If you’re a fan of true crime podcasts and all things murder (in a good way), you may be able to tell which one easily tops the chart for me. “My Favorite Murder” has changed my LIFE. I listen to it when I’m getting ready in the morning. I replay old episodes to listen to while I fall asleep. I make my poor boyfriend listen to it on long road trips. It’s an obsession, but it’s also like therapy. Here are a few reasons you should give it a try (preferably if you’re into true crime, otherwise you might be a little freaked out).
1. Do it for the hosts, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Karen and Georgia met at a party a few years back. What did they bond over? Their love for true crime, of course. The rest is history. These two powerful and hilarious women really make you feel like you’re sitting right there with them as you’re listening. Karen is a producer, writer and actress who knows her stuff when it comes to the small details. Georgia on the other hand, has hosted shows such as Unique Sweets, and is overall a sweet TV personality with a love for all things cats. The two combined creates a wonderful balance when covering such grim topics sometimes.
2. They are advocates for mental health and other issues
What I love about Karen and Georgia is that they are open about almost everything. When it comes to covering murders that feature mentally unstable perpetrators, they are there to use the correct terminology. Both hosts are super open about their pasts regarding mental health, addictions and other experiences. Doing so de-stigmatizes mental health talk and normalizes using the correct and mindful lingo.
3. The side conversations are great
While covering murder stories, Karen and Georgia sometimes get sidetracked in something known to the podcast as “sidebar nation”. The tangents they go off on during all the murder-talk often feature anecdotes from their own lives (some of which are super relatable) and funny discussions. Overall, they’re great to listen to for stuff besides murder.
Additionally, they also do mini episodes, in which people send them stories from their hometowns and a lot of them feature stuff besides murder like supernatural experiences, first responder stories and weird coincidence stories.
4. It’s informative (yep!)
A lot of times during their sidebars, Karen and Georgia will discuss current events, which is always appropriate, especially when the current events include tragedies. Additionally, sometimes people will send in stories that go, “my mom escaped from Ted Bundy and this is what she said” or “I know someone who worked the crime scene,” and it just goes from there. Karen and Georgia also revisit mistakes they made in past episodes and promptly correct them!
5. There have some great quotes
Well, to start, their saying is “Stay sexy and don’t get murdered.” (Need I say more about that?)
Of course their funny personalities would supply endless iconic and funny quotes that many fans embroider onto clothes and make art out of. Here’s a list of my favorite quotes from the podcast and they’re even funnier with no context:
”Fuck politeness”- Karen and Georgia talking about strangers that give you a bad feeling.
“Get a job, buy your own shit, stay OUT of the forest.”
“Toxic masculinity ruins the party again.”
“You’re in a cult, call your dad.” – Karen and Georgia talking about people ending up in cults.
There are so many more iconic quotes that MFM fans have pulled, and they’re all equally funky, funny and empowering!
6. They have everything: cats, conversation and a great assistant. It’s overall a good time.
At the end of each episode, Georgia lures her one-eyed Siamese cat, Elvis, over to the mic for a treat.
“Elvis, do you want a cookie?” is always followed by a sweet little meow, and that, in addition to Karen and Georgia signing off with “Stay sexy, don’t get murdered” has become the podcast’s signature thing.
Oh, and they also have a fantastic producer and assistant named Steven who helps add a lot of comedic gold and voice to the podcast as they refer to him and joke around with him. The overall tone of the episodes with the hosts, the cats and of course, Steven, is a positive one.
If you haven’t yet been exposed to the wonders of “My Favorite Murder”, what are you doing?? They upload episodes every Monday and Thursday, and are on multiple podcast platforms. You’re only about 110 episodes behind at this point, so catch up!