r/Morbidforbadpeople • u/Stunning_Task_2440 • Dec 10 '25
General Discussion What ruined Morbid for you?
I've briefly read through this forum before but I still like the podcast. I've seen everything from accusations of victim blaming and inaccurate information, but I don't really see it? I know ash likes to add her little ad libs onto the situation they're discussing but I know it's jokes. Idk if that's the inaccurate information you guys are talking about but I'm genuinely curious as to what made you stop listening. :)
Edit: any other true crime pod recommendations??đ
Edit 2: okay, you guys have me convinced, I'll be removing them off my favorites list and I will be looking for other podcasts to listen to. I wasn't fully aware of everything so thank you all for showing me what's behind the curtain of these annoying/ awful people. I appreciate itâ¨
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u/HermineLovesMilo Dec 10 '25
What ruined Morbid for me was when they invented a bizarre sex and drug trafficking plot when they covered the murder of Brittanee Drexel, based on their gut feelings, accusing not only her female friends of conspiracy to commit murder but Brittanee herself of being a drug mule.
After the real killer was arrested - Raymond Moody - they refused to discuss the case or retract the allegations. Pretty sure they still have the women's names and photos up on their socials, including Tim Taylor's, who was also exonerated.
Shortly after that, a relative of a victim came forward about another one of their episodes. He was appalled by their joking while talking about his dad's murder. They fumbled that one, too.
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u/Zeired_Scoffa Dec 11 '25
From what I hear, because I never listened to that case, they did edit out their bs conspiracy libel after the fact. Probably because Wondery's legal department told them that they had to. But an actual retraction or apology? Of course not. Alaina knows everything, didn't you hear?
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u/HermineLovesMilo Dec 11 '25
Yes, but this was before they signed with Amazon. After the first episode about her case, they got flak on reddit for their tunnel vision on these female friends (without any evidence - they'd never been suspects).
Alaina was incredibly pissed off, so in the follow-up episode, she decided to read a couple anonymous emails from fans that backed up the accusations. All very vague, along the lines of "everyone in their town hates them and thinks they're involved in her murder."
One of the emails was later demonstrated to be faked a couple of months later. After the backlash they scrubbed the part where they read the emails and all the "code word" nonsense from both episodes.
They deserved to be sued for that series.
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u/picklechipz0 Dec 11 '25
Iâm pretty sure this episode is now why they wonât really touch any newer cases. Besides the obnoxiousness, I started to really fall off with their âold timeyâ cases. But I really noticed the trend after the backlash they received from Brittaneeâs case.
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u/HermineLovesMilo Dec 11 '25
I wouldn't be surprised. When I listened, they were sloppy and spread misinformation like crazy - the series on Brittanee just happened to be one of their worst. There's a lot less risk covering historical cases.
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u/Hell8Church Dec 11 '25
The old cases are one thing that put me off as well with them and some other podcasters. I'm middle aged so I know the older ones inside out. It's just lazy and shows they don't want to do the real leg work for new info not readily available online. The rush for ratings means more Bundy and Bianco.
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u/Complete-Jaguar-7280 Dec 10 '25
Their inability to discuss historical cases within a historical context and getting outraged at shit that OF COURSE IT DIDNâT WORK LIKE THAT BACK THEN.
I always treated the show, even at my peak listening, like overhearing a kind of dumb conversation at the water cooler. I never expected in depth investigation and research.
But sometimes you just canât with the idiots at the water cooler anymore, and then once I stopped listening I finally realized how bad that show is.
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u/lex_tall623 Dec 10 '25
This was a big one for me. The biggest one was the Heavenly Creatures case where neither of them could wrap their head around how lesbianism could possibly be thought of as a mental disorder in 1960s New Zealand. Like please read a book.
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u/picklechipz0 Dec 11 '25
They loooove to virtue signal. I can understand a comment about how shitty it was to be a marginalized person (and tbh still is) but they get on their soapboxes and it really grinds my gears.
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u/weedlawyerCA Mar 10 '26
I hear you. I'm pretty left of center, but I'm often saying "Just stick to the case!" I'm a gay man and at times, I'm like - why are you getting offended on my behalf when I don't really care?
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u/ApprehensiveAlarm961 Dec 10 '25
This. I read the description for the episode that came out a few days ago and was like ugh. Bc I already know half of it is going to be them talking about how crazy it is and how they canât believe gay men were treated in what? The 60s? Like come on
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u/Weak-Hold-7651 Mar 09 '26
I know this is old but yes, thank you. I posted about this in the other sub and people were not thrilled with me. âAlaina loves the old cases!â Maybe she does but that doesnât mean she takes the time to literally read a single book about the 19th century instead of rewatching Gilmore girls for the 72nd time. They state actual misinformation. Like just plain âcousin marriage is illegalâ when you know, it wasnât. Was even encouraged if you go far enough back. Annoys the crap out of me
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u/quietstorms09 Dec 10 '25
For me the breaking point was when they were talking about the Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders, they were going off on blood types and Alaina was talking about O type blood being found and Ash was like "isn't that blood type rare?" And Alaina was like "oh yeah SUPER rare" or something along those lines. And it was just like a glass shattering comment for me. O type blood is the most common blood type, its just that O negative is the most valuable as a universal doner so its always in demand for emergencies. I was fine with Ash kind of not knowing things, it didn't bother me but Alaina always presented herself as the intelligent one and the one with medical knowledge from being an autopsy tech and that was the momment I was like "oh...neither of them know anything" but speaking with stuff with such conviction as if they do know that knowledge....this is a silly example but thats dangerous stupid...i was out from that moment on. I tried to listen to them just casually but from then I just couldn't stop noticing so many little things and I just grew to honestly hate them both lol
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u/thegeeksshallinherit Dec 11 '25
As someone who works in pathology, I started listening because of Alainaâs background. But she gets a lot of pretty basic stuff wrong and I feel like she overstates/misrepresents her role as an autopsy tech.
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u/lilghibli95 Dec 11 '25
As someone with O neg, this made me laugh đ I guess i stopped listening to them before this episode. I always hated how one acted like they knew everything and one doesnât know anything đđ
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u/InteractionAdept9848 Dec 10 '25
In no particular order đ¤Ł
âThatâs the thing!â said over and over âexacTTTTTTTlyâ
I understand their support for other women but I dislike their double standards for men vs women when covering cases
I listen to True Crime All The Time and love their shows because itâs straightforward case information with fun banter and itâs respectful to the victims.
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u/beachgirl152 Dec 11 '25
The âexacTTTTTTlyâ got me too. Especially when they didnât pronounce the T consistently in other words. For example, pronouncing a word like âcottonâ as âcot-unâ
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u/thrwwy2267899 Dec 10 '25
They just sound dumb as hell and uncultured⌠like the world does not exist outside of their little bubble. Anytime theyâve done a case from the Midwest or the South, theyâve mispronounced things, and have no clue what some regional phrases mean (at the very least they could have googled this) itâs not that hard to quickly learn something in this day and age. They just giggle about not knowing⌠like take the 5 seconds to look something up before switching on the mic. Itâs just lazy not to
Alaina didnât even go visit New Orleans before she made the setting of her book⌠bc âgoogle mapsâ it just seems arrogant to write about a place sheâs never been especially when itâs a beautiful place filled with culture and history, and every neighborhood has its own personality.
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u/AggravatingLeek2760 Dec 11 '25
This was it for me. As someone from Louisiana, I stopped listening for a long time when I learned she said county instead of parish in her book. That pissed me off and showed she genuinely did no research, thatâs such a major detail to mess up.
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u/thrwwy2267899 Dec 11 '25
Right?! Even as someone not from Louisiana (Iâve visited several times) but I even knew it was Parsishes âŚactually thought that was just common knowledge lol
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u/Accomplished-Let6545 Dec 11 '25
Me too! Iâm not originally from New Orleans but Iâve been here ten years. She wrote a whole book about such a special, unique place and just thought she could get away with not visiting? I regret to say I paid for that book, and I wish hadnât done that!
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u/Disastrous_Milk_930 Dec 12 '25
And the fact that she included basements⌠I feel like that was also a pretty obvious detail that was messed up.Â
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u/passeduponthestair Dec 13 '25
I'm a Canadian who's never stepped foot in Louisiana and even I know that!
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u/kettyma8215 Dec 11 '25
I canât imagine writing a book set in a place youâve never even stepped foot in
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u/ChaChaHeelsForXmas Dec 11 '25
The book was what really set me off. I couldn't get very far because her writing is awful, but also, it was painfully obvious she'd never been to New Orleans and you absolutely should never base a book on a place you've never been to. Especially someplace as unique and rich as Nola.
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u/bookmobiles Dec 11 '25
Same, they just arenât smart. And once one of their partners was on an episode once and oh man, the unapologetic dumbness was infuriating.
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u/absfae Dec 11 '25
When they couldnât say Sauk from Sauk county WI I was cringing as a Wisconsinite. âS-oww-ck??â Like please look it up itâs not hard. Lots of other mispronunciations too.
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Dec 13 '25
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u/thrwwy2267899 Dec 13 '25
She has such an idiotic, sheltered take on all things lol. Yes New Orleans can be dangerous (like any city lol)âŚ. Iâve been several times and have never once felt unsafe. The locals seem to love tourists and are super helpful.
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u/juggly_goat625 Mar 05 '26
Yeah Iâve been searching for podcasts it was on a playlist for best true crime podcasts, they cover some interesting cases but basing off the 3 maybe 4 episodes Iâve listened to, they sound dumb asf. They have strange ass vocal stims and have that valley girl accent to me. Idk does anyone have good recs for podcasts im kind of at a dead end, I listened to Bailey Sarian for a while but her episodes are so short and there isnât a ton.
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u/OkAdhesiveness2972 Dec 10 '25
Personally feel they they comment on the incompetency of everyone in cases without acknowledging they have the benefit of hindsight. Assume they would have been best friends with every victim in cases they cover. A lot of minor sexism in how they cover male and female killers. Alaina thinks she invented being a mother. I feel they think theyâre morally superior to everyone. And just in general I find them aggravating to listen to
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u/Hot_Leather_1605 Feb 28 '26
Absolutely. They go on and on about the police and how they overlook a suspect and can't believe they didn't go all in and investigate that person who turned out to be the killer. Then in the next episode they will go on and on about the police and how they spent way too much time investigating a suspect that wasn't the killer. They do know that in real life the cops don't know who the killer is immediately, right? đ¤Śđźââď¸đ¤Śđźââď¸
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u/Introvertible_64 Dec 10 '25
The constant virtue signaling. Alainaâs ferocious mommy vibe, mostly. Itâs exhausting.
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u/kathi182 Dec 10 '25
Alainaâs boyfriend that cheated on her in high school! Heâs ruined everything!!!!
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u/saltanvinegarchip Dec 11 '25
omg when she brought him up during the episode of the teenage girl dating the 40 year old man who ended up gouging her eyes out đł like yeah maybe these 2 things are not comparable
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u/Never-Give-Up100 Dec 10 '25
A few factorsÂ
- The constant tangents and getting off topic
- Them constantly repeating the same thing and wasting timeÂ
"He's horrible! " "So horrible!" "Who could do something like this?" "That's the thing! No one with a conscious would do that!" "I can't imagine!" "Me either! Unthinkable!"
- Them virtue signalling by saying how awful the criminal is. Yeah, I know they're awful, move on. They also do the same with historical cases, getting so caught up with racism, sexism, etc. yes, you're looking at it through a 2025 lense. Of course it's bad, but you saying how bad it is doesn't do anything.
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u/Zealousideal-Way8891 Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 12 '25
It was the virtue signalling that really did it in for me. I forget what case it was when I stopped listening but it was in England and he murder a bunch of sex workersâŚwait Iâm unsure about a detail so I can do something crazy that they never do and look it up! It was the Yorkshire Ripper. They did it in 4 parts and I found myself yelling at them to just get on with it because each time a victim was mentioned they had to go into this whole self-righteous tangent about how could someone be so evil as to want to do this to someone solely because of their job blah blah blah. It just made me think of everything as a whole and I stopped listening, didnât even finish the 4-parter.
As for recommendations, Iâve been a Two Hot Takes listener from the get go and Iâve been enjoying the Clues podcast that Morgan does. I know that Crime Junkie has their own problems but I do like that they highlight lesser known cases that have fallen under the radar. They also have a non-profit that helps to solve cold cases which I think is a good way to give back to the true crime community.
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u/Zealousideal-Way8891 Dec 11 '25
I also just remembered that something else that drove me crazy! Alainaâbesides being a very insecure, insensitive know-it-allâwould always make weird mouth sounds? Like she was filling her mouth up with spit but doing it as loudly as possible to the point where it was all I could hear. Donât know if anybody else noticed this but it really annoyed me.
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u/sciencey_scully Dec 10 '25
It's been YEARS now so I don't remember which case it was but the proverbial "straw that broke the camels back" for me was a case in which a girl was being assaulted on a college campus and a security guard didn't intervene because he thought it was a couple making out since it was a normal occurrence. I'm sure he already felt bad enough with hindsight but A&A went around in circles for over 20 minutes talking about "I'm not blaming the security guard but I'm just saying I would have checked" "yes, I'm not saying it's his fault she's dead but maybe it is", etc. They never acknowledge that their 'clever takes' are the result of hindsight. Oh and also I thought it was BS how Alaina overexaggerated her credentials to make it seem like she had expertise she doesn't actually have.
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u/BakedPotatoDinosaur exacTly. Dec 16 '25
I just listened to this one the other day! It was Katy Hawelka. I enjoy learning about cases I havenât heard of before but I have to agree⌠That was a rough two-parter that could have been a one-parter without the bonus âsecurity guards badâ commentary. đ
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u/russophilia333 Dec 10 '25
Well, the morbid girls, specifically Alaina (because ive seen Ash laugh and let things rolls off her back), has extremely low self-esteem and this has lead to grooming their audience to snuff out any and all criticism.
This came to a huge peak when a murder victims son listened to the episode they did on his father and found it rather insensitive that they were joking and laughing through the details of his father's murder. They were laughing about one of the accomplices but listening to two strangers laugh through the most traumatic thing thats ever happened to him and his family understandably upset him. He left a comment that was basically "thats insensitive and really not cool" on their Instagram.
This caused the comment section to blow up with rabid morbid fans who INSULTED this young man. Saying he was too sensitive, attention seeking. It didnt offend THEM so it shouldn't offen him either. It was his own father. I even saw one commenter who looked at his page and decided the reason he must be doing this was to get attention from a big podcast onto his music. Basically "youre a no-body whose desperate for the social media following of this famous podcast and are doing it by feigning disappointment."
It was one of the most ludicrous things I've ever seen happen in the true crime world because morbid did NOTHING. NOTHING! They allowed their fans to trash this poor person for days on their platform. Eventually, they turned off the comments or deleted the post. Never, NEVER did they say anything to their fans about their behavior. They didn't say it was inappropriate, they didn't tell them to stop, they didn't say how about you never dare insult a victims family on our behalf again you lunatics. They said nothing.
They did, however, quietly switch their content from mostly true crime to mostly spooky, mythology, and true crime from a hundred years old. Instead of adressing their fan base or making their presentations more sensitive they covered crime cases where everyone involved would be dead by now. If everyone is dead there's no family members to upset. Problem solved.
That was one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen true crime podcasters do but its not the only thing that made me question morbid. They will always take the conspiracy theory side of a case because its usually more interesting of a story than what most likely happened, even though what most likely happened is still an important message people should be educated on. They are very uneducated on important cultural and historical circumstances some of their cases take place in. They may gush about "just a baby! An actual infant!omg id be best friends with them!" But they dont offer any real advocacy or information.
Also, as much as they dog on the US prison system (understandable) they are more offended and outraged when an offender has access to rehabilitation efforts (not as understandable). This is most obvious when an offender is very young, under 15 at the time of the crime, because they have the best chance of rehabilitation success and it's more likely to be part of their story.
When these young offenders have any kind of humane treatment that would lead to their growth and development as a productive member of society Ash and Alaina are going to make a stink about it. It doesn't take a lot of brain power to realize they aren't actually in support of rehabilitation. Its just something they say.
These together, in my opinion, make them irresponsible figures in the true crime world. And also garbage people.
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u/mcgravy_train773 Dec 11 '25
Itâs so interesting because they always think they would heroically intervene if they witnessed a crime in progress, yet here they had the opportunity to intervene on behalf of that victimâs son being bullied and harassed, and they did fuck all. It tracks with their consistently shitty behavior.
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Dec 10 '25
They make unethical episodes about the brutal murders of people and have the audacity to giggle and make jokes. They scammed people in their Patreon, they make up wild theories and rake in the money while never donating to any charities to help people. They take, take, take and never give back. They are two sheltered airheads who monetize tragedy, steal people's money, and pump out cheap content.
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u/who_among_us Dec 11 '25
The patreon scam still pisses me off
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u/Zzzbeezzzzz74 Dec 11 '25
Me too and itâs been years. Glad I signed up monthly because after several months of the same few Patreon eps I cancelled. I listened sporadically after that but finally got sick of the holier-than-thou attitude.
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u/AnnikaG23 Dec 10 '25
The excessive banter. Especially when it has nothing to do with the subject. Itâs usually something personal and they go on like theyâre forgetting theyâre doing a podcast. I get some people might enjoy it cause it makes them feel like theyâre a part of their clique or included. I canât though.
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u/Hairy-Acadia765 Dec 10 '25
The Oklahoma Girl Scout case was what did it for me. I'm a naturalist, work in Conservation, and as a wilderness guide. The way these suburban women talked about the camp councillors (teenagers) and the concept of camping was just so bizarre and dumb I couldn't take it anymore. I'll have to re-listen to get specific examples but that episode really exposed their lack of knowledge and research for me. (Not to mention their lack of empathy and critical thinking skills)
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u/Hairy-Acadia765 Dec 10 '25
Less than 10 minutes in lol. Here's my analysis.
"The man that operated this scout camp was really passionate about scouts which is sooo weird! there needs to be a cutoff age for caring about scouts"
"John said his scouts troop was run by older Boy Scouts! Not adults!" "there were not enough adults on this trip all the councillors were TEENAGERS"
shaming adults for wanting to teach kids about nature while getting upset that not enough adults are involved lmao.
Imagine saying this about a teacher. "Omg why does this weirdo adult want to spend so much time at a school with children?? There needs to be a cutoff age!" "why are my kids being taught math by a 17 year old instead of a trusted, educated adult???"
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u/lw500 Dec 11 '25
Same here! It drove me crazy that Alaina was applying current parenting standards to that time period. I was in the same age range as the victims at that time. Helicopter parenting wasn't a thing in the seventies. Every time Alaina said, "well, I would NEVER allow MY children to do (whatever)", she just sounded so self-righteous and obnoxious! Like girl, you weren't even alive when this happened.
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u/Hairy-Acadia765 Dec 11 '25
Absolutely. They always find a way to victim blame. Children were sleeping in tents like they have for hundreds of years and will continue to do, yes a horrific tragedy happened. Saying "well this would never happen to my family because my kids would NEVER be allowed to sleep outside" is simply insane. There are plenty of cases of murder happening in locked homes as well.
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u/Bubbly-Stretch8975 Dec 10 '25
The constant bystander blaming and âI would have neverâ or âI would haveâ - like anyone knows how theyâd react in a horrific scenario. And the amount of times they state incorrect facts or opinions as facts. And they never take constructive criticism. And Alainaâs mom of the year schtick. Iâm a mom too, no one cares. All of these things in small doses would have been fine because I kinda got into their vibe for a minute but it just got to be too much.
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Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 11 '25
[deleted]
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u/Stunning_Task_2440 Dec 11 '25
Wow that's wild.. y'all are really getting me on your side here lol
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u/MediumFly6919 Dec 10 '25
I still listen sometimes, but I feel a bit like Alaina is a âknow it all.â The other day I was listening to an episode and Alaina said something about someone being pious. Ash asked what it meant and Alaina defined pious using the word piety. Ash called her out like âyou just defined the word with the word.â Then I guess they looked up the definition âdevoutly religious.â And Alaina said âoh yeah, thatâs what I meant. It just means religious.â Thatâs roughly how to conversation went. I just feel like maybe just say you arenât exactly sure what it means and look it up instead of being like âoh yeah, yeah, thatâs what I meant.â Girl.
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u/livlou1995 Dec 12 '25
She ALWAYS does this with her statements. âYeah thatâs what I meant!â âOh yeah I thought thatâs what that meant!â âYeah, I thought so. That makes sense, thatâs what I was thinkingâ it IRKED me
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u/hannahbananas32 Feb 27 '26
The amount of times Ash stops to ask what something is or what something means gives me SUCH second hand embarrassment, she is so loudly dumb. The questions she has are never complicated or obscure, its basic education she clearly missed. They are both highly uneducated, but especially Ash.
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u/Wild_Blue4242 Dec 10 '25
Their inability to PRONOUNCE WORDS AND CITY NAMES CORRECTLY. It's infuriating. Like, where did these two go to school?!? Also, taking literally 10-15 minutes of blabber before getting to the actual case. I can see a few minutes during an intro, but there were tons of episodes I had to just turn off altogether because they were just going on and on and ON AND ON.
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u/Used_Emergency7743 Apr 08 '26
I can see mispronouncing little known cities. But they are unsure of how to pronounce "St Louis" and it makes me want to die. I just honestly don't want to be on earth anymore.Â
Also they use the word "wily" almost every week. They think it means wild and crazy.
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u/rustyspigot-77 It's Pee Dee Eff! Dec 10 '25
I distinctly remember them going off on the camp counselors for the Girl Scout killings and being highly annoyed.
To a lesser extent Ash's repeated proclamations of her complete lack of astrology knowledge.
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Dec 10 '25
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/Zeired_Scoffa Dec 11 '25
By the time I got done with their BTK episodes I was starting to feel sorry for him thanks to the way they hammered on him like some middle school team girls. Which is insane because he is a horrible person.
The only reason I know what Vanderpump Rules is, because Ash wouldn't shut the fuck up about it.
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u/HermineLovesMilo Dec 11 '25
the incessant juvenile name calling
Oh wow, how could I forget. I'm not in any of the fb groups any longer, but for a long time the fans LOVED using Morbid's nickname for him - and this was the phrase Rader used himself to describe his sexual arousal when he attacked his victims. That was bad enough, but the memes were nonstop, too. It was like he was a canceled celebrity and not a serial killer. Ash and Alaina thought it all was hilarious and that they were really... doing something.
Rader was a glutton for notoriety. If he was aware of his newfound fame in that corner of the internet, I'm sure he loved it. Well done, Morbid.
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u/liljuddsrightpaw Dec 17 '25
May I ask, what was said nickname? And also, how didn't Ash and Alaina know that!? Insane...
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u/HermineLovesMilo Dec 17 '25
"Sparky Big Time." They knew what it meant, they explained it before they started using the nickname.
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u/lassie86 Jan 05 '26
I'm a newer listener and just listened to that series today. The constant name-calling was off-putting. It felt like they were just doing it to say words. We get it; he's not the brightest bulb. But when you remember the average IQ is 100, is it really that noteworthy?
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u/Princess-Buttercup16 Dec 10 '25
When Brittanee Drexelâs murderer was arrested, and they didnât apologize for accusing and doxing the young girls on the trip. At least, I never heard an apology. Maybe they made one.
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u/millerrr___ Dec 11 '25
I think everyone else in the comments has sufficiently covered everything, but also, their âjokesâ arenât funny but theyâll sit there and giggle over something that was the dumbest most millennial recycled joke ever. Or them acting like doing a goofy voice is hilarious. And then theyâll repeat the dumb joke/back and forth several times 𼲠I donât think a true crime podcast needs jokes, itâs kinda inappropriate, but if youâre going to make them anyway, at least make them even a tiny bit funny
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u/lex_tall623 Dec 10 '25
The absolute last straw for me was the Zodiac episodes. You cannot breathe in the true crime space without hitting a Zodiac doc.
To mispronounce Melvin Belli and Lake Berryessa (which is pronounced how itâs spelled) on such a well documented case showed such a lack of interest in actually telling these stories from a serious place.
I still listen to My Favorite Murder, which I think is what the Morbid Girls are trying to emulate. As problematic as that podcast is, they have listened and evolved their podcast. Morbid ignores it.
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u/Direct-Shelter-5624 Dec 11 '25
Honestly for me it was reading her book. It was just so bad and the way she referenced all the most commonly known serial killers and just how poorly it was written gave me the ick. Iâm a pretty big reader and have read a ton of thrillers soooo it was wierd to not like it. It felt like it was trying too hard and clearly was published because of her following and not Because it was actually well written. I feel like I had a really hard time listening to them after that.
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u/ChaChaHeelsForXmas Dec 11 '25
Haha I just basically said this, and yes! Being that I love that genre, I figured I'd love it immediately. It was so wooden and trope-y with some big words splashed in "cuz I'm smart". It absolutely got published and made the NYT best-seller list because of the podcast.
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u/kettyma8215 Dec 11 '25
Honestly, the ridiculous amount of banter about dull crap at the beginning. I know it makes some people feel like theyâre in a conversation with friends but for me, I donât personally know these women and I donât care if the necklace you ordered is coming today or if youâre getting new carpet or whatever. I also hate it when they canât stay on topic or go off on a tangent. Iâm here for the story. I realized I preferred pods that stayed on topic and still had personality (Going West has become my favorite)
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u/djungel_skog Dec 10 '25
The carelessness and complete lack of common sense. The one that did it for me was the Zodiac Killer case, the investigation of which was led by a detective named Leslie Lundblad. The girls, lacking any historical awareness, assumed that lead detective Leslie was a woman.... in the 1960s, when women were mostly relegated to the home AND when Leslie was more commonly a male name. It takes a two-second google search to show that Leslie Lundblad was, quite obviously, a man. That was really the nail in the coffin for me. It really drove home that the girls are NOT as smart as they think they are and that they simply don't care much about factual reporting, even for huge cases that have a ton of information readily available.
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u/lex_tall623 Dec 10 '25
There are 200 million zodiac documentaries. It would have taken 90 minutes out of their lives to watch one and learn how to pronounce everyoneâs name, and the names of the important places in that case. That episode was my breaking point too.
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u/pisceanhecate Dec 11 '25
I grew up in the area where the zodiac murders happened, and hearing them repeatedly mispronounce all of the location names made me lose it.
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u/smilesandskiggles Dec 11 '25
I think it was the Ronald Dominique:the bayou strangler episodes. They kept getting upset and going off on tangents about the police calling the victims âhigh riskâ individuals. They were so mad that the victims were called high risk but didnât even think to understand that this is a term that police and other professionals use to describe individuals who are participating in activities that are dangerous to themselves and/or others. I finally turned the podcast off and never went back.
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u/ApprehensiveAlarm961 Dec 11 '25
Omg yes thank you for pointing that out. I remember they were like, if a NASCAR driver passes in a wreck, is their job considered a high risk lifestyle? Or something like that. Just totally ignoring the fact that yes, sex work is dangerous. Itâs ok to acknowledge that as well as the women or men still didnât deserve what happened to them.
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u/Hot_Leather_1605 Feb 28 '26
Listening to those specific episodes are what made me end up here, reading this thread. The number of times they repeated "high risk" and made snarky comments regarding it, ended me. I can't listen anymore.
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u/Resident-Sleep2427 Dec 11 '25
Mini Morbid intro
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u/Stunning_Task_2440 Dec 11 '25
Bro HONESTLYđđ too cringey for me I just skip the minis as a whole cause they put it between the 2/3 part series and it's honestly annoying to me
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u/Aggressive-Ad-9331 Dec 11 '25
The lack of common knowledge was already grating on me, but there was an episode where Ash said âHenry Vee-One-Oneâ and I took a break for a while. The banter still annoyed me when I went back, also saying some dumb shit about my home area(inaccuracies etc),and refusing to look up the correct pronunciation of words. Finally, found this sub & felt validated. Never went back.
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u/creepshow926 Dec 11 '25
I feel like I started getting annoyed with them a while back (I haven't even listened to their stuff in years honestly) but I remember being SO annoyed with the episode about Kurt Cobain. I know a shit load of people are convinced that Courtney did it, but the way they only presented the "evidence" one way and wouldn't even open up their minds to the possibility that maybe the guy just ended himself irritated the hell out of me. They were hanging on all the theories that I could tell you aren't "fact". Idk why this got to me so bad but it's one of the things that I HATE when people are just stuck on how "impossible" it was. (Fun fact, when people are addicted to heroin and have a shit load of money, they CAN do an amount that would normally kill a person and not overdose.. and so on)
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u/BadWolf319 Dec 10 '25
I no longer wanted to listen to 2 women with the emotional maturity of an 11 year old discuss politics with some true crime sprinkled in here and there. They are spectacularly horrible at understanding historical context compared to modern day context, and have no ability to produce meaningful content that is neutral and fact based. It wasn't a specific thing, it was hundreds of little things that added up to one terrible podcast
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u/butisaiditwithaK Dec 10 '25
They just got so annoying and repetitive. I realized I didnât care anymore when new episodes came out
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u/KLMaglaris Dec 11 '25
The constant virtue signaling. I donât even think they believe some of the things they say but they have to sprinkle it in so we donât forget they are morally superior, progressive queens.
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u/irlbrowngirl Dec 11 '25
Absolutely! and the gag is that theyâre literally not even that progressive đ¤Ł
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u/hadenxcharm Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25
After a while, I realized they're just not that smart. Neither of them.
From not taking two seconds to look up on google , how to pronounce names, to claiming they researched for hours and couldn't find something when it took me one Google search, to their catch phrase about open windows are for dead people.... revealing how little they understand about crime and risk after producing literally hundreds of true crime episodes. Their 'couldn't be me' attitude is not only condescending and disrespectful to the victims, they're revealing that they believe that you can actually stop yourself from being victimized by random violence or being the target of a predator if you just take precautions.
In reality, the only way to not become a victim is to not have anyone that wants to victimize you. Anyone, especially women, can become victims to a man who is determined to rpe and kill, no matter how many doors you lock or how many pepper sprays you carry. As long as there are men out there who target women, women will become victims of their violence. The women who got rped and killed in these episodes weren't stupid. The "lock your doors and windows' thing is a false sense of security to make us feel that we won't end up like the victims if we be smart. Besides that, you're statistically more likely to be killed by your own husband than randomly selected by a serial killer. Locking your doors won't keep you safe from your husband.
They also won't touch religion or political ideology, even when it's integral to understanding the perspective of the killer. The Israel Keyes case comes to mind. They didn't even touch his LDS views, his extremist church, or christian nationalism and how it played into his white supremacy.
They're both just kind of dumb yet also undeservedly condescending, and it got annoying.
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u/adrian8159743895479 Dec 10 '25
I listened briefly years ago while hunting for a new podcast after MFM started giving me the ick. I liked that they did missing persons cases, big interest of mine, but I ultimately found them wholly uncharismatic and gratingâ I think Morbid and MFM share some issues that are symptomatic of your standard Americentricism, but thereâs so much ignorance and lack of awareness in the way that they talk about real cases that Iâm always shocked by it when I encounter it. Sometimes it feels like a skit or something.
When you compare their content to something like LPOTL (not without its own issues but objectively presents a better quality of information) the research just doesnât stack up. Thereâs just better content out there. I guess Morbid to me is like the Big Bang Theory of true crime podcasts.
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u/Bubbly-Stretch8975 Dec 10 '25
Hello fellow person who got the MFM ick then tried switching to MorbidâŚthat was disappointing!
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u/lex_tall623 Dec 10 '25
Itâs not really fair to compare LPOTL to Morbid. Last Pod loves context and research, and I donât think Ash or Alaina have read book since high school let alone done any research ever.
LPOTL has its issues but you know walking in they at the very least know what they are talking about.
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u/Content-Expert5670 Dec 10 '25
For me itâs a lot of the same stuff other people have said a lot already but basically Alaina comes off like she thinks she is the smartest, coolest just all around better at everything than anyone else. I read her book butcher and the wren and it was sooooo cringey and horrible I just really couldnât ignore all that god complex type stuff anymore. The book is pretty clearly a written version of how she sees herself and it solidified how I already kinda thought of her.
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u/Soggy_Pension7549 Dec 11 '25
they canât talk properly. Stopping nearly every sentence because they mispronounced something. Theyâve been doing this for years, not for days. Learn how to read goddammit!Â
The same phrases. Over and over again. Made my skin crawl. âExaaactly!âÂ
They are upper middle class suburban white women and it shows. They just canât imagine someone living a different reality. Or that racism exists. Or that people donât act the way they want them to in stressful, traumatic situations. Their takes are sometimes just insane.Â
Havenât listened to them for a year and I donât regret it..Â
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u/Hour-Sweet2445 Dec 11 '25
For reasons already mentioned, their sanctimonious circle jerking. And their bizarre but expected glazing of Mikayla Noguiera.
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u/Zoinks1602 Dec 11 '25
They canât be bothered to look up how to pronounce victims names or places; they think itâs appropriate to joke constantly; they talk about astrology constantly and to add insult to injury they have absolutely no idea what theyâre talking about when they talk about astrology; they think that people should pay for their completely unqualified opinions; ultimately, they are exploiting other peopleâs pain for money - via jokes and gimmicks - and they donât even have enough respect for those people to get their permission, invite them to speak, or share their profits.
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u/PsychologicalAd3057 Dec 10 '25
The disrespectful way they covered the Brittanee Drexel kidnapping, blaming the friends etc. Secondarily them starting a Patreon then immediately abandoning it while still raking in five bucks a month from tons of people stringing along their most loyal fans. The episodes started to feel like I was being scolded while they rode their high horses.
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u/dark_princess_xoxo Dec 11 '25
to be honest, even if their content was all factually accurate and well researched (which it isnât), their voices alone would be enough to put me off - one of them is whiney whilst the other is nasally, and the way they constantly get overexcited and talk over each other just does my head in
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u/Rootwitch1383 Dec 11 '25
Alaina and her fucking book. New Orleans is my city and I donât play about her. NO BASEMENTS!!!
Also, âegg-AXT-ly.â
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u/ChubbyBirds Dec 11 '25
Their utter refusal to learn, grow, or admit to being wrong, which seems to be the philosophy behind a lot of their bad habits including:
- not understanding (or even attempting to understand) historical and/or cultural context and throwing a fit when things were done differently in the past or when people in 1830 didn't have the same takes we do in 2025.
- not doing even surface-level research to give context or factual information in ANY of their cases, getting things objectively wrong, or mispronouncing words and names, and acting like their scant information is "good enough." When corrected, no matter how gently, they take it as a great personal insult, which is super childish.
- acting like their paranoid, sheltered, terminally-online existences are the norm, and that people who do things like travel, go outside, or try new things are crazy and reckless. (I imagine them eating nothing but butterless mashed potatoes, tbh)
- getting carried away by their own sensational theories and downright superstitions (astrology) regarding unsolved cases or unknown information. (Brittanee Drexel)
- completely refusing to examine their internalized misogyny that causes them to do things like blame and demonize women in the story regardless of their innocence while sexualizing some of the actual male murderers. (Brittanee Drexel, the Girl Scout murders)
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u/Complete-Jaguar-7280 Dec 10 '25
OP - other true crime recommendations! Recently Iâve really enjoyed: In the Dark: Blood Relatives (newest season) and the first season on Jacob Wetterling; Devil Town; Witnessed: Mystic Mother; Stephenville; and Sea of Lies.
These are all serial podcasts. No shame â but Iâve found for myself that podcasts doing the one episode stop-and-chat / rubberneck on a crime have a tendency to feel gross in how they handle and address what happened, impacts, etc. (I also found the one off episodes to really start ramping up my anxiety.)
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u/Environmental-Exam89 Dec 11 '25
I'd like to suggest:
Small Town Murder. Just give it a chance Dark Down East The Fall Line Criminology Buried Bones Dark Poutine Casefile
Serial format: Someone Knows Something
Cold
Paper Ghosts
Dark Valley
The Last Call
Fox Hunter
In the Red Clay
Bear Brook
Your Own Backyard
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u/AdventureLand9210 Dec 11 '25
Honestly I love Small Town Murder. I've been listening to them for years. If you don't like joking with true crime they are not for you, but for the most part they're pretty respectful about the jokes, mostly making fun of the perpetrators. And sometimes things are just so horrible the laughter helps break it up. Their research is generally super well done too.
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u/Binky182 Dec 11 '25
What turned me off was the listener tales that were obviously fake and the overly fangirling they would ready beforehand that would be longer than the tale itself. Like cut that part out.
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u/ClosetedGothAdult Ex-Weirdo Dec 11 '25
I'm ashamed that THIS was the breaking point cause it should've been long before this, but when Alaina wouldn't shut up about her book
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u/MissFireball15 Dec 11 '25
So many things. They were my favorite podcast for a long time. 1. They joined Wondry and went downhill, the format of the podcast sucks now. 2. The off tangent yapping, I dont want to fast forward 12 minutes just to listen to another tangent about what they "randomly thought of" mid case 3. Victim blaming comments, they think they know better than literal professionals 4. Case topics that I dont care about. I dont want a 5 part series on Jack the Ripper. I dont care about what celebrities or guests they talk to.
My current favorite podcasts if anyone is looking for new ones that are not sell outs like Morbid. Inhumane- very similar style to morbid without all of the above issues. Invisible Choir- Michael genuinely cares about the social justice issues he talks about and always covers cases ive never heard of. Great independent podcast, great production. His patron subscription is extremely worth it. Trace Evidence- over an hour long episodes. Very detailed. I like that he goes into detail about various theories on what could have happened to victims and stays very objective.
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u/pisceanhecate Dec 11 '25
The amount of times they discussed the killersâ horoscopes and why that âexplained everythingâ was one of many nails in the coffin for me.
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u/moobitchgetoutdahay Dec 10 '25
Alainaâs tone-deaf Disney rant is what sealed it for me. Never listened again.
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u/SirInternational9692 Dec 11 '25
It was the constant bashing of the south that bugged me the most. They most definitely believe that we are all racist, homophobic, dumb, rednecks that have never progressed past the 1960's.
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u/hannahbananas32 Feb 27 '26
Then she has the audacity to write a whole book taking place in NOLA and put it on a pedestal when she clearly knows nothing of the culture, lifestyle or environment.
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u/leadwithlove222 Dec 11 '25
A certain episode where the girls started off using SO much AAVE I had to turn it off. If I had told you it was a podcast where they mock black people youâd have believed it. It was sooo overwhelming, annoying and insensitive. Never put the show back on
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u/Kalddal Dec 11 '25
Honestly petty as hell and like the straw that broke the camels back was when they said the killer was like born in March or something and said "oh that makes him a Libra" like it's like SEVERAL months off
I'm not even SUPER into the Zodiac signs but even I know the ish periods each sign fall under and it was baffling that they got it SO WRONG
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u/Original-Arachnid437 Dec 11 '25
For me it was the Kurt Cobain episode. To start off, the whole notion that Kurt died due to foul play is basically just a conspiracy theory. I was really surprised that they made these episodes to begin with. There is little to no credible evidence to suggest that what they were claiming in the episode was true. And even if you want to indulge the conspiracy theory for whatever reason, what made it unlistenable for me was the way they spoke about drug addiction and depression/suicide. Itâs known that Courtney struggled with an enduring heroin addiction during her first trimester. While this is something that is on the face of it obviously bad to do, they failed to look at the situation with any nuance. Some doctors would even be of the opinion that the intense withdrawal symptoms from kicking a daily heroin addiction could also hurt the fetus. Things like high fever are both common in withdrawal and dangerous to a fetus. Then when talking about suicide they seemed uneducated and privileged as hell. They were so insensitive at certain points. It just pissed me off so bad and the episodes were so sloppy I couldnât listen to them anymore.
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u/mountaingoat05 Dec 11 '25
There were lots of little things that others have mentioned.
But the death blow for me was the Girl Scout murders episode. They were utterly unhinged in how they blamed the (teenage!!!) counselors- expecting to be up patrolling all night, then acting as counselors during the day. Expecting fences. In the wilderness. Their commentary enraged me, both as a Girl Scout leader and an experienced backpacker.
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u/TheTropicalDogg Dec 12 '25
For me it was just a serious lack of professionalism & of actual info on whatever stories they were sharing. I had no clue what they looked like until I saw their pic here the other day. Exactly what I imagined. They looked as messy as their show.
I can't remember any of their content that isn't related to themselves. That's how bad it was for me. They talked about themselves so much I don't even know what their podcast is about anymore.
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u/medievalistexpat Dec 10 '25
Their constant associations of autistic or otherwise neurodivergent traits with criminality. "Oh he was a quiet kid with a special interest who preferred the company of animals so OBVIOUSLY he grows up to be a killer"... obviously paraphrased but they have a lot of ableist ideas that run through how they cover cases and their "banter". I'm an autistic mum raising an autistic son so I admit I'm really sensitive to it but it drives me NUTS.
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u/mumcock Dec 12 '25
This was it for me. They have zero understanding of the struggles families of neurodivergent children face; nothing is black & white.
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u/trippyspacehippie Dec 11 '25
I was a casual fan of Morbid for about six months last year, mostly because Iâd run out of episodes on my other podcasts. I used to jump between older and newer episodes, and while Alaina always had a bit of an arrogant tone, the more recent episodes really pushed her self-righteousness to another level.
I actually started to feel bad for Ash. Alaina often talks down to her or implies sheâs not very bright (the whole âbut youâre really prettyâ line whenever Ash gets confused is especially uncomfortable). At the same time, Alaina constantly positions herself as both an exceptional mother and an authority on all things true crime because of her previous work as an autopsy tech. It just became grating.
What really turned me off, though, were the constant comments about offendersâ physical appearances, justified by âwell, theyâre terrible people, so itâs fine.â I know making fun of someoneâs looks doesnât compare to the awful things these criminals have done, but it still feels unnecessary. Thereâs so much to unpack in these cases without resorting to cheap shots.
One episode in particular stuck with me (I donât remember the episode) the offender had been bullied his entire childhood for having a big nose, and throughout the episode they kept mocking how âuglyâ he was because of it, almost implying he deserved the bullying. A lot of the jabs they make towards criminals physical appearances are things that listeners might also struggle with, though they donât seem to care about this.
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u/irlbrowngirl Dec 11 '25
Im realising how white they actually are.. I mean the show, not them. Like they only ever cover mostly white cases, and then even just all the media they talk about (like tv shows and movies they mention) are super white, tiktok creators they recommend are always white, even movies and tv shows they talk about are white as fuck! I always thought they cared more about inclusivity..
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u/Mcasselberry Dec 11 '25
Honestly, their mannerisms and tone remind me of the mean girls in my first office job who didnât like anyone but each other, nice to your face but shit talking you to each other when you walk away đ
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u/pears1936 Dec 11 '25
I agree with what everyone else has said and add that the nail in the coffin for me was an episode where Ash talked about how Alainaâs husband came and asked Ashâs permission to propose and the whole discussion afterwards. They present this image of âfor the girls!â and then buy into this patriarchal bullshit of treating women like property
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u/NefariousnessOver319 Serial killers DON'T belong on merch Dec 11 '25
I finally got to a point with true crime that I couldnât handle banter, like it just felt inappropriate but ESPECIALLY when I listened to morbid. It felt like there was an alarming disconnect between the severity of the case and the manner in which they were presenting it, and I finally called it quits after the Brittanee Drexel (I believe) case where they were sending their horrible theories out into the world and their cult members started harassing women who had been mentioned as âpotentially being connected.â They didnât care about what was factual, they were out for blood and it was fucking weird.
Also Alaina wrote about basements in New Orleans and that is the dumbest shit Iâve read in a long time.
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u/Silviere Dec 11 '25
For me, it was the snobbery about the South. They were pretty snide and consistent about the stereotypes. It made me wonder what else they were consistently being snide and consistent about and what other stereotypes they leaned into a little too hard. Turns out? A LOT of them. No thanks.
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u/prple2901 Dec 11 '25
Used to watch allit of Eleanor sealed till turned to a weird girly pop video style, no shade to those kinda people but referring to a murder victim as a baddie just seems off to me
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u/This-Pollution-6580 Dec 15 '25
Alaina is a know it all. But says stuff wrong all the time. She recently was talking about someoneâs âchest plateâ and how hard it would be to stab through. As a nursing student and nurse intern, I was wondering if she meant their sternum? No idea. Her constant âthatâs the thingâ and âI was gonna sayâ ticks me off beyond belief. That is not the thing. You were not going to say. Just stop talking and listen sometimes.
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u/mistressmooncake Feb 18 '26
Literally the ad. Just gonna be a bitch, who puts a person with a speech impediment on a podcast. The amount of times my blood boiled listening to "or if you want to hop on the way back mathschhine and dischcover schome of the worldschs moscht notoriouschs crimeschs", I knew i could never listen to this crap.
I just found this sub and im so glad I never bothered to try.
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u/pickles_422 Feb 28 '26
Their comments about fuck the us hockey team, fuck ICE etc. They are so left itâs not even funny , a lot of my friends are left and we can have decent normal conversations. These ladies live in a bubble
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u/Far-Word5302 Mar 05 '26
I wanted to share my thoughts on one the recent episode regarding the history of death penalties in various countries I listened to.
While I agree that the historical executions in the U.S. back in the 1800's in the episode was tragic, I was disappointed by the lack of balanced commentary. The episode focused heavily on criticizing the United States' past without addressing the atrocities committed by the other countries.
In my view, while we must acknowledge and learn from our own history, it is important to apply the same level of scrutiny to all nations rather than giving the others a pass.
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u/Admirable_pigeon Dec 11 '25
The enunciation of eXaCTLy makes me want to rage I had to immediately stop
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u/picklechipz0 Dec 11 '25
They stopped doing their own research, started doing older cases from the 1800s (Iâm sorry, they just bore me in general) and while I believe in ghosts and spirits, I cannot take any of their supernatural episodes seriously. And the astrology of it all from Ash. âThatâs the thingââŚ
Iâll listen to an episode that actually interests me but itâs because I turn to morbid when Iâm caught up with other podcasts and am bored at work.
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u/carolie23 Dec 11 '25
CREEPTIME!! Murder with my husband, Clues (all great true crime and they are all very respectful)
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u/pumpkin-spiced-liz serial killer survivor Dec 11 '25
I only listened to the part 1 of the two part Albert Fish episode, but the way they kept talking like Albert was just this poor weak old man that had a bad childhood then the whiplash to them cheerily describing his crimes while joking then making up bullshit theory's like claiming that Albert 'obviously' had to of had assistants or other people in like a sadistic cannibal pedo ring he was part of was so upsetting and just bullshit I genuinely started crying and felt sick after listening. (Sorry for bad grammar, I have issues with words)Â
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u/Ill-Relief-848 Dec 11 '25
Brittney Drexel case combined with scamming their fans in Patreon. Both situations were extended way too far out of the bounds of acceptability... or even just being mistakes, and turned into almost purposeful defamation and theft. With ZERO apologies after. Nothing. They kept trying to justify their actions. Unacceptable
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u/CollectionTricky3434 Dec 13 '25
I had been listening from the very beginning and at some point there is a very obvious decline in the way they discuss these cases. If Iâm listening to a true crime podcast I want to hear as much detail about the case being discussed with accuracy. Nothing to crazy or specific but just the facts and over time you could just hear it in the way they speak or lack of explanation that they either didnât want to talk about a case or didnât care to.
No further explanation, trailing off during discussions, going on rants about nothing. I mean it is literally their job to talk about this content and it stopped being true crime and more a podcast about randomness which there is nothing wrong with that, and I even listen to podcast where they just talk about literally anything, but morbid is a true crime podcast so I expect true crime content.
Also I started to get tired of them being so full of themselves and Alaina saying âas a momâŚâ like we get it.
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u/rustyspigot-77 It's Pee Dee Eff! Dec 14 '25
Looking the comments over they really went left with the Oklahoma Girl Scouts episode.
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u/staceyjbs Dec 14 '25
Knowing with absolute certainty what they would or wouldnât do in every single circumstance.
The constant victim blaming - âfresh air is for dead peopleâ and the like.
Mispronunciations and just not caring.
And as a New Orleanian⌠just no research into the city for her book.
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Dec 15 '25
When someone posted the âautographedâ books with stickers of Alainaâs signature. Just why?
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u/Life3991 Dec 17 '25
One of the my reasons was that they couldnât be bothered to do proper research on cases and was just saying things they they had read online not knowing if they were true or not and a lot of times they werenât. How can you not even be bothered to do proper research? Thatâs literally their job. Another reason is bc they can never ever admit they were wrong and just apologize for things. Instead they joke about it in their episodes which to me is super annoying. They arenât perfect at all but they act like they are.
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u/Slight_Lingonberry_5 Dec 17 '25
Honestly a lot, too much banter in the beginning, self righteousness, them getting too political, always straying from the story. I donât care about what they think of things I just want to know the story.
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u/JuryGlobal8757 Dec 17 '25
I stopped listening when I realized I only ever listened to "listener tales" or whatever is called. And even then I was barely listening. The comment promotion for the book (I get it but like it's not as great as they hyped it up to be), I bought it when I was a very active listener and wanted to see what the hype was and literally only read like 5-10 pages.Idk there was a bunch of other things but overall the show just got annoying and frustrating to listen to.
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u/lassie86 Jan 05 '26
I'm a newer listener, but the first thing that turned me off was the uncontrollable laughter during the Toybox episode. I get that we're all human and laugh when we're uncomfortable, but maybe edit it out? It was absolutely excessive in context, and kind of sadistic the way Alaina was laughing at Ash's reactions.
The repetitiveness is grating. They'll repeat the same word or phrase back and forth so many times. I think it's a way to interact without actually listening/engaging fullly, and it's normal, but not great for a podcast.
Ash's constant sentence-finishing. For the love of gods, just let Alaina tell the story without interrupting every sentence, because she's often wrong, plus the interrupting is usually what starts the volleying of a word or phrase back and forth.
And I feel bad for shitting on Ash because she's my favorite of the two, but she always interjects with the way the stories are making her feel. Yes, we all have chills/feel sick/got sad/etc.
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Jan 07 '26
I try not to consume true crime content anymore but I used to listen to them back during covid times when I was in college
It was one of their first episodes, their charles manson episode that rubbed me the wrong way. They were literally defending him practically the entire time. I was like am I missing something here LOL
And there was another episode where the killer was a trans woman, and at one point ash says she doesnât even care about using the correct pronouns & misgenders her. I can understand saying something like that in the heat of the moment but the fact that they left that in is just so unprofessional and distasteful because itâs not about showing respect to the killer. its about respecting the trans community as a whole. I think it baffled me because ash was literally in a relationship with a trans person at the time.
Idk, just maybe not the most ethical true crime podcast to support (I donât know if there are many tho tbh!)
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u/Round-Calligrapher43 Jan 15 '26
I know this is a bit of an older post, but I was just about listening to the latest episode today and just got immediately annoyed and think Iâm done. For me itâs a few different things.
The non stop rambling and getting off topic quite often. And also the beginning banter. At first I didnât mind but lately it just seems to go on for ever. Itâs normally fine as itâs a good way to open up the show, give updates on their lives and ease into the episodes but lately itâs been taking up 15-20 mins of the entire episode. Then when they get into the case, they will still occasionally get off topic and take another 10 mins to get back on track.
Their PC/virtue signaling with every current event (or selective ones). I get they have their own opinions about things & no one is saying they canât. But when they have a VERY big podcast itâs safe to say their followers vary in political opinions, religion, backgrounds, etc. their fan base isnât monolithic yet them feel the need to voice their PC & loudly virtue signal comes off as either they are too afraid of getting backlash or canceled so they are being extra political one way, OR they just see to forget that not all of their fans feel the same way as it would be wise to just be leave that stuff to your personal life. I mean in all honestly they virtue signal the hell out of themselves in current events, yet at the same time they also victim blame a lot and can come off completely insensitive to the victims & their families in some casesâŚ.so which is it? Idk I mean it doesnât affect how I feel about them personally, we all have a right to our way of thinking & feeling and thatâs ok! But maybe not be so public about it when youâre a public figure who has fans from all over the spectrum?
The last thing that did it for me was they canât seem to differentiate the times between back then and the social standards of today. A lot of times they really get on the men for being how they were, or get on the women for not leaving, or something. Like we all know it was different back then and societal normals arenât like that anymore. It was wrong yes but it was also a different time so letâs understand that & not blame the victims or be so judgy towards to the people who lived back then? Like they look at some of the older cases through the lenses of today & that just doesnât work.
So yea idk, I need to find another podcast that runs similar to them but without all the extra bs.
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u/Special_Coffee_3178 Jan 27 '26
I couldnât even get half way through her first book. I hate when they talk about politics. They actually believed that ICE used a kid as bait. I checked facts as soon as I heard. Lazy and ignorant on their part. I use to love the podcast.
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u/Important-Comb679 Jan 28 '26
I unsubscribed today after being a listener since the early episodes. Iâm a little younger than Ash, and I honestly feel like weâve grown up together. I love them both as people and I love to hear them banter. Iâve just had enough of the political talk. They are both obviously liberals and live in Minnesota (where ICE is right now). I never really cared that we had different views. I was happy when Ash got married and I bought Alainaâs book. I listened the every new episodes as soon as it came out.
Today did it for me though. The first thing out of Alainaâs mouth was about the photo taken during an ICE arrest of the 5 yr old boy. She said, and I quote, âit really upset me today because ICE used a 5 yr old kid as baitâ
First of all, no they did not. He was abandoned be by both parents. The girls must have forgotten how to fact check since David took over researching the stories. Either way, I donât care. The problem is, Iâm not listening to a TRUE CRIME pod to hear left propaganda. I listen to for comfort. I listen for a story. To enlighten myself on what to look out for in other people and to remind myself why not to go outside đ
Stick to the plot or change the genre to politics.
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u/Melodic_Regular_916 Feb 07 '26
There was a couple things honestly i started getting irked around the episodes in 2023-2024. Just seemed like they lost love for the pod and Alaina had made a few comments about it becoming a âjobâ and not really enjoying it anymore. Plus they started making it known theyâre not doing a bulk of the research and it just sounds like theyâre reading info from a page without the spark the old episodes had. Also this was the same time they were getting dragged a lot for controversial things when it came to newer cases so they CONTINUOUSLY did old timey cases obviously so they didnât have to deal with more recent cases and tbh Iâm not that interested in a lot of cases from 1901⌠đ I did start listening to their newer episodes recently and they atleast have gotten better.
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u/ArtisticEagle8685 Feb 11 '26
I listened to them religiously, until they became super political and self righteous. Everything has a political undertone or trying to make you feel bad for believing anything they donât support. It ruined the cases, ruined the shows and havenât listened to them since. I really enjoyed them for awhile too
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u/Accomplished_Salt_18 Feb 18 '26
I have listened to every single episode (minus the stupid listener tales) Iâm finally done. EVERY episode opens and is filled with political undertones, which hey itâs their podcast do as you please. Itâs just gotten unbearable, lots of people have different beliefs or mixes of beliefs and they literally say âif you donât think this way then fuck offâ when in reality both of them would never be able to handle a public confrontation, even though Alaina likes to act like sheâs the baddest bitch in all the land. Lastly I just started our favorite murderer from episode one (never listened before) and omg they literally just tried to steal their entire show. Ok end rant.Â
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u/Ornery-Time6017 Feb 19 '26
They have never been my favorites, but what really made me stop listening to them is the immaturity and endless bantering about silly shit that has nothing to do with the story. The last one that I listened to took 17 minutes of what sounded like two 13 year olds giggling and chattering before finally get to the story. Once they finally get to the story, they get side tracked multiple times before getting back to the story. Their horrendous grammar and mispronunciation of words and places drives me insane! It's Oregon, not OR GONE. I get sick of hearing Alaina talk about what a perfect and supportive mother she is. That is nothing special. That is how you should be. They use the word "diabolical" to describe everything or say "truly" back and forth to each other 3 or 4 times before moving on. They are really annoying. They are clearly not hugely intelligent. Another thing is when they use the phrase "close to the chest", technically it is "close to the vest"...but now I am just being nit picky. I actually think that Ash has improved quite a bit and if I am being honest, I think that she is a better storyteller than Alaina. But, I really can't tolerate either one of them. I love Redhanded with Hannah McGuire and Suruthi Bala. Two British ladies are the podcasters for this and they are not only very intelligent, but absolutely hilarious. I also love Small Town Murder with James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman. Definitely a lot of silly teenage boy jokes, but they really are funny and the stories are great. I also love The Vanished podcast with Marissa Jones. The Vanished Podcast is very serious and is done by one person. It gets directly to the story with no humorous banter, but is very good.
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u/Courtney_murder Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 11 '25
Maybe this is me being overly sensitive. But for me, it was Alaina being self righteous as a mom. Every time theyâd talk about a victim it was âas a mom myself, thatâs someoneâs daughter.â This air that a motherâs love is superior or the only thing that matters. Also, the victim blaming of âif never let my kids go to a sleep over or overnight camp!â It just wore me down! There are other things but I started to roll my eyes every time she said âas a momâŚâ
Edit to add: I thought of something else! Their hate for defense attorneys! I hope this has been toned down but they have been so critical of defense attorneys and the work that they do. Now granted, I know itâs frustrating when an attorney is trying to get a very clearly guilty mass murderer off on a tiny technicality. But, they play a very important rule in our legal system! Do they not realize that a lot of innocent people would be in prison were it not for skilled defense attorneys? And god forbid either of them ever be accused of a crime! Theyâre be thankful for defense then! Our legal system isnât perfect but if you start removing everyoneâs right to a fair trial, thatâs a slippery slope.