of a low point in her life with the death of her mother. Antonio remembers a stable home life, a step-father that he loved and not wanting for anything. Until Anita's life takes a downward turn with the return of a childhood friend who comes home from prison. Listen now.

Episode 4: Father Figure

How could Tonya, Anita, and Antonio go almost a lifetime without knowing each other? We explore the tangled roots of this family tree and the man Tonya, Anita, and Antonio all have in common – O.C. Hill. Listen now.

Tonya Mosley

Host & Exec. Producer
Tonya Mosley is a native Detroiter, mother of two, and Anita’s sister. She is the founder of TMI Productions, host of Truth Be Told, and cohost of Fresh Air with Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley.
Antonio Wiley

Exec. Producer & Anita’s son
Antonio Wiley is a native Detroiter, father of 5, and son of Anita. He works in the automotive industry and is the driving storyteller and an executive producer of She Has A Name.
Anita Wiley

“Unknown Woman 1987”
Anita Wiley serves as the motivation and the inspiration behind She Has A Name. She was the mother of Antonio, the daughter of Carline and OC Hill, and was a loving sister, friend, and confidant. Her hopes, dreams and aspirations live on through her loved ones.
Nichole Hill

Showrunner
Nichole Hill serves as the showrunner. Hill's past work includes being a showrunner for the podcasts I Am America with Tracee Ellis Ross and Vox's Land of the Giants. Her work has also appeared on NPR, PRX, Radiotopia, and New York Magazine's podcasts. She is an award-winning audio producer and creator of The Secret Adventures of Black People podcast.
Marie Mendoza

Field Producer
Marie is an audio producer and journalist based in Chicago. Previously, she worked at WBEZ, helping produce podcasts like Motive and Curious City. Her work has been featured in South Side Weekly, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Latino USA. She is a double graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she got her start in radio at NU’s college station, WNUR 89.3 FM.
Kristin Fraser

Research Producer
Kristin is a multi-platform storyteller with a career rooted in rethinking the way people connect with information. Fraser has helmed three national television news bureaus: CNN Seattle, Al Jazeera America Seattle, and the VICENews West Coast Bureau. She has won three National Emmy Awards and a Scripps Howard Award.