{"id":1798,"date":"2017-12-01T14:56:11","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T14:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.satellite.mmu.ac.uk\/northernquota-old\/2017\/12\/01\/my-favorite-murder-no-1-true-crime-podcast-and-their-manchester-fans\/"},"modified":"2017-12-01T14:56:11","modified_gmt":"2017-12-01T14:56:11","slug":"my-favorite-murder-no-1-true-crime-podcast-and-their-manchester-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/satellite.mmu.ac.uk\/northernquota-old\/my-favorite-murder-no-1-true-crime-podcast-and-their-manchester-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"My Favorite Murder: The No 1 True Crime Podcast and their Manchester fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

In less than two years, My Favorite Murder <\/a>has moved from first episode to worldwide cult following.<\/p>\n

Each week, LA-based hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark tell each other true crime story, signing off saying ‘Stay Sexy, Don\u2019t Get Murdered’. The podcast, however, is far from a detail true crime expose. Karen and Georgia spend the first half of the episode chatting about anything and everything other than murder.<\/p>\n

Since its launch, the podcast has been high up on the iTunes Comedy Podcasts charts, gaining half a million downloads per episode. The podcasts\u2019 hardcore fans, known as Murderinos, have taken the show to their hearts, making everything from fan art of Georgia\u2019s cats to merch from lines from the show. Some even get tattoos.<\/p>\n

Murderinos are also invited to share the own \u201chometown murder\u201d stories, which are retold by Karen and Georgia in their own ‘minisodes’.<\/p>\n

Now, the podcast is touring all over the world with the pair telling true crime stories from each location they visit. A Manchester date, at the Albert Hall, quickly sold out.<\/p>\n

We spoke to Manchester-based fans of the podcast about the show and true crime in general.<\/p>\n

It seems common for people to first hear about My Favorite Murder from word of mouth.<\/p>\n

Robyn Gee, a 23-year-old MMU art history student from Rossendale, got her bug for true crime from her stepmum.  <\/p>\n

\u201cMy stepmum was super into true crime when I was younger and there were a lot of true crime books around the house. As I got older, I started doing research and watching true crime documentaries, then my mum showed me her obsession and it kinda just grew from there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Jess Lewis, a 30-year-old netball coach from Stalybridge, first heard the podcast from her sister. \u201cI was out running with my sister, Helen, and she said ‘Oh, I\u2019ve heard this podcast. I think you\u2019d really like it. It\u2019s called My Favorite Murder. I said alright, and didn\u2019t think anything of it. But then she sent me the link and I\u2019ve been hooked since then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naomi Newman, a 32-year-old science administrator from Trafford, had the podcast recommended to her by a friend.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI\u2019ve got a good friend whose super into true crime, to a very extreme extent. She found this whole world of true crime podcasts, which was primarily led with My Favorite Murder as the absolute pinnacle of things. She kept recommending it and I was like ‘Yeah, I\u2019ll get round to it at some point\u201d, and then did and lost hours of my life.'”<\/p>\n

When asked why they enjoyed the podcast so much, the same answer kept coming back – Karen and Georgia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like their relationship\u201d, said Naomi. \u201cI like how they talk about 1200 different things that aren\u2019t anything to do with murder. I know some people get really annoyed at that, but I could listen to them talk about anything.  I just think it\u2019s just an honest and true depiction of female friendship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jess explains why she thinks the dynamic works so well: \u201cKaren is a really good storyteller. She\u2019s very to the point, whereas Georgia tells you how she\u2019s feeling. Georgia is the reactor, but Karen is the better story teller. I think that\u2019s why it works well\u201d.<\/p>\n

Laughing, she adds, \u201cUsually, I\u2019m feeling what Georgia\u2019s feeling\u201d.<\/p>\n

It seems obvious that true crime fans like the subject partly because of the sense of mystery, with unsolved cases, such as the Zodiac Killer and JonBen\u00e9t Ramsey, generating hundreds of books, documentaries and podcasts.<\/p>\n

Another reason why people are interested in true crime may seem less obvious. A 2010 study published by Social Psychological and Personality Science found that more women are fans of true crime than men. The potential reasons for this are many, with one of the them being that many women can relate to the violence against women and to the victims themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the reasons the podcast is particularly appealing to women, is that even if you don\u2019t acknowledge it in your day to day life, there is a potential looming threat over your entire existence\u201d, said Naomi.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fear of violence in our day-to-day lives of women. Even if you are not directly in fear of it, it is built into you.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t walk in the park after dark, that\u2019s not safe to do!\u201d You\u2019ll probably be fine is the reality of it, but you might not be. So, for women, the podcast is a funny way of looking at this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another reason for this is that many podcasts give advice about how to potentially get out of situations involved in true crime. One of My Favorite Murder\u2019s most popular quotes is \u201cFuck Politeness\u201d, meaning you shouldn\u2019t be afraid to potentially be rude to someone and go with your gut if a situation doesn\u2019t feel right. Jess elaborates on this idea.<\/p>\n

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Badaass tattoo on @jyananda! #myfavoritemurder #tattoo #fuckpoliteness #murderino<\/a><\/p>\n

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