‘My Favorite Murder’ podcast: All the best episodes to listen to
Howdy ho, Murderinos! Since 2016, Georgia Hardstark & Karen Killgariff have been telling hilarious, fascinating true crime tales on Exactly Right Networks’s My Favorite Murder. Each week, Kilgariff & Hardstark (or as fans know them, just Karen & Georgia) recount their weeks before taking turns to tell each other – and the audience – tales of true crime.
Adding humor to dark material, the ladies are responsible for the recent rise in the true crime genre, with millions of listeners tuning in each week and attending their live tours (back when it was safe to interact with the world). If you are looking for your next true crime pod or just need something entertaining for your commute, here are some of the best episodes to get you started.
Episode 75: Breakfast Wine
My Favorite Murder fans know the best part of an episode is when our hosts go off on tangents and boy, does this episode diverge. Hardstark covers the creepy Mainline Murders, in which Jay C. Smith, a principal at a Pennsylvania High School, kills his colleague Susan Reinert and her children.
With twists, turns and discussions about “the female orgasm,” this episode has some of the podcast’s best bits and gives the untrained listener a taste of what makes My Favorite Murder a hit.
Episode 18: Investigateighteen Discovery
While the show is known for its humor (Karen Kilgariff is a professional standup comedian), Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark know when to keep it serious. This episode, while hard to listen to, shows the importance of talking about conversations surrounding rape & abuse. The episode tells the story of Mary Vincent who miraculously survived a brutal rape attack.
In 1978, Mary Vincent was hitchhiking to Las Vegas, when she was picked up by Lawrence Bernard Singleton. He then raped her, cut off her arms and left her to die on the interstate near Del Puerto Canyon, California. Amazingly, Vincent didn’t die and dragged herself to safety.
While this episode is truly dark & twisted, Karen & Georgia’s passion for justice shines through the true evil of this case, making it one of the more moving My Favorite Murder installments.
Episode 129: Coincidence Island
Sometimes the story of the week eclipses the comedic storytelling brilliance of Hardstark & Kilgariff and this episode certainly does. Georgia uses the second part of the episode to tell us about The Galapagos Affair, a bizarre true story of a scientific couple who move from Europe to the Galapagos in the 30s to create “a new Eden.”
Turns out, the dude in the relationship, Friedrich Ritter has a god complex and is a tyrant and refuses to help a family who comes to the island inspired by his travels. Also a polyamourous bisexual throuple led by a egotistical baroness arrive on the island and sh@& hits the fan. Insane twists, turns – and murder – await you in this unbelievable story.
Bonus: Minisode 157
Minisodes are always hit or miss – some of the show’s best moments come in the Monday episodes where Karen and Georgia read fan emails detailing their own experiences with murder, survival and even the supernatural. Mini episode 157 has one of the most side splitting and shocking fan letters in the show’s history.
Kilgariff, in a spot-on southern accent, reads an email from a listener recounting a hilarious college meeting about the “demon portals in the library.” Wonderfully and weirdly written, the two minute segment has enough hilarity – and ghostbuster puns – to make you cry. Any story that includes the line, “Y’all just be conscientious. This is a haunted college,” has us hooked.
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Are you a murderino? What are some of your favorite episodes? Tell us in the comments below and remember to stay sexy and don’t get murdered. Goodbye!