My Favorite Murder has grown from a podcast in which hosts
Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark chat casually about their favorite crime stories
to the flagship series in the Exactly Right media network of podcasts. This comedy
podcast about murder and mayhem has a devoted following of “Murderinos” (as the
fan cult self-identifies) from all over the world. Last weekend, the Murderinos
descended on Santa Barbara for the My Favorite Weekend fan convention extravaganza
that included the taping of live Exactly Right podcasts, including The Purrrcastand Murder Squad: Jensen & Holes, at the Arlington Theatre.
Kilgariff and Hardstark’s live MFM episodes have a format: Each
host tells the story of a (usually local) murder, and then they invite members of
the audience to share their “hometown murder” stories of area crime. The show at
the Arlington ran a bit off the normal course, since the theater wasn’t filled with
Santa Barbarans but fans from all over the country. In terms of local lore, audiences
were treated to the story of Thor Nis Christiansen, a late ’70s serial killer from
Solvang who murdered, among others, female UCSB students.
The highlight of the evening was an interview with guest Carol Daly, a detective who worked the East Area Rapist (also known as the Golden State Killer) case in Sacramento in the 1970s. MFM’s identity has been refined over hundreds of episodes, and the broadcast’s tone has a strong feminist component — especially when it comes to celebrating women crime-fighters. Daly’s experience as a detective on this major rape and murder spree gave a fascinating and intimate look to one of history’s heroines who were breaking glass ceilings in law enforcement while chasing down dangerous predators.