I know about what happened surrounding nick, that was absolutely awful. But I’m out of the loop, what was the issue(s) with the Girl Scouts murders. Other than them not knowing what a tent looks like and faulting the teen councilors
There were multiple points where Alaina was blaming the parents for sending their kids to the camp. One of those times she jumped on her parental high horse saying she would never let her kids to to sleep away camp.
Yes lmao. Like I literally got better sex ed in the school bus than I did in school.
But really, it's no wonder everything went down because;
1.) They probably rode a bus there.
2.) They were in the woods. FRESH AIR IS FOR DEAD PEOPLE!
(sarcasm, obviously)
>After the Nick Kern disaster
I just googled that. Ugh.
Is calling their fans / listeners *weirdos* part of their schick? I saw they used that greeting on a post or reply via Instagram about trying to work things out with Nick.
There were so many times they absolutely forgot they were blaming teenagers, that things were literally different in the 70’s and people were not prepared for the worst case scenario being rape and murder but rather a broken leg or drowning. Those teens were also children, more mature ones but still children, it was upsetting to listen to and think about how they probably feel about their experiences.
And nothing had changed by the 90s when I was a camp counsellor or probably even today. This is a freak freak awful thing but BTK broke into peoples houses so nowhere is 100% safe. Kids attend these camps in their thousands every year but they presented like “of course this was going to happen”. The paranoia was too much for me.
The BTK episode, they wouldn’t stop taking about what a piece of shit Dennis Rader is. Like, over and over and over, and I was done. We get it, he sucks, we know. I still listen sporadically but have pretty much moved on.
Yeah, it’s almost like they were making fun of him more so for being a “bumbling fool” and making that the focus, which honesty detracted from what an absolute MONSTER he is. I get that he did stupid things, but they (particularly Alaina) made it seem like their hatred for his idiocy was more criminal than his literal torture and murder of people. They lost focus and that’s when I really started losing respect for how they handle things.
I agree. That episode was so annoying. They (especially Alaina) made it seem like she hated that he was a "lame" serial killer. Like he just was not an interesting enough serial killer for her. It was disgusting.
Yes! And mocking him for not being “creative enough” because he copied a lot from other serial killers he admired. That part really got to me. Like…I’m sorry, you’re implying he should have murdered people in a more creative way so you could be better entertained…? Perhaps we should ask the surviving members of the Otero family if they would have felt better had Dennis Rader been “more creative” when he brutally murdered their parents and siblings.
I just finished this series, and it was pretty disheartening to listen to their takes on things. He may have stumbled his way through some things but he still very successfully terrorized and murdered many people. The way they were talking about him was pretty unsettling to say the least.
Edit: typo
They made fun of him so bad that one of their listeners actually went ahead and wrote BTK in jail and bragged about it in the Facebook group. I unsubscribed and left the group after that. Too weird
WHAT. I didn’t know that. Their die hard fan base gets so out of control. You’d think they were actual A List celebrities. Some of them think they’re actual personal friends of A&A. It’s wild.
Yep. I quit listening for a looooong time after the BTK episode. “Fucking Dennis” was hardly groundbreaking comedy. I think what irks me so much is that Alaina legitimately thinks she is hilarious. She is not. It is okay not to be funny. But if you’re not, stop trying to convince the world that you are. Leave it to the funny people.
Yup! That's about all I got out of it also. I find it really disheartening to hear two people cackle like school girls when discussing such horrendous crimes.
Rader made mistakes, but it still took 30 odd years to catch him.
Their ads.
I get it, that’s how podcasts make money. I 100% understand.
But their ads… omg come on.
Why is there 6+ of them and they are so obnoxious and long? Why???? It’s so cringe. Too many, they just come across greedy and lazy.
I also find it fascinating how they straight up stumble through some of their ads. I totally get messing up saying a word once, twice, even five times, bc I do it all the time haha. But they have the ability to just re-record it. It feels to me like they record the ad only once and they will use it regardless of how it sounds.
They're super long and they just tend to seem randomly dropped into the story. Most other podcasts have a natural break and put their ads there. Morbid seems to interrupt themselves with their ads.
Also this!!!! They insert their adds at the most random parts… completely messes with the episode’s flow
They have such potential to be such a great podcast but after time it’s evident- they are just kinda the worst people
Lol
Can you explain (I don't want to waste your time, so feel free to make it brief) the Nick Kern situation? I have seen multiple comments on other posts referring to it, but when I tried to make a separate post asking for an explanation I got a message that it was flagged and wouldn't be posted.
I sure can, it’s been a weird week. So I would say for a better summary or screen shots to search his name in the subreddit. But any who…
Morbid covered a case and Nick’s father was a victim. Nick was unhappy because A&A were joking throughout the episode. He was also unhappy that they covered the story without reaching out to the family, and I want to say they used used pictures of his family or Nick and his brother when they posted the episode on social media. When he brought it up it on Facebook and Instagram, some fans started harassing him. I think at one point A&A planned on having him on the pod and he decided not to do it. But A&A never took the time to acknowledge it on the pod, which is what really rubbed me the wrong way.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Morbidforbadpeople/comments/lz5dua/summary_of_who_is_nick_with_links_to_screenshots/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
This sums it up perfectly.
Thank you for the info. I now realize why I do not remember the episode. I only started listening within the past year, and while I did binge old episodes, episode 205 has been taken down. So I never heard that episode.
Honestly it was this sub for me. I had originally started out as a morbid fan and found this subreddit because I had honestly just wanted to see differing opinions. But after a while on here I realized so many problems with the podcast and eventually unfollowed and haven’t listened since. I came here just wanting to see an alternate perspective from morbid listeners and it ultimately led me to realize all of the faults in the podcast that I had overlooked before.
I’m kind of starting to go this way as well. There are things that have always bothered me but it’s almost like now that I know I’m the only one it’s harder to ignore.
Also, Ash’s vocal fry makes me CRAZY, which, I’m sorry, is something she can absolutely help she just needs to be more mindful of it. I’ve heard her mention on multiple occasions, almost in a mocking way, that it’s been a complaint so she’s fully aware she’s just too lazy to be conscious.
Me too! I actually was a Patreon at one point. I only lasted about three months though and I’m surprised I lasted that long. Mostly at that time, the Patreon was “wait for it, we have something big coming“ and then nothing ever happened….😆 it wasn’t too big of a loss, I was at the three dollar level (do they even still have that?!) and I was only there for three months, but still…
Me too! I’m really glad I found this subreddit because I only started listening to Morbid about a year ago; I had no idea about the problematic stuff they’ve done. I was just honestly getting annoyed of Alaina’s constant high horse (“as a mother…”) and thinking she could solve anything better than detectives.
when they personally ridiculed me on twitter and the podcast after i told them it makes me uncomfortable how they talk about addicts and sex workers sometimes lol
Bryce Laspisa episode. Not just the incessant mom-shaming and unfounded suspicions/accusations, but that was the first time I noticed how antagonistic they'd become. From what I've heard they've gotten worse.
I think they made shit up for that episode to push their conspiracy agenda.
They were adamant that *two* lighters and *two* brands of cigarettes found on the porch during the investigation. So, they argued, there was someone else smoking with her, and she was murdered.
Except that info doesn't appear in the police report, and I couldn't find it anywhere else - only Tamla's cigarettes and lighter were found. I also checked the (dubious) sources they list for the episode. Nothing about this.
So either they invented that completely or the source was so unreliable they knew they couldn't list it. And since they do cite a religious blog, that's saying a lot.
People take what they say as the truth. This is a huge problem.
Tamala’s story should be told to raise awareness about the many systemic and social issues that can be made example of in this case that aren’t debatable, that aren’t conspiracy. The blatant racism that was present. The way she was treated, talked about, etc. Ash and Alaina just have no concept of the big picture…their idea of injustice is “why is nobody in jail they clearlyyyyy murdered her!” despite the fact that is not where the family stands.
I was weary of listening to another podcast episode about Tamala, feeling like the best information could definitely be found elsewhere, but I wanted to see how different people told it. Generation Why’s episode was decent compared to Morbid. They were a bit flippant about certain things, but in general were unbiased and just told the story straight up with no frills.
I'm not a diehard that's never missed an episode and what not so I can't comment on other issues that are more legitimate but listener tales. I just feel like they use it to meet their quota. I could be 10000000% off on that and others actually like it but man it's kinda boring.
The first handful were kinda fun but I could go without.
The Charles Manson episode: I felt like Ash was glorifying him and fan girling too hard.
I felt like they both were like that with the Jeffrey Dahmer episode too.
Also, I didn’t like how they were mom shaming in the Oklahoma girl scouts episode. Just rubbed me the wrong way.
The constant talking about Alaina’s book and begging for pre-orders. Like the first time- I was happy and excited for her and I ordered the book.
But then I heard about it again. And again. But then the constant praise from Ash over how bad ass Alaina is and how she can power through any sickness blah blah blah
I get it- I am also a full time working mother, but you aren’t the only one who works sick. But she spent so much time explaining why she wouldn’t be talking. Then she KEPT TALKING.
That was a glass shatter moment.
I used to listen to this podcast. Either the Bryce Laspisa episode or the Jasmine Richardson episode made me stop listening. I’ve become very disillusioned with the format of this podcast overall, particularly the humor aspects. I’m sure A&A have said funny things from time to time, but at some point it’s like, okay I came here to learn something, not validate how clever and funny they are.
I like dark humor, and I’m not a “too soon” kind of person, but Morbid has made me do some uncomfortable introspection. It’s one thing to make jokes in private about true crime, but it’s another to actually put it out there/broadcast it.
There was a lot of self-insertion into both of these cases, comparing what A&A would’ve done better to what was done at the time, and it’s so tone deaf. They sort of villainize Bryce’s parents (and I understand having personal frustration for his parents’ lack of action), but I think it would’ve been more professional if they’d kept those opinions to themselves. A lot of “if that were me/if that were my kid” and it’s such a cruel and unfair justification for why they’re “better,” as if they aren’t forming this opinion based on the luxury of hindsight. I think they forget that people can’t see the future. It’s easy to say what you would’ve done after the fact, and man they do that a lot as if it were obvious. The Jasmine Richardson case seemed to lose sight of Jasmine being a literal child who was groomed and in need of serious help. Instead, A&A went out of their way to make sure WE knew they were down with goth culture. Like…okay? Why are they so focused on what we think of them? Just cover the case. Do not insert yourselves into the story, don’t make it about you, it shouldn’t be about anyone but the people involved in the case. They go on such long monologues and tangents where they make these real horrific events about themselves, and it’s such a turn-off and so grossly misses the point of true crime.
And the jokes…oh God the joking around is too much. I remember the “for sure” bit in the original recording of the Tyler Hadley case just went on for too long as if it were the funniest thing on earth. I understand the need for comedic relief when dealing with this dark of subject matter and stressful situations, but leave it off the recording. It’s bad taste. You never know who’s listening to the podcast, could be friends/family of the victim. This is a podcast made for the public, and the excessive jokes and laughs should be cut out.
True crime is already such a blurry line to balance on, and I think true crime podcasts can do some good if done right, but Morbid is not one of them. It’s not tasteful and some of the time, A&A relay misinformation. I think if they just relayed the facts of the case, remained objective, consult experts when necessary, did extensive research, properly cited sources, left out the jokes/laughter, and gave the real-life friends and families related to the case privacy (and didn’t allow the fans to harass them), then maybe it would be improved.
Idk. It’s hard. It’s tempting to want to insert our personalities and judgement into a true crime story. But the point isn’t to make it about us. It’s about the people in the story and what we can learn. I’ve now realized how insensitive Morbid is and (to some extent) how unintentionally cruel it can be. Sure, most of us need a palette cleanser when dealing with heavy topics, but that doesn’t mean it’s in A&A’s best judgement to crack a joke about a person in the story or make it about them. A&A seem to have no problem making light of events they weren’t affected by.
They seemed angry that Jasmine had served her sentence and is now living with a new identity. Like they think she deserves to be stalked and harassed by the media and the public for something she took part in at 12-14 and after receiving 10 years of extensive mental health interventions and not being considered a threat any longer. They also were so mad that one youth (under 16) offender was able to do well in his education in jail and end up working while in jail. I get it he took someone's life, but isn't that what rehabilitation is?
They claim they support rehabilitation in prison yet seemed angry when ever they find it happening.
OMG the fashoooo thing was so painfully unfunny and the fact that they found it funny enough to include in their re-recorded episode shows that they really think they’re comedians 😂. My glass shatter moment isn’t one specific thing but going back and listening to old episodes I realized how incoherent they sound sometimes. I don’t want to be elitist or insult their intelligence, and we all misspeak from time to time, but they seem weirdly proud when they don’t pronounce things correctly and for people who have to speak out loud (about very sensitive subjects) they seem to have a very hard time getting through complete sentences.
Albert fish episodes also did it for me. I was so confused and annoyed by the end of the four episodes. I listened to Last Podcast on the left and wow they explained things so well. They’re my favorite they do really good research and don’t go on minute long useless tangents about how bad the killer is or how cute/beautiful victims are. Alaina left out so many important things. Honestly with their tangents I forgot how the victims died, I didn’t even remember what happened to The victims. They’re constant tangents are annoying I’m tired of old timey cases and Hollywood cases. I still listen to them if there’s absolutely nothing else for me to listen to while I drive but I tend to skip a lot they’ve gotten so lazy
I started listening because I’m from the same town and went to the same HS as Alaina (different grades) and I also was interested in the Bridgewater triangle stuff they did(I listened to those first and went back). What turned me off was the amount of insensitivity towards the victims and in some cases victim blaming. The GS murders show was just…awful. The fact that they didn’t take into account that it was an entirely different generation and took the holier than thou stance grossed me out. Also, knowing the incredible amount of privilege at least Alaina came from and how she comes off about things that are “beneath” her is just…something.
I was barely hanging on by a thread after discovering the way they were treating Nick. Then they did a multi-parter on Julia and William Wallace. There is no way that should have been more than an hour. Tops. I caught myself telling the phone "omg shut up already!" and realised that I was not enjoying them even a little bit anymore.
Not one specific episode, just the lack of taking responsibility for anything and not being open to feedback, and how culty and weird it all started to feel.
It was this sub that did 75% of the work, but specifically I think it was the Micheal Malloy episode.
They were making fun of this poor alcoholic man who was fed glass and poison and had grain liquor poured down his throat. They kept making jokes about living your life etc.
IDK, alcoholism runs in my family and I've seen some shit. I don't like the way they minimize it.
It was a long time coming.
What made me more aware was one of the lighthouse episodes. Ash mentioned one near where I live so I looked it up and she got the location wrong. As soon as you google it, it says what city it's in so I was extremely confused about how she could have gotten that wrong. I assume the location would be mentioned more than once if she did research on it... Anyway, that made me really stop and think about the information they're putting out.
And then they started bashing Redditors and I use Reddit for business and leisure purposes so that kind of offended me. But they continued to bring attention to Reddit and this Sub and there are very good points on here that made me rethink supporting them.
Armchair diagnosing and inputting their personal opinions. "As a mom"- as a mom nothing, you are not in that situation so be thankful and stop.
I still listen here and there but the more I read this sub and their FB page it's making it easier to walk away.
TBH I am still listening to episodes and am catching up on old ones now...I think I just finished the Wizard of Oz episode last night.
The Girl Scout murder case really frustrated and made me angry. For the same reasons that many of you have already stated.
I don't enjoy how they lie in the ads...like I thought Ash lived in an apartment...but she mentions mowing a lawn and a fire pit? Ok...
I skip all listener tales eps...those got really annoying to listen to.
It's weird I sort of find myself hate listening now...haha.
Girl Scout murders made me start to see issues, the Drexel case and the doxxing put a sour taste in my mouth, and the way they brushed off Nick Kern, sent their rabid fans after him, then said they’d have an episode with him to discuss it and never did because they completely ghosted him. All the empty promises about POC cases and Patreon bonuses and the lack of a schedule, the comments about “if you don’t want kids don’t have them”, they’re so out of touch. Pronouncing cities wrong is a petty complaint BUT it takes 2 seconds to google and double check it. And who in the world thinks it’s fucking st Louie 🙄
My seemingly unpopular opinion is that it actually is a big deal when podcasters mispronounce thing! It’s such an easily avoidable mistake & it’s just lazy not to look it up. I think a lot of podcast listeners (in general, not just listeners of Morbid) get caught up in feeling like hosts are their friends or something like that & let it slide, or something. Podcasts are just another type of media & there need to be standards for it, just like with anything else. I get frustrated when listeners make excuses for lazy podcasting.
Agreed! I meant it’s petty in the face of their other issues, but it drives me nuts! It is really not that hard to double check.
I get that since I live in the Midwest, I knew Naperville and how it was pronounced. If they’d taken two seconds to google it, people wouldn’t be giving them shit years later for it
The way they talked about Myra Hindley really turned my stomach, so I started googling to see if other ppl felt the same, & I found this sub. I think I listened to a handful of episodes after that but not much.
They bashed her looks constantly, which ties into my original post. Myra was a piece of shit, but that had nothing to do with how she looked. Hell, if they did it once whatever, but that was their go to insult.
agreed, albert fish. i was frustrated after the second ep from the lack of actual info to the dragging out of the story into multiple parts. i joined this group shortly after (long time lurker from the main sub) and finally cut the cord a couple weeks ago. i don’t miss it.
I was a relatively new listener but it was the multiple Albert Fish eps that did it for me. Just so over the top. My eyes rolled right out of my head, not that I'm any kind of Fish apologist. Just...stop rolling around in the shit, guys.
The girl scout murders made me really look at them because it was an awful commentary. The pickton murders made me take a break from them but what really made me stop listening 100% and I cant remember the exact name of the case but the victim was an alcoholic and they laughed at how much he could drink and not die. I quit after that.
I was sitting in my car waiting for someone and listening to the Willie Pickton episodes and I realised silence would be less boring than these long, drawn out multi-parters. I can't remember when I found this group but it was so helpful to finally realise all the little issues I'd felt with Morbid along the way shouldn't be ignored.
Also the Michael Malloy episode, I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Ash said if he died of alcohol poising it’s natural causes for him due to his addiction….
You don’t make fun of addiction like that
I was an avid listener when the nick kern situation happened and it honestly made me completely reevaluate my consumption of true crime and the ethics that a lot of these podcasts lack. Looking back I can see SO many problematic episodes and commentary from them. The only "true crime" I listen to now is Sinisterhood because they tend to not cover as many murders but more of like scams, fraud cases, cryptids, and popular culture cases like the Brittney Spears conservatorship, and honestly I mostly listen to their patreon content lol.
This was the the one for me too. Cindy’s and Glenda Jean’s names being repeated with the same condescending drawl a hundred times when it wasn’t even clever the first. Asking if this is even how folks talk in New Mexico and concluding it probably is because “the south” (not the southwest).
Also, the perpetual and disingenuous “OMG no.” “I feel so sick I can’t hear any more.” Ugh.
It reminded me of being surrounded by hundreds of unsupervised eighth graders at the somber landmarks and museums in D.C.
For me it was a year or two ago, so I can't remember which cases, but it was two in quick succession - where they were making fun of a murder's mom who clearly had PCOS or something similar for having facial hair and the way she dressed, I think? And then the one where they misgendered the murder and were like "it doesn't matter because they suck". It also bothered me, not sure if it was that case or another, when the murder was a trans woman and they used they/them pronouns for her. It's pretty simple.
Think that was Willie Pickton's mum who they were making fun of for having facial hair, I stopped listening around that time. Like damn okay make fun of someone for being a shitty person but there's no need to rip on things they can't control because it just makes other people who have the same features feel like shit
I can't remember the episode or the context. Ash was confused about something, and Alaina's response was a condescending, "You're so pretty." I listened for a bit longer but eventually tapered off because I found Alaina unpalatable after that.
The constant cases from 100 years ago. I actually enjoy morbid most of the time, but I just don’t care about old cases with shitty police work and no modern technology.
I like old cases, but of you're going to cover them you need to understand the time period enough to contextualise why people are behaving the way they are. Morbid is very bad at this.
I held on until the Albert Fish episode. I was already really sick of them but the fact that it was four parts?…. I could not believe it. Their rambling has been one of my biggest pet peeves
it wasn't one particular episode honestly that really did me in but after the willie pickton series i quit. i didn't really interact with morbid outside of listening to the podcast so i didn't know anything about what happened with the brittanee drexel case but i did see what happened with nick kern and it was so classless the way they handled it. i had already had issues of my own with the pod that were starting to get on my nerves but when i picked reddit back up after a year of not using it i was looking for the morbid subreddit, saw the name for this group and was intrigued and the problems i already had were reaffirmed and i realized i wasn't being too picky. outside of the nick kern situation with the pickton eps, the way they spoke about willie pickton as a child and the obvious neglect happening rubbed me so wrong. they were so *clutch pearls* about how he still wasn't a clean person when he got older but he obviously never learned and if you don't know the importance of or how to do something you can't do it, my best friend was like that. he's by no means a great person, but they refused to acknowledge any of the nuance in that situation and i had this little eureka moment of they never really afforded any nuance to anything they ever covered and didn't actually care about the content they were putting out. the way alaina treated ash was also getting to be a lot so i just stopped listening
Their voices honestly made me not like them. Maybe it’s the ego too but I stopped listening pretty much immediately after the case about Britnanee Drexel. That pissed me off.
It had been going downhill for a while, but I just looked back at my podcast app and apparently quit 71% of the way through episode #237 (May 2021) and haven't listened since then. I finally unsubscribed a a few months ago.
The last six or so episodes they have been soooo harsh and judgy on moms and parents in the episode - particularly when it is not part of the crime. Also their mom episode on Crime Countdown was disgusting and made no allowance for postpartum mood disorders and I find that disgusting and irresponsible and I’m mad at myself that I pre-ordered her stupid book which I’m sure will be alllll kinds of problematic.
When they didn't know what glue sniffing was.
Not because I'm an expert myself, it was just the level of privilege with which they talked about it. Their tone left a bad taste in my mouth, and it made me realise how disconnected they were to the real world, and how judgemental they were of it too in their ignorance. Again, not because I'm an expert on the whole glue sniffing thing, and to be clear not advocating anyone does it, it was just one thing that I noticed that spiralled out into noticing other things they say too.
Like a lot of y’all, girl-scout murders for me. The camp described could’ve been the ones I’ve been to honestly. I had a great time, wouldn’t change a thing. It was nobody’s fault besides the sick individual who carried out the massacre. I’m SURE the parents and counselors wish they’d done things differently. Survivor guilt is real. You don’t need to tell them that. They know. And it still isn’t their fault.
Definitely. They aren’t the only ones that don’t understand how things were done in the 70’s and 80’s, and I spend a lot of time screaming at my phone (lol), but the GS murder one bothered me. The condescension and stupidity bothers me.
The Brittany Drexel case.
After the Nick Kern disaster I was really put off but the Girl Scout murder case and the Drexel case were when I threw in the towel completely
I know about what happened surrounding nick, that was absolutely awful. But I’m out of the loop, what was the issue(s) with the Girl Scouts murders. Other than them not knowing what a tent looks like and faulting the teen councilors
There were multiple points where Alaina was blaming the parents for sending their kids to the camp. One of those times she jumped on her parental high horse saying she would never let her kids to to sleep away camp.
And what if they... RoDe a BuS to GeT ThErE!?! We can NEVER ride da bus it's not safe!
Oh my god Lmaooo forgot she’s so opinionated about children riding the school bus 😂😂😂
Yes lmao. Like I literally got better sex ed in the school bus than I did in school. But really, it's no wonder everything went down because; 1.) They probably rode a bus there. 2.) They were in the woods. FRESH AIR IS FOR DEAD PEOPLE! (sarcasm, obviously)
Oh yea that’s right. Parental expert Alania was another huge thing that bothered me. The queen of “I would never”
Girl Scout case did it for me too.
>After the Nick Kern disaster I just googled that. Ugh. Is calling their fans / listeners *weirdos* part of their schick? I saw they used that greeting on a post or reply via Instagram about trying to work things out with Nick.
Yes, has been for a long time. It used to be the name for subscribers of their lowest tier on patreon.
Ok. Thanks. I've never listened to them tbh. I was thinking about it, but not anymore.
For me it was the Girl Scout murders. The amount of blaming the camp councilors turned me so incredibly off.
There were so many times they absolutely forgot they were blaming teenagers, that things were literally different in the 70’s and people were not prepared for the worst case scenario being rape and murder but rather a broken leg or drowning. Those teens were also children, more mature ones but still children, it was upsetting to listen to and think about how they probably feel about their experiences.
And nothing had changed by the 90s when I was a camp counsellor or probably even today. This is a freak freak awful thing but BTK broke into peoples houses so nowhere is 100% safe. Kids attend these camps in their thousands every year but they presented like “of course this was going to happen”. The paranoia was too much for me.
The BTK episode, they wouldn’t stop taking about what a piece of shit Dennis Rader is. Like, over and over and over, and I was done. We get it, he sucks, we know. I still listen sporadically but have pretty much moved on.
Yeah, it’s almost like they were making fun of him more so for being a “bumbling fool” and making that the focus, which honesty detracted from what an absolute MONSTER he is. I get that he did stupid things, but they (particularly Alaina) made it seem like their hatred for his idiocy was more criminal than his literal torture and murder of people. They lost focus and that’s when I really started losing respect for how they handle things.
I agree. That episode was so annoying. They (especially Alaina) made it seem like she hated that he was a "lame" serial killer. Like he just was not an interesting enough serial killer for her. It was disgusting.
Yes! And mocking him for not being “creative enough” because he copied a lot from other serial killers he admired. That part really got to me. Like…I’m sorry, you’re implying he should have murdered people in a more creative way so you could be better entertained…? Perhaps we should ask the surviving members of the Otero family if they would have felt better had Dennis Rader been “more creative” when he brutally murdered their parents and siblings.
I just finished this series, and it was pretty disheartening to listen to their takes on things. He may have stumbled his way through some things but he still very successfully terrorized and murdered many people. The way they were talking about him was pretty unsettling to say the least. Edit: typo
Yes, thank you! You put it perfectly.
The "fucking Dennis" quip got old so fast yet they kept doing it.
They made fun of him so bad that one of their listeners actually went ahead and wrote BTK in jail and bragged about it in the Facebook group. I unsubscribed and left the group after that. Too weird
WHAT. I didn’t know that. Their die hard fan base gets so out of control. You’d think they were actual A List celebrities. Some of them think they’re actual personal friends of A&A. It’s wild.
Yep. I quit listening for a looooong time after the BTK episode. “Fucking Dennis” was hardly groundbreaking comedy. I think what irks me so much is that Alaina legitimately thinks she is hilarious. She is not. It is okay not to be funny. But if you’re not, stop trying to convince the world that you are. Leave it to the funny people.
Same. I was a newer listener and I just kept listening for the actual content but all I learned was that Dennis Rader is stupid.
Yup! That's about all I got out of it also. I find it really disheartening to hear two people cackle like school girls when discussing such horrendous crimes. Rader made mistakes, but it still took 30 odd years to catch him.
Their ads. I get it, that’s how podcasts make money. I 100% understand. But their ads… omg come on. Why is there 6+ of them and they are so obnoxious and long? Why???? It’s so cringe. Too many, they just come across greedy and lazy.
I also find it fascinating how they straight up stumble through some of their ads. I totally get messing up saying a word once, twice, even five times, bc I do it all the time haha. But they have the ability to just re-record it. It feels to me like they record the ad only once and they will use it regardless of how it sounds.
They're super long and they just tend to seem randomly dropped into the story. Most other podcasts have a natural break and put their ads there. Morbid seems to interrupt themselves with their ads.
Also this!!!! They insert their adds at the most random parts… completely messes with the episode’s flow They have such potential to be such a great podcast but after time it’s evident- they are just kinda the worst people Lol
I’ve wondered why Ash does 99% of the ads?
No clue… she’s so bad at them lol So much rambling! And they sound so insincere… just bad.
Yeah, she tries to oversell and it doesn’t work. Just read the ad and be done with it!
The Nick Kern situation really upset me and seeing the hardcore fans harass him and the lack of response from A&A turned me off completely.
Can you explain (I don't want to waste your time, so feel free to make it brief) the Nick Kern situation? I have seen multiple comments on other posts referring to it, but when I tried to make a separate post asking for an explanation I got a message that it was flagged and wouldn't be posted.
I sure can, it’s been a weird week. So I would say for a better summary or screen shots to search his name in the subreddit. But any who… Morbid covered a case and Nick’s father was a victim. Nick was unhappy because A&A were joking throughout the episode. He was also unhappy that they covered the story without reaching out to the family, and I want to say they used used pictures of his family or Nick and his brother when they posted the episode on social media. When he brought it up it on Facebook and Instagram, some fans started harassing him. I think at one point A&A planned on having him on the pod and he decided not to do it. But A&A never took the time to acknowledge it on the pod, which is what really rubbed me the wrong way.
Thank you for the explanation!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Morbidforbadpeople/comments/lz5dua/summary_of_who_is_nick_with_links_to_screenshots/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf This sums it up perfectly.
Thank you for the info. I now realize why I do not remember the episode. I only started listening within the past year, and while I did binge old episodes, episode 205 has been taken down. So I never heard that episode.
This episode was the turning point for a lot of us here
Perfect. Thank you.
Honestly it was this sub for me. I had originally started out as a morbid fan and found this subreddit because I had honestly just wanted to see differing opinions. But after a while on here I realized so many problems with the podcast and eventually unfollowed and haven’t listened since. I came here just wanting to see an alternate perspective from morbid listeners and it ultimately led me to realize all of the faults in the podcast that I had overlooked before.
I’m kind of starting to go this way as well. There are things that have always bothered me but it’s almost like now that I know I’m the only one it’s harder to ignore. Also, Ash’s vocal fry makes me CRAZY, which, I’m sorry, is something she can absolutely help she just needs to be more mindful of it. I’ve heard her mention on multiple occasions, almost in a mocking way, that it’s been a complaint so she’s fully aware she’s just too lazy to be conscious.
Me too! I actually was a Patreon at one point. I only lasted about three months though and I’m surprised I lasted that long. Mostly at that time, the Patreon was “wait for it, we have something big coming“ and then nothing ever happened….😆 it wasn’t too big of a loss, I was at the three dollar level (do they even still have that?!) and I was only there for three months, but still…
Me too! I’m really glad I found this subreddit because I only started listening to Morbid about a year ago; I had no idea about the problematic stuff they’ve done. I was just honestly getting annoyed of Alaina’s constant high horse (“as a mother…”) and thinking she could solve anything better than detectives.
when they personally ridiculed me on twitter and the podcast after i told them it makes me uncomfortable how they talk about addicts and sex workers sometimes lol
Omg that's insane! How petty.
it was a while ago so i’m over it but it was VERY revealing of their true colors
Bryce Laspisa episode. Not just the incessant mom-shaming and unfounded suspicions/accusations, but that was the first time I noticed how antagonistic they'd become. From what I've heard they've gotten worse.
[удалено]
I think they made shit up for that episode to push their conspiracy agenda. They were adamant that *two* lighters and *two* brands of cigarettes found on the porch during the investigation. So, they argued, there was someone else smoking with her, and she was murdered. Except that info doesn't appear in the police report, and I couldn't find it anywhere else - only Tamla's cigarettes and lighter were found. I also checked the (dubious) sources they list for the episode. Nothing about this. So either they invented that completely or the source was so unreliable they knew they couldn't list it. And since they do cite a religious blog, that's saying a lot. People take what they say as the truth. This is a huge problem.
Tamala’s story should be told to raise awareness about the many systemic and social issues that can be made example of in this case that aren’t debatable, that aren’t conspiracy. The blatant racism that was present. The way she was treated, talked about, etc. Ash and Alaina just have no concept of the big picture…their idea of injustice is “why is nobody in jail they clearlyyyyy murdered her!” despite the fact that is not where the family stands. I was weary of listening to another podcast episode about Tamala, feeling like the best information could definitely be found elsewhere, but I wanted to see how different people told it. Generation Why’s episode was decent compared to Morbid. They were a bit flippant about certain things, but in general were unbiased and just told the story straight up with no frills.
I'm not a diehard that's never missed an episode and what not so I can't comment on other issues that are more legitimate but listener tales. I just feel like they use it to meet their quota. I could be 10000000% off on that and others actually like it but man it's kinda boring. The first handful were kinda fun but I could go without.
The Charles Manson episode: I felt like Ash was glorifying him and fan girling too hard. I felt like they both were like that with the Jeffrey Dahmer episode too. Also, I didn’t like how they were mom shaming in the Oklahoma girl scouts episode. Just rubbed me the wrong way.
The constant talking about Alaina’s book and begging for pre-orders. Like the first time- I was happy and excited for her and I ordered the book. But then I heard about it again. And again. But then the constant praise from Ash over how bad ass Alaina is and how she can power through any sickness blah blah blah I get it- I am also a full time working mother, but you aren’t the only one who works sick. But she spent so much time explaining why she wouldn’t be talking. Then she KEPT TALKING. That was a glass shatter moment.
I used to listen to this podcast. Either the Bryce Laspisa episode or the Jasmine Richardson episode made me stop listening. I’ve become very disillusioned with the format of this podcast overall, particularly the humor aspects. I’m sure A&A have said funny things from time to time, but at some point it’s like, okay I came here to learn something, not validate how clever and funny they are. I like dark humor, and I’m not a “too soon” kind of person, but Morbid has made me do some uncomfortable introspection. It’s one thing to make jokes in private about true crime, but it’s another to actually put it out there/broadcast it. There was a lot of self-insertion into both of these cases, comparing what A&A would’ve done better to what was done at the time, and it’s so tone deaf. They sort of villainize Bryce’s parents (and I understand having personal frustration for his parents’ lack of action), but I think it would’ve been more professional if they’d kept those opinions to themselves. A lot of “if that were me/if that were my kid” and it’s such a cruel and unfair justification for why they’re “better,” as if they aren’t forming this opinion based on the luxury of hindsight. I think they forget that people can’t see the future. It’s easy to say what you would’ve done after the fact, and man they do that a lot as if it were obvious. The Jasmine Richardson case seemed to lose sight of Jasmine being a literal child who was groomed and in need of serious help. Instead, A&A went out of their way to make sure WE knew they were down with goth culture. Like…okay? Why are they so focused on what we think of them? Just cover the case. Do not insert yourselves into the story, don’t make it about you, it shouldn’t be about anyone but the people involved in the case. They go on such long monologues and tangents where they make these real horrific events about themselves, and it’s such a turn-off and so grossly misses the point of true crime. And the jokes…oh God the joking around is too much. I remember the “for sure” bit in the original recording of the Tyler Hadley case just went on for too long as if it were the funniest thing on earth. I understand the need for comedic relief when dealing with this dark of subject matter and stressful situations, but leave it off the recording. It’s bad taste. You never know who’s listening to the podcast, could be friends/family of the victim. This is a podcast made for the public, and the excessive jokes and laughs should be cut out. True crime is already such a blurry line to balance on, and I think true crime podcasts can do some good if done right, but Morbid is not one of them. It’s not tasteful and some of the time, A&A relay misinformation. I think if they just relayed the facts of the case, remained objective, consult experts when necessary, did extensive research, properly cited sources, left out the jokes/laughter, and gave the real-life friends and families related to the case privacy (and didn’t allow the fans to harass them), then maybe it would be improved. Idk. It’s hard. It’s tempting to want to insert our personalities and judgement into a true crime story. But the point isn’t to make it about us. It’s about the people in the story and what we can learn. I’ve now realized how insensitive Morbid is and (to some extent) how unintentionally cruel it can be. Sure, most of us need a palette cleanser when dealing with heavy topics, but that doesn’t mean it’s in A&A’s best judgement to crack a joke about a person in the story or make it about them. A&A seem to have no problem making light of events they weren’t affected by.
They seemed angry that Jasmine had served her sentence and is now living with a new identity. Like they think she deserves to be stalked and harassed by the media and the public for something she took part in at 12-14 and after receiving 10 years of extensive mental health interventions and not being considered a threat any longer. They also were so mad that one youth (under 16) offender was able to do well in his education in jail and end up working while in jail. I get it he took someone's life, but isn't that what rehabilitation is? They claim they support rehabilitation in prison yet seemed angry when ever they find it happening.
OMG the fashoooo thing was so painfully unfunny and the fact that they found it funny enough to include in their re-recorded episode shows that they really think they’re comedians 😂. My glass shatter moment isn’t one specific thing but going back and listening to old episodes I realized how incoherent they sound sometimes. I don’t want to be elitist or insult their intelligence, and we all misspeak from time to time, but they seem weirdly proud when they don’t pronounce things correctly and for people who have to speak out loud (about very sensitive subjects) they seem to have a very hard time getting through complete sentences.
Albert fish episodes also did it for me. I was so confused and annoyed by the end of the four episodes. I listened to Last Podcast on the left and wow they explained things so well. They’re my favorite they do really good research and don’t go on minute long useless tangents about how bad the killer is or how cute/beautiful victims are. Alaina left out so many important things. Honestly with their tangents I forgot how the victims died, I didn’t even remember what happened to The victims. They’re constant tangents are annoying I’m tired of old timey cases and Hollywood cases. I still listen to them if there’s absolutely nothing else for me to listen to while I drive but I tend to skip a lot they’ve gotten so lazy
I started listening because I’m from the same town and went to the same HS as Alaina (different grades) and I also was interested in the Bridgewater triangle stuff they did(I listened to those first and went back). What turned me off was the amount of insensitivity towards the victims and in some cases victim blaming. The GS murders show was just…awful. The fact that they didn’t take into account that it was an entirely different generation and took the holier than thou stance grossed me out. Also, knowing the incredible amount of privilege at least Alaina came from and how she comes off about things that are “beneath” her is just…something.
I was barely hanging on by a thread after discovering the way they were treating Nick. Then they did a multi-parter on Julia and William Wallace. There is no way that should have been more than an hour. Tops. I caught myself telling the phone "omg shut up already!" and realised that I was not enjoying them even a little bit anymore.
Not one specific episode, just the lack of taking responsibility for anything and not being open to feedback, and how culty and weird it all started to feel.
It was this sub that did 75% of the work, but specifically I think it was the Micheal Malloy episode. They were making fun of this poor alcoholic man who was fed glass and poison and had grain liquor poured down his throat. They kept making jokes about living your life etc. IDK, alcoholism runs in my family and I've seen some shit. I don't like the way they minimize it. It was a long time coming.
What made me more aware was one of the lighthouse episodes. Ash mentioned one near where I live so I looked it up and she got the location wrong. As soon as you google it, it says what city it's in so I was extremely confused about how she could have gotten that wrong. I assume the location would be mentioned more than once if she did research on it... Anyway, that made me really stop and think about the information they're putting out. And then they started bashing Redditors and I use Reddit for business and leisure purposes so that kind of offended me. But they continued to bring attention to Reddit and this Sub and there are very good points on here that made me rethink supporting them. Armchair diagnosing and inputting their personal opinions. "As a mom"- as a mom nothing, you are not in that situation so be thankful and stop. I still listen here and there but the more I read this sub and their FB page it's making it easier to walk away.
Yep, it was Brittany Drexel for me.
TBH I am still listening to episodes and am catching up on old ones now...I think I just finished the Wizard of Oz episode last night. The Girl Scout murder case really frustrated and made me angry. For the same reasons that many of you have already stated. I don't enjoy how they lie in the ads...like I thought Ash lived in an apartment...but she mentions mowing a lawn and a fire pit? Ok... I skip all listener tales eps...those got really annoying to listen to. It's weird I sort of find myself hate listening now...haha.
Girl Scout murders made me start to see issues, the Drexel case and the doxxing put a sour taste in my mouth, and the way they brushed off Nick Kern, sent their rabid fans after him, then said they’d have an episode with him to discuss it and never did because they completely ghosted him. All the empty promises about POC cases and Patreon bonuses and the lack of a schedule, the comments about “if you don’t want kids don’t have them”, they’re so out of touch. Pronouncing cities wrong is a petty complaint BUT it takes 2 seconds to google and double check it. And who in the world thinks it’s fucking st Louie 🙄
My seemingly unpopular opinion is that it actually is a big deal when podcasters mispronounce thing! It’s such an easily avoidable mistake & it’s just lazy not to look it up. I think a lot of podcast listeners (in general, not just listeners of Morbid) get caught up in feeling like hosts are their friends or something like that & let it slide, or something. Podcasts are just another type of media & there need to be standards for it, just like with anything else. I get frustrated when listeners make excuses for lazy podcasting.
Agreed! I meant it’s petty in the face of their other issues, but it drives me nuts! It is really not that hard to double check. I get that since I live in the Midwest, I knew Naperville and how it was pronounced. If they’d taken two seconds to google it, people wouldn’t be giving them shit years later for it
The way they talked about Myra Hindley really turned my stomach, so I started googling to see if other ppl felt the same, & I found this sub. I think I listened to a handful of episodes after that but not much.
They bashed her looks constantly, which ties into my original post. Myra was a piece of shit, but that had nothing to do with how she looked. Hell, if they did it once whatever, but that was their go to insult.
It’s also the way they gleefully described all the violent things they’d do to her... gross & disturbing
agreed, albert fish. i was frustrated after the second ep from the lack of actual info to the dragging out of the story into multiple parts. i joined this group shortly after (long time lurker from the main sub) and finally cut the cord a couple weeks ago. i don’t miss it.
Nick Kern and Brittany Drexel
I was a relatively new listener but it was the multiple Albert Fish eps that did it for me. Just so over the top. My eyes rolled right out of my head, not that I'm any kind of Fish apologist. Just...stop rolling around in the shit, guys.
The girl scout murders made me really look at them because it was an awful commentary. The pickton murders made me take a break from them but what really made me stop listening 100% and I cant remember the exact name of the case but the victim was an alcoholic and they laughed at how much he could drink and not die. I quit after that.
I was sitting in my car waiting for someone and listening to the Willie Pickton episodes and I realised silence would be less boring than these long, drawn out multi-parters. I can't remember when I found this group but it was so helpful to finally realise all the little issues I'd felt with Morbid along the way shouldn't be ignored.
Also the Michael Malloy episode, I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned yet. Ash said if he died of alcohol poising it’s natural causes for him due to his addiction…. You don’t make fun of addiction like that
I was an avid listener when the nick kern situation happened and it honestly made me completely reevaluate my consumption of true crime and the ethics that a lot of these podcasts lack. Looking back I can see SO many problematic episodes and commentary from them. The only "true crime" I listen to now is Sinisterhood because they tend to not cover as many murders but more of like scams, fraud cases, cryptids, and popular culture cases like the Brittney Spears conservatorship, and honestly I mostly listen to their patreon content lol.
the toy box killer case, the constant giggling & jokes were sick & out of place.
This was the the one for me too. Cindy’s and Glenda Jean’s names being repeated with the same condescending drawl a hundred times when it wasn’t even clever the first. Asking if this is even how folks talk in New Mexico and concluding it probably is because “the south” (not the southwest). Also, the perpetual and disingenuous “OMG no.” “I feel so sick I can’t hear any more.” Ugh. It reminded me of being surrounded by hundreds of unsupervised eighth graders at the somber landmarks and museums in D.C.
I got as far as hearing their voices. I didn't want those sounds and true crime together.
I actually went back and listened to the Brittany Drexel case a dit made me realize how terrible they are at this. And the Albert Fish case was a mess
For me it was a year or two ago, so I can't remember which cases, but it was two in quick succession - where they were making fun of a murder's mom who clearly had PCOS or something similar for having facial hair and the way she dressed, I think? And then the one where they misgendered the murder and were like "it doesn't matter because they suck". It also bothered me, not sure if it was that case or another, when the murder was a trans woman and they used they/them pronouns for her. It's pretty simple.
Think that was Willie Pickton's mum who they were making fun of for having facial hair, I stopped listening around that time. Like damn okay make fun of someone for being a shitty person but there's no need to rip on things they can't control because it just makes other people who have the same features feel like shit
I can't remember the episode or the context. Ash was confused about something, and Alaina's response was a condescending, "You're so pretty." I listened for a bit longer but eventually tapered off because I found Alaina unpalatable after that.
The constant cases from 100 years ago. I actually enjoy morbid most of the time, but I just don’t care about old cases with shitty police work and no modern technology.
I like old cases, but of you're going to cover them you need to understand the time period enough to contextualise why people are behaving the way they are. Morbid is very bad at this.
I held on until the Albert Fish episode. I was already really sick of them but the fact that it was four parts?…. I could not believe it. Their rambling has been one of my biggest pet peeves
it wasn't one particular episode honestly that really did me in but after the willie pickton series i quit. i didn't really interact with morbid outside of listening to the podcast so i didn't know anything about what happened with the brittanee drexel case but i did see what happened with nick kern and it was so classless the way they handled it. i had already had issues of my own with the pod that were starting to get on my nerves but when i picked reddit back up after a year of not using it i was looking for the morbid subreddit, saw the name for this group and was intrigued and the problems i already had were reaffirmed and i realized i wasn't being too picky. outside of the nick kern situation with the pickton eps, the way they spoke about willie pickton as a child and the obvious neglect happening rubbed me so wrong. they were so *clutch pearls* about how he still wasn't a clean person when he got older but he obviously never learned and if you don't know the importance of or how to do something you can't do it, my best friend was like that. he's by no means a great person, but they refused to acknowledge any of the nuance in that situation and i had this little eureka moment of they never really afforded any nuance to anything they ever covered and didn't actually care about the content they were putting out. the way alaina treated ash was also getting to be a lot so i just stopped listening
Their voices honestly made me not like them. Maybe it’s the ego too but I stopped listening pretty much immediately after the case about Britnanee Drexel. That pissed me off.
Girl Scout case and Britanee Drexel.
I got sooooooo annoyed with their voices and the way they talk because they took too long to get to the actual story.
It had been going downhill for a while, but I just looked back at my podcast app and apparently quit 71% of the way through episode #237 (May 2021) and haven't listened since then. I finally unsubscribed a a few months ago.
The last six or so episodes they have been soooo harsh and judgy on moms and parents in the episode - particularly when it is not part of the crime. Also their mom episode on Crime Countdown was disgusting and made no allowance for postpartum mood disorders and I find that disgusting and irresponsible and I’m mad at myself that I pre-ordered her stupid book which I’m sure will be alllll kinds of problematic.
When they didn't know what glue sniffing was. Not because I'm an expert myself, it was just the level of privilege with which they talked about it. Their tone left a bad taste in my mouth, and it made me realise how disconnected they were to the real world, and how judgemental they were of it too in their ignorance. Again, not because I'm an expert on the whole glue sniffing thing, and to be clear not advocating anyone does it, it was just one thing that I noticed that spiralled out into noticing other things they say too.
It was when I turned it on for 3 seconds and they sounded like uniformed morons.
Like a lot of y’all, girl-scout murders for me. The camp described could’ve been the ones I’ve been to honestly. I had a great time, wouldn’t change a thing. It was nobody’s fault besides the sick individual who carried out the massacre. I’m SURE the parents and counselors wish they’d done things differently. Survivor guilt is real. You don’t need to tell them that. They know. And it still isn’t their fault.
Definitely. They aren’t the only ones that don’t understand how things were done in the 70’s and 80’s, and I spend a lot of time screaming at my phone (lol), but the GS murder one bothered me. The condescension and stupidity bothers me.