Entertainment & Events

My Favorite Murder, My Favorite Podcast

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It’s not often that podcasts develop cult followings and make their way to pop culture stardom. However, Karen Kilgariff and and Georgia Hardstark struck podcast gold with My Favorite Murder. My Favorite Murder is constantly placing in the Top 10 overall iTunes podcast charts and has been #1 in the Comedy category. The podcast has a whopping 450,000 downloads per episode and counting.

Listeners claim that they now enjoy sitting in traffic because they get to spend some time with Karen and Georgia, and people who subscribe and listen to the show religiously even call themselves “Murderinos”. So how did the show gain   so much popularity and what makes the podcast so good?

 Each episode has a loose format: Karen and Georgia draw listeners in with some hysterical witty banter during the introduction and they discuss everything from current events to celebrity crushes. The two share an undeniable chemistry, and their vulgarity— along with their sarcasm and brutal honesty— are definitely reason enough to tune in. After the introduction, Karen and Georgia each summarize a murder. They discuss the events leading up to the crime, the gory details, and the aftermath.

They also often discuss how the details of the crime and the criminal case against the murderer reflect on our society as a whole. They point out the tragic failings of our justice system, and they discuss inequalities and victim’s rights. From these discussions, Karen and Georgia often develop catchphrases that their Murderinos love, like “Pepper spray first, apologize later”. This phrase came about during a conversation that detailed the attack and attempted murder of a woman in northern California. The victim survived, and afterwards stated that she knew something was wrong even before her attacker hurt her. The advice to pepper spray first, apologize later was given to women listeners after discussing the fact that too often, women don’t act on their intuition (even if the feel they are in danger) for fear of being impolite.

Though there are over 80 episodes, Karen and Georgia never seem desensitized or any less horrified when listening to murder stories, and their genuine reactions are another reason the show does so well. The podcast has received a lot of praise for normalizing an interest in true crime amongst listeners who previously considered themselves morbid or odd, discussing the sense of isolation and compartmentalization that often arises in those with outlying but healthy interests. The hosts also give back to the community they’ve become so wrapped up in: Many of the show’s profits from donations or direct sale of goods are donated to local police departments to fund examination of the backlog of untested rape kits.

My Favorite Murder is both tragedy and comedy, and it’s definitely worth a listen.

Lauren lives in OB with her French bulldog, Elvis Presley. She loves laughter and the great outdoors. You can contact her at [email protected].

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