Podcast Advent Day 7: My Favourite Murder

Yes, the name might throw you if you haven't heard of this one before, but at least Karen and Georgia are just making a quippy title to play on society's fascination with true crime.

For Day 7, we're going into the MFM (My Favourite Murder) universe for a podcast so popular it has an acronym and now it's hosts have their own a podcast publishing company! i.e. they went hard on true crime, which makes them sound crass and heartless but that's certainly not how they come off in their primary production. 

Each week, typically, Karen and Georgia take it in turns to describe a true crime, and share a lot of details from extensive research so listeners can truly understand what happened and, where possible, why. They have a great storytelling approach that is simple but aims to paint the full picture, sometimes pausing for the other to consider the context or ask questions the listeners are also probably holding on to in that moment.

Occasionally sharing a disaster or even a survivor story (the topics of today's episode), the hosts focus on uplifting the victims of the crimes and shining a light on where policing policies and practices may have failed us in the past, or continue to do so today. Their extended literature review of true crime also highlights the disproportionate impact on women, and indigenous women which leads them to encourage women to 'stay sexy, and don't get murdered'.

For me, this podcast was another launderette or long-walk favourite during COVID, as Karen and Georgia were so real with how they were dealing with isolation and the general s***show taking place. They even started a new feature sharing what was getting them through, like books and documentaries.

One of the things I gained that still sits with me were the episodes on British disasters, especially the Hillsborough Disaster. As a child when some of these incidents take place, you only have memories of vibes, and listening to a (more) accurate retelling of these helps to add accurate context, not only for what took place but also acts as a light for the media coverage and how the adults around you interpret is all. 

Today's episode though is probably considered an even more impressionable topic - the death of Aaliyah, followed by (spoilers) a survivor story that will leave you on disbelief!