Ready for a totally \u201cThank you, Captain Obvious\u201d statement? The True Crime Category is a very big space! In order to stand out in the genre, wise podcasters create a niche within a niche, some utilizing a fusion, of sorts. Take, for example, my Under the Radar feature two months ago\u2014<\/span>The Great Fail<\/span><\/i>\u2014a combo of True Crime and Business. The same goes for <\/span>True Crime Obsessed<\/span><\/i>, a True Crime and Comedy mixture, which was last month\u2019s category feature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as brilliant is the amalgamation of True Crime and Politics in Hillary Dougherty and Tina Jaramillo\u2019s show, <\/span>The Muck Podcast<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe title is a nod to the muckrakers in the late 19<\/span><\/i>th<\/span><\/i> century\u2014the journalists who were exposing political corruption,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tina explained enthusiastically. (For those of you who, like myself, are unaware of this historical reference, according to Wikipedia, the muckrakers were reform-minded journalists in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s\u20131920s) who exposed established institutions and leaders as corrupt.)<\/span><\/p>\n

I was of course curious about the draw these dynamic co-hosts have to this specific mixture of True Crime and Politics. <\/span>\u201cTina and I know each other through politics,\u201d<\/span><\/i> answered Hillary. <\/span>\u201cWe met while doing volunteer work for campaigns and candidates. She came into one of our meetings wearing a \u2018My Favorite Murder\u2019 t-shirt, and I just had to ask: <\/span><\/i>\u2018Are you a \u2018murderino?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The rest was history. <\/span>\u201cWe share a love of true crime and of politics\u2014for the good and the bad of both,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Hillary added.<\/span><\/h3>\n

The pair realized that it would be difficult to stand out with yet another podcast in either category. <\/span>\u201cSo, we came up with the idea of marrying our two loves,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tina said. <\/span>\u201cWe wanted it to be fun, so while we do cover some darker topics like murder, we also bring in some of the kooky and quirky politician [stories], so it\u2019s a nice mix. I think it\u2019s one of the things our listeners like about the show. It\u2019s a variety and a blend of weird things that have happened.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cTrue crime and politics go so well together, because both are about human behavior,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Hillary exclaimed. <\/span>\u201cExpecting something more from someone who is elected to office is ridiculous.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThese are just people,\u201d <\/span><\/i>Tina chimed in. <\/span><\/h4>\n

Although we tend to hold politicians to a higher standard because they hold public office, they clearly don\u2019t always live up to that standard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody makes mistakes,\u201d <\/span><\/i>Hillary empathized. <\/span>\u201cEverybody\u2019s human. They\u2019re very likely <\/span><\/i>not<\/span> going to be the messiahs people are waiting for.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Agreeing, Tina spoke to the <\/span>\u201csociopathic tendencies\u201d<\/span><\/i> of some politicians. <\/span>\u201cA lot of times, people who seek office do so because of ego, or similar less-than-admirable motivations. People often look to those who have a title like \u2018mayor\u2019 as somehow \u2018better\u2019 humans. But really, they can just as easily have no regard for \u2018right\u2019 and \u2018wrong\u2019 as anyone else. They just happened to have been elected.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When it comes to <\/span>The Muck Podcast<\/span><\/i>\u2019s fanbase, Hillary said they\u2019re generally more interested in <\/span>\u201cthe true-crime aspect.<\/span><\/i> We emphasize that over politics, because our listeners love the stories. Politics itself can be exhausting. [Our show] is not like that at all. We talk about the crazy, goofy, insane stories that come straight from our history in US politics.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In other words, <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s not a boring history lesson,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Tina mentioned. <\/span>\u201cWhen people hear the word \u2018politics,\u2019 some shut down immediately. They often have a preconceived notion of what that means. That\u2019s why we play with [the promotion], so people understand what it is we are actually doing\u2026 and so they don\u2019t tune out before they even tune in.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To illustrate the point, Hillary points to Episode 1: How Many Licks? <\/span>\u201cIn the promo, we say, \u2018This woman licks a guy\u2019s face!\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/i> she laughed <\/span>\u201cWe are careful in how we draw listeners in. If we say, \u2018We\u2019re talking about politics,\u2019 nobody\u2019s going to tune in to listen to that.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

While politics may be considered boring by most, true crime is often viewed as a sort of escape. And that is what Hillary and Tina aim to provide, by covering off-the-wall stories like their nearly two-hour long Episode 15: Magical Vagina. Joking with the ladies that such a lengthy episode is a commitment more than a podcast episode, Tina laughed and replied, <\/span>\u201cWe try to keep it to an hour.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Hillary joined in the laughter, reminiscing about the editing process for that episode. <\/span>\u201cWhile I was editing, I was thinking, \u2018It\u2019s SO LONG!\u2019 I cut so much out, but there was so much great information.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is about escaping,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Hillary segued, \u201c<\/span>With other podcasts, you know what\u2019s coming. But in politics, you have no idea what\u2019s around the corner. Someone seems like a great person, and then the mask comes off. He\u2019s wealthy, going to Harvard, earning all these degrees, and then all of a sudden, he\u2019s committing a crime.\u201d <\/span><\/i>She went on to say that political true crime can be even scarier than true crime, given that <\/span>\u201cthey have the power to effect entire communities in terrible ways.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s not just on the federal level,\u201d<\/span><\/i> added Tina. <\/span>\u201cWe have covered sheriffs, school board members, and superintendents who seem like \u2018regular\u2019 people, but who are actually scamming millions of dollars, or running guns, or smuggling drugs. It\u2019s wild.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

To that point, the most disturbing episode they\u2019ve published so far may have been about the judge involved in human trafficking. <\/span>\u201cThat episode was tough for me,\u201d<\/span><\/i> remembered Tina. <\/span>\u201cHe used his power to take advantage of women.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

That wasn\u2019t the only corrupt judge they covered, either. Referring to Episode 12: Patient Zero, Tina said, <\/span>\u201cThe \u2018Kids for Cash\u2019 case was about a judge who sentenced thousands of kids to jail so he could pocket money. The cases that deal with hurting children or human trafficking are horrible, because these people were in an elected position that allowed them to take advantage of people. Those are the hardest ones for me to do.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI actually cried when I covered the AIDS epidemic,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Hillary continued. <\/span>\u201cGoing through those stories was hard. I had a family member pass away from it in 1996, and of course, my family was affected by that. The lack of government involvement was absolutely horrifying to me. That was the hardest story I ever covered.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

True-crime stories can definitely be difficult to cover. But when it is combined with one of your passions, like politics, as in the case of Hillary and Tina, it can be a lot of fun, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing is for sure\u2026 there will certainly never be a shortage of political stories to choose from when finding topics for a true-crime podcast.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ready for a totally \u201cThank you, Captain Obvious\u201d statement? The True Crime Category is a very big space! In order to stand out in the genre, wise podcasters create a niche within a niche, some utilizing a fusion, of sorts. Take, for example, my Under the Radar feature two months ago\u2014The Great Fail\u2014a combo of True Crime and Business. The same goes for True Crime Obsessed, a True Crime and Comedy mixture, which was last month\u2019s category feature.\u00a0 Just as brilliant is the amalgamation of True Crime and Politics in Hillary Dougherty and Tina Jaramillo\u2019s show, The Muck Podcast. \u00a0\u201cThe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":9261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[571,573,572,570,528],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n