I am a podcast junkie. So much so that I haven't listened to Lemonade all the way through. (Smite me all you want, I am filling my brain with feminist rally cries in other ways.) It has become my primary listening choice while in the car, much to my cellphone-data-overage-paying husband's dismay.
I was on the Serial train for a long time and quickly jumped to Undisclosed. From there I made the usual journey into the podcast wormhole by subscribing to This American Life, Radiolab, Invisibilia... all the incredibly produced NPR podcasts. I listened to some quirky ones; Oh No! With Ross and Carrie is a guilty pleasure, focusing on fringe science and off kilter religion. (Personally, I think this podcast is a requirement of anyone majoring in Religious Studies, but I digress.)
Then, one day, my little fingers stumbled across a little fledgling podcast called My Favorite Murder. When I first started listening, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark I plowed through the six episodes that were available. The ladies were still finding their rhythm on episode 6, however by their eighth, the were really off and running.
"Wait... stop!" you say.
"My FAVORITE Murder???!!! What the heck kind of podcast is this? How do people have favorite murders? Who ARE you Katie that YOU have a favorite murder??"
Ok, lets start over.
My Favorite Murder or MFM for short, focuses on not only retelling famous (and not so famous) murders in a particularly interesting way. Karen and Georgia (yes, we are on a first name basis... not really... but I like to pretend we are) are fascinated with the intricacies of killer and their past, the crime scene, the poor sweet baby angel victim, and often times the how the crime was investigated and brought (or not brought) to justice.The women are emphatic to the deceased, and appropriately spiteful to the killers. Their language is definitely rated R as is their graphic detail of the murders.
"Katie — what the HELL are you listening to? Why would you even want to put this in your brain?? What is the matter with you? You are a MOTHER!!"
Ya, well this Podcast is the sh*t. Karen and Georgia are like long lost friends who use the F word too much. They are concerned with my well-being as a woman and staying safe in public. "F*ck Politeness" is a mantra used often, as a way to remind people to not fall for traps often used in abductions. They encourage listeners to write in and talk about their hometown murders, and are great about encouraging people to seek out the help they may need from medical professionals after trauma. They are the cool kids who sit around and talk about all the stuff you WANT to talk about, but feel like it would be too macabre and weird to admit to in public.
Do you find yourself saying "Ok, that's kind of me... I think murders are interesting..?"
Excellent! There's like 40,000 of us and counting on their Facebook page alone! We are proud Murderinos — with shirts and everything!!! Fan art abounds — and we are kind! We look after each other, we even had a fan make those aluminum "cat head keychain stabbing" things just for the fan base, to keep us all safe.
Look, I realize this podcast isn't for everyone, but if this is even a little bit of who you are, I strongly encourage you to check them out, even if only to hear Elvis the Siamese cat at the end.
Stay sexy — don't get murdered!