For my second blog post I decided to listen to episode 48 of Morbid: A True Crime Podcast, called “The Murder of Skylar Neese.” In this episode, the hosts Ash and Alaina detail the account of the murder of 16 year old Skylar Neese which happened back in 2012. During the episode, we find out that after much investigation, it was confirmed that Skylar Neese was killed by none other than her two best friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf, for no other reason than, “We just didn’t like her anymore.”
The first seven minutes of this podcast episode contained an ad at the very beginning, then moves on to Ash and Alaina mentioning their Patreon and how the viewers can enjoy additional content from them. After that, they dive straight into the story. This is something that I didn’t notice from the episode that I wrote my first blog post about where they get general information out of the way for the first five to ten minutes, then proceed to dive into the podcast episode. It is a very abrupt change and something I would not have noticed if I wasn’t paying extra close attention, but I believe that the hosts decided to insert it into the podcast at the very beginning because the stories that they tell are so bizarre that by the end of the episode you wouldn’t really pay attention to the general information regarding the podcast as a whole.
Starting out the podcast with an ad is definitely unique and I personally feel like it is a risky choice. When new listeners come to learn about the podcast, I feel like the first five minutes is so crucial because that is when the listener will decide whether to continue listening or to find a different podcast. I know that I was personally thrown off by it and thought that I had another browser open with an ad on it because I have never listened to another podcast that does that, but I will say that listening to Morbid more, it is something I am more aware of so it isn’t as weird as the first time. Something I really admire about this specific episode is that there were no ads scattered throughout the episode and was instead only in the beginning which made it a lot more fun to listen to because there weren’t any interruptions. Again, the content is so interesting that as a listener you are so engaged and don’t want anything getting in the way of your attention. This is different from the last episode that I listened to where ads were placed throughout the episode and the transitions were very abrupt and strange. It made the podcast a lot more frustrating to listen to and I felt like it watered down the episode after each ad, so it was nice to see that that wasn’t the case for this episode.
The structure of the podcast is the same since the last episode I listened to, where either Ash or Alaina narrates the and judging by the fact that the episodes are more than a year apart, I assume that this trend continues. In “The Murder of Skylar Neese,” Ash is the one narrating what happened, while Alaina listens and commentates at times, and in the last episode I listened to, it was the other way around. I actually really enjoyed this because even though they are both hilarious, it was nice getting a chance to see how each of them react to the other. Comedy and lightheartedness is what sets this podcast apart from other true crime podcasts so it’s really nice to see that they are both able to show that. My particular favorite part of the episode is when Alaina mentions the mugshot of Rachel after confessing to the murder and says, “Whoa, Rachel Shoaf looks really bad here, she looks bloated as f*** here, that prison food is no bueno fo you.” I love that they are able to add comedy in sensitive ways where they respect the victim and their families so much, but when it comes to the criminals they have absolutely no chill and don’t care how mean they are to them which makes it really fun to listen to. The comedy makes the podcast so unique and the relationship between Ash and Alaina is so likeable and this has been the case in each episode I have listened to.
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Hi Joanna! Wow, Morbid seems like such a fun podcast to listen to. It sounds very engaging; like you said its something you don’t want to avert your attention to something else while listening. I think with podcasts this is a very unique thing you brought up. From my experience, podcasts are something I listen to while driving or doing various tasks as an alternative to music. To have a podcast make you want to sit and listen, giving all your attention to it, is a very special thing.
The hosts of this show seem to really be interested in catching the listeners attention. I think that the ability to integrate humor (when appropriate of course) into a dark subject like murder. It really keeps the listener on their toes. Ash and Alaina seem like they treat the listener as a friend joining them in on the story. I thought the comment they made about Rachel Shoaf looking bloated from the prison food was hilarious. Like you said, they have no mercy with the criminals.
When you brought up how in you were annoyed with ads being dispersed in your previous episode, I resonated with this. The podcast I listened to had ads scattered around in both episodes, and I felt myself getting distracted from the stories. Its great to hear that your listening experience was better with the ads at the beginning instead, I wish all podcasts did that! It seems much more practical. I think in my free time I might check out Morbid. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this podcast!
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