Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat have completely converted me into a podcast addict. At first, I remained loyal to Crime Junkie and did not explore other shows. However, as I finished all 100+ episodes, I needed to fill the other 6 days of the week (Crime Junkie releases an episode every Monday) with other forms of podcast entertainment. I finished the story of Adnan Syed on Sarah Koenig’s Serial and dabbled with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark’s My Favorite Murder. However, no podcast has been able to capture me like Crime Junkie. Here are some of my top reasons you should also become obsessed:
- Ashley and Brit are Indiana, through and through.
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Ashley and Brit are very open about their lives in Indiana and how much they love being a Hoosier. Better yet, both of these ladies were raised in the South Bend/Mishawaka area. So, in addition to feeling like they’re your new best friends, Notre Dame students can develop an even stronger bond with these ladies.
- You get your information straight up
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Unlike other True Crime podcasts, Crime Junkie wastes no time in delivering you the story you want to hear. There is no pre-chatter between you and the crime, these ladies dive right into the progression of the crime.
- Novel, chilling stories
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Initially, I thought that Crime Junkie was going to cover infamous cases like Bundy, Manson and Dahmer. While Ashley and Brit receive several requests to tell these stories, they acknowledge that these stories have been told over and over. Instead, they cover less popular stories that are just as mind-boggling and freaky. One of these stories is the story of Israel Keyes, a story that gives me *full body chills* (a phrase that Brit continuously uses) each time I listen to it.
- Crime Junkie works with and promotes Crime Stoppers
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Before listening to Crime Junkie, I had never heard of this non-profit. Crime Stoppers dedicates its work to solving cases with the help of the public calling in tips anonymously. Rather than fearing repercussions of submitting a tip, calling Crime Stoppers allows peace of mind in submitting information to the police, no matter the size of the tip.
- A Patreon account unlocks a whole new world of stories
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For Christmas this year, my cousin gifted me a membership to the Crime Junkie Patreon account. This, and I am not exaggerating, was my favorite gift. Five dollars a month allows members to listen to more stories, some of which are the more popular, fan requested stories. For example, in January, they finally told the story of Natalee Holloway. While this story initially broke in 2005, it is still the reason that my parents stand hesitant on allowing me to go on Spring Break with friends. Hearing Ashley and Brit discuss this story not only opened my eyes to unbiased information about the case 15 years ago, but also gave more information about the injustice her family faced over 10 years after her disappearance. They also JUST released an hour-long episode covering the crimes in Tiger King and I am listening as I write this.
- Ashley and Brit are Notre Dame fans
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If you go onto either of their Instagram accounts, you’ll see tailgating photos, some in front of Hes and inside the stadium. Do I even need to say more?
- Serious life tips
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These ladies provide serious tips and tricks to ensure your safety in person and online. Their key phrase is “be weird, be rude, stay alive.” They also encourage each of their listeners to create an “if I go missing” folder, containing iphone passwords, email address information, apple ID, etc. in the situation that you may disappear because there are too many situations in which people go missing but their loved ones stand lost on how they can begin to look into their history/their phone data.
Overall, from the first episode to the most recent one, you will feel like you are having a conversation with your best friends. My recommendations for some convincing and addicting episodes are:
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The Preppy Murder, aired on October 28th, 2020
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Serial Killer: Dr. No, aired on Jan 21, 2019
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Serial Killer: L.I.S.K, aired April 1th, 2018
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Serial Killer: Israel Keyes, aired May 6th, 2019
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Murdered: Kacie Woody, aired March 25th, 2019