"Morbid: A True Crime Podcast" Cohosts Ash And Alaina Got Into Crime Because Of "E! True Hollywood Story"
True crime content is as ~morbid~ as it is fascinating — from Jeffrey Dahmer to Ed Kemper to Dorothea Puente to the DC Sniper(s). I've never met a true crime fact that I didn't want to learn more about.
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Now, I personally have written a lot of true crime content, and some of my main sources come from podcasts — one in particular: Morbid: A True Crime Podcast.
So, IMAGINE MY UTTER JOY when I was given the opportunity to chat with Morbid cohosts Ash and Alaina about starting a true crime pod, their most rewarding cases to research, and their upcoming live show that everyone should tune into 👀.
Here's everything we learned:
1.What made you want to start a true crime podcast?
2.How did you set out to differentiate yourself from other true crime podcasts?
3.How many cases are you working on at a time? How do you plan your cases?
4.Your structure is different from other true crime podcasts — how did you develop it?
5.What was the first true crime case that piqued your interest in the genre?
Alaina: The Black Dahlia. That was the first one I really dove into and thought, "Wow, people can do that to one another?" I remember watching the E! True Hollywood Story and seeing the blurred-out crime scene photos and thinking that I needed to lean more about Elizabeth and what happened to her.
Ash: I also remember watching a episode of True Hollywood Story that was a countdown of the worst cases and getting really into the Manson Family murders and wanting to know more about how Charles Manson didn't actually kill anyone — but is considered a serial killer?
6.What has been your favorite case to research? And what has been your most rewarding case to present?
Ash: I really enjoyed the research process of the Wonderland murders. There were a lot of different parts and intense research, so when it all came together, I was really proud. The most rewarding case was the murder of Molly Bish, because afterward, we got to talk to her sister, Heather, and it was so moving to hear about Molly as a person and not just a victim.
Alaina: My favorite case to research was the Villisca axe murders. It was a wild one — also the Salem witch trials. I have a book several inches thick of every confession, warrant, and deposition.
The most rewarding episode(s) were the West Memphis Three — the more I researched, the more I realized it wasn't cut and dry in the least and that justice was not served.
7.If you could solve one unsolved case, which would it be?
Ash: JonBenet Ramsey. I just gotta know.
Ash: Christa Helm — that case was so bonkers, and I just need to know what happened!
8.OK, your latest digital event with Moment House is titled "Gilded Gore." What can you tell us about it?
![Ash: We 100% planned the show itself around the costumes [laughs]. [Writer's note: Ash and Alaina planned this theme BEFORE the Met Gala, which also had a Gilded Age theme.] Ash and Alaina's first event was titled Cinema Macabre and their second event was titled The Dapper and the Flapper.](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ZYW9cwVBmS.RhX9tQCD2Vg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk2MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/buzzfeed_articles_778/f3f3b2298fae5d33c671cc925230beb8)
Ash: We 100% planned the show itself around the costumes [laughs]. [Writer's note: Ash and Alaina planned this theme BEFORE the Met Gala, which also had a Gilded Age theme.]
Ash and Alaina's first event was titled Cinema Macabre and their second event was titled The Dapper and the Flapper.
Thanks so much for chatting with us, Ash and Alaina! Be sure to purchase tickets — available now — to Gilded Gore, which premieres on May 19 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET!
Aaaaannnd, if you're curious about any of the cases we mentioned in our chat, you can listen to their episodes on them!
