Huh, I had no idea that MFM went dark. I still had MFM in my podcast subs until this past spring, but I wasn't enjoying it very often. I only really liked the Karen parts to begin with (although I did like when Georgia was on Drunk History, and I covet her entire wardrobe). And then they started doing these annoying "quilt" episodes where they would take a Karen segment from one live show and a Georgia segment from a different live show, and play that instead of a new podcast. I was so bored by it, so I unsubscribed. I support a ton of podcasts and other online content, but I never gave them any money. I guess it's because it seemed like they had plenty of supporters already, given the house Karen bought. I'd rather support the smaller creators.
I value MFM because they inspired so many Facebook groups that I've enjoyed over the years, but I figure I can still value them without listening. The only thing I still listen to on their network is Murder Squad (the Paul Holes/Billy Jensen podcast) because I like how they deep dive on unsolved cases. And I like when Billy talks about truly puerile things for a man his age, like Happy Meal toys.
MFM returned this week with a new episode. I continue to subscribe because I like them (particularly Kilgariff), but I don't like their approach to true crime, so I listen to their opening repartee and then skip their book report presentations of true crime stories....
I’ve seen—I guess “grumbling” is the word—around Reddit that MFM seemed to be a victim of its own success, and that neither host has sounded like she wanted to be there for some time now. As a former solo podcaster, I had the opposite problem: feeling bad about quitting on the single fan I actually had because she was a personal friend. But I definitely can relate to the point of being like, “crap, I have to do all this work that’s no longer rewarding, and why am I knocking myself out for this?” I mean, in their case I know it’s money, which would probably make it even harder to just rip the bandage off and kill the thing when it’s paying your bills. But I feel like the only 300+ episode podcasts that have kept up the momentum over that many episodes are SDB’s Again With This and Last Podcast on the Left. LPotL is not for everyone because it’s definitely a comedic true crime pod, and I know feelings can be mixed about those, but I love me a two-hour podcast and they deliver.
Also, there are true crime shows that are not about murder. The two I’d recommend are Lie Cheat & Steal (scams/fraud) and The Emily Show (former LA deputy DA analyzes pop culture lawsuits).
I have much appreciation for those who put out quality product day, week, or month after month, while, in many cases, getting little money or no feedback. Especially if the artist is providing content solo. I maintained a modest blog for five years and that alone was sometimes exhausting for someone with a full time job ‘on the side’. I can’t imagine the kind of energy and passion it takes to maintain a thriving podcast enterprise for more than a few years.
I find myself occasionally mourning a fallen podcast, but at the same time I have compassion for the artists who are simply unable to maintain theirs for a variety of reasons.
TWoP was a topic of discussion recently, with the agreement that later forums have not been nearly as well-moderated, useful, or satisfying. The beauty of a quality podcast that rises to the top is that we know what excellence can be and, hopefully, we can monetarily reward those superior enterprises, for however long they prevail.
Huh, I had no idea that MFM went dark. I still had MFM in my podcast subs until this past spring, but I wasn't enjoying it very often. I only really liked the Karen parts to begin with (although I did like when Georgia was on Drunk History, and I covet her entire wardrobe). And then they started doing these annoying "quilt" episodes where they would take a Karen segment from one live show and a Georgia segment from a different live show, and play that instead of a new podcast. I was so bored by it, so I unsubscribed. I support a ton of podcasts and other online content, but I never gave them any money. I guess it's because it seemed like they had plenty of supporters already, given the house Karen bought. I'd rather support the smaller creators.
I value MFM because they inspired so many Facebook groups that I've enjoyed over the years, but I figure I can still value them without listening. The only thing I still listen to on their network is Murder Squad (the Paul Holes/Billy Jensen podcast) because I like how they deep dive on unsolved cases. And I like when Billy talks about truly puerile things for a man his age, like Happy Meal toys.
MFM returned this week with a new episode. I continue to subscribe because I like them (particularly Kilgariff), but I don't like their approach to true crime, so I listen to their opening repartee and then skip their book report presentations of true crime stories....
I’ve seen—I guess “grumbling” is the word—around Reddit that MFM seemed to be a victim of its own success, and that neither host has sounded like she wanted to be there for some time now. As a former solo podcaster, I had the opposite problem: feeling bad about quitting on the single fan I actually had because she was a personal friend. But I definitely can relate to the point of being like, “crap, I have to do all this work that’s no longer rewarding, and why am I knocking myself out for this?” I mean, in their case I know it’s money, which would probably make it even harder to just rip the bandage off and kill the thing when it’s paying your bills. But I feel like the only 300+ episode podcasts that have kept up the momentum over that many episodes are SDB’s Again With This and Last Podcast on the Left. LPotL is not for everyone because it’s definitely a comedic true crime pod, and I know feelings can be mixed about those, but I love me a two-hour podcast and they deliver.
Also, there are true crime shows that are not about murder. The two I’d recommend are Lie Cheat & Steal (scams/fraud) and The Emily Show (former LA deputy DA analyzes pop culture lawsuits).
Great entry.
I have much appreciation for those who put out quality product day, week, or month after month, while, in many cases, getting little money or no feedback. Especially if the artist is providing content solo. I maintained a modest blog for five years and that alone was sometimes exhausting for someone with a full time job ‘on the side’. I can’t imagine the kind of energy and passion it takes to maintain a thriving podcast enterprise for more than a few years.
I find myself occasionally mourning a fallen podcast, but at the same time I have compassion for the artists who are simply unable to maintain theirs for a variety of reasons.
TWoP was a topic of discussion recently, with the agreement that later forums have not been nearly as well-moderated, useful, or satisfying. The beauty of a quality podcast that rises to the top is that we know what excellence can be and, hopefully, we can monetarily reward those superior enterprises, for however long they prevail.
I haven’t listened to MFM in a few years, but I love Georgia and Karen. When it was good it was great.