The Ying and Yang of True Crime Comedy Podcasts: "My Favorite Murder" and "Last Podcast on the Left"
Courtesy of Mandee Johnson and Last Podcast.com
Okay, let me give you a glimpse into my daily commute home: It’s six o’clock, and I’ve just turned onto the 101. Every lane is already completely blocked with nighttime traffic, and merging is proving beyond impossible. The setting sun is behind me, making it difficult to see anyone in my blind spot or side mirrors, and it’s 90 some degrees in the car because I just had to move to sunny Los Angeles. I am in a mood. Suddenly my phone connects to my bluetooth, and the car’s speakers blare the following:
Georgia: “Socially awkward and considered a “sissy” at sports and he’s cruel to animals pretty quickly. And it ranged from “stoning dogs, decapitating rabbits, and-” nope. I can’t read that. It’s about a cat.”
I laugh at the absurdity, and suddenly I feel a whole lot better, as I often do when listening to the conversations and revelations of My Favorite Murder, a podcast hosted by comedy writer Karen Kilgariff and former Food Network star Georgia Hardstark. Every week these two lively ladies sit down to either read fan submitted tales of murder and mayhem, or their own research on their favorite weird, freaky, and often twisty tales of true crime. Some of their episodes have covered heavy hitters such as Ed Kemper and Karla Homolka, while others dive into single cases like the murder of Molly Bish and the unsolved case of Ronni Chasen.
Besides being entertaining, solely because the two of them are revelling in the obscure and the scary, it’s extremely funny. Though most of the humor relies on impressions, a constant mispronunciation of “attic,” and plays on victims’ and killers’ names, a lot of the laughs come from the back and forth between the two hosts as they incidentally talk about their daily lives and fraught pasts. As a consequence of their honesty they often delve into topics not often covered in the true crime genre, including mental health, interpersonal relationships, addiction, and feminism. Though there are many laughs to be had, they are not at the expense of the victims, who are often referred to as “sweet baby angels.” Besides cats the two of them have immense empathy for everyone, including the most vulnerable among us, and they often pause a show to get on their soapboxes about rape kits, police agencies’ inability to take women of color’s murders seriously, and the importance of being intersectional. When you listen to them talk it feels like you’re part of a macabre girls’ night in, with as many questions about personal lives as anecdotes about meeting Ted Bundy’s brother.
While MFM (as their fans, called murderinos, affectionately call the show) feels like coming home after being away so long, Last Podcast on the Left feels like a visit to your favorite neighborhood bar. Helmed by master researcher Marcus Parks, man of a thousand voices Henry Zebrowski, and amiable giant Ben Kissel, this true crime comedy podcast not only leaves you gasping for air with laughter, but delves deep into every aspect of the occult, cults, crime, murder, and mayhem. Broad as it is hilarious, Marcus Parks provides grueling research that makes for entertaining episodes made to feel like college lectures (if said lectures were bookended by loud impressions and asides about traumatic childhoods and mental illness). If you want to know everything, and I mean everything, about subjects such as L. Ron Hubbard, Jonestown, The Hillside Stranglers, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Kaczynski, or Jack the Ripper, and you also want to laugh so hard you cry, this is the podcast for you. These sometimes five part (that’s five-seven hours) series will teach you everything you need to know about the worst of society, in a way that will keep you from having horrible nightmares constantly.
The tamer jokes are only slightly morbid, like the following:
Henry: it’s a professional name, you can’t have a cop dog with a name like Peanut Butter.
Ben: what why not?
Henry: it needs to have a serious name.
…
Marcus: the other cadaver dog does actually have a very fun name especially for a cadaver dog…
Ben: ruffles wrinkles runkles?
Marcus: BONES
Other jokes are much thornier, including Henry’s impressions of Charles Ng, David Berg, and Carl Panzram. You wouldn’t think molestation, sodomy, or terrorism could be funny, but they often find the funny in the throngs of madness and hysteria that they unleash. The only episode that they couldn’t bounce back in was the deeply disturbing Japanese War Crimes, one that I do NOT recommend. Otherwise, they oftentimes make up for the harsh nature of their material with stories and ballsy humor that a lesser comedian could never have touched with a ten foot pole.
There are a lot of true crime comedy podcasts in today’s media landscape, but these are the two giants. They each cover similar topics, but each has its own message, agenda, and nuances. While MFM is made to feel like a loose though entertaining conversation, the storytelling element is key. Even if Karen is just recounting her favorite episodes of I Survived or Criminal it feels like a revelatory experience wherein a good friend is letting you in on an amazing secret.The true crime genre is generally dominated by the narrative of the straight white man taking down a fragile woman, but Georgia and Karen are turning it on its head. They often champion the stories of survivors, of strong women overcoming it all, and the people responsible for finding justice for victims. LPTL is a steady blend of information and jokes, relying on both deep preparedness and loose improvisation, two things that rarely work well together. Each of three hosts provides their own influence to the podcast, bringing needed perspective to topics such as serial murder, war, and infamous court trials. While they’re not as focused on advocacy as their colleagues, they often take time to speak directly to potential killers, telling them to get help. Marcus, who has had struggles with mental issues his entire life, is quick to squash any jokes about children or the most vulnerable, and the group often remarks on the travesty of any life wasted. It doesn’t stop them from reading weird erotic fiction or doing impressions of Robert Pinkton, but it’s definitely heartening.
The podcast hosts’ camaraderie and mutual respect is in evidence in their crossover episode, where we learn about their origins and their struggles of starting out. While MFM has exploded since they premiered in 2016 (giving way to two comedy tours, a book deal, and a new podcast network) LPTL took many years and countless episodes to finally find an audience who appreciated the hardcore length and time associated with their episodes. While I definitely recommend newer episodes of each, there’s nothing wrong with doing a deep dive if you’re super excited about an early episode concerning Richard Speck or the Toybox Killer.
What these two podcasts have done best, by simply existing, is to create communities that bring people together. Fans of these shows have found friendship, commiseration, and a sense of belonging, not just in loving tragic stories of human misery, but in being able to share their own miseries and joys. I know that if I meet a fellow Murderino, I am meeting someone who loves a crazy story, who wants to be more open to the world, who loves to laugh, and who cares about their fellow man. If someone else loves LPTL I know that they push boundaries, try to see the beauty in an ugly world, have the darkest humor possible, and will show me a good time. Those are a lot of characteristics for an entire group of people to fall under, but in my experience it’s mostly been true.
Now let me give you another quick glimpse into my life: I’m at home on my balcony, watching the sunset on the horizon. My fiance plops down next to me, and we each detail what episode we’ve listened to that day, or commiserate over one we’ve both listened to, our voices rising in excitement at the goriest details. Thanks to these fine folks, we have created safe spaces to discuss the horror of the world without letting it crush us. True crime is a genre made for a diverse amount of people, but these podcasters bring us all together, bloody and brilliant every step of the way.
