I was always that weird girl growing up who loved true crime. While my father was still a police officer, I always wanted to hear about his interesting stories on the job. As a child, I would snuggle up with my mom and watch the Lifetime Movie Network. I never truly understood why I was so interested in true crime. It could be so depressing, but I found it so interesting.
When I reached high school, I was still that weird girl who loved true crime. It was like a guilty pleasure of mine, that most people did not understand. The beginning of my senior year, I had a teacher recommend "My Favorite Murder" to me.
I have always been leery of podcasts because they could never hold my focus. However, I took a chance and began listening, and I never knew how much I would get out of it.
The podcast's premise is simple, the hosts Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff each choose a murder or a survival story for the week. They retell the case from the beginning to the end, often with some laughs in between. What truly sold me on the podcast was the comedy aspect. True crime can often be very somber, so the premise of a comedy murder podcast seems oxymoronic but it works more than it should.
In the first episode, Hardstark and Kilgariff tell the story of how they met and how they began the podcast. The story goes that they met at a party and while Hardstark was telling the story of Michael Peterson. Several of the guests were dismayed by the story, but not Kilgariff. Kilgariff had heard the story, and they spent all night speaking about the different theories of the case. After hearing this I knew that these were my people. Finally, I had found the people who loved everything about true crime, and I no longer felt like that weird girl. There are people like me.
My Favorite Murder is more than a murder podcast, it's more than a comedy podcast. It transcends any one genre and has become its own. Kilgariff and Hardstark both speak about their hardships with their mental health and addiction and lead the battle against stigmatizing mental health issues. They were the people that showed me that therapy isn't something for sick people, it can be for everyone. A podcast about true crime has given several people hope that they will get better.
The next time that you are feeling down, or want a laugh, or doing anything really turn on My Favorite Murder. In fact, drop everything and listen to the first episode. You won't regret it.
