O. M. G. The hilarious Karen complaints about Brandon. Get a grip ladies. He already has his own highly rated podcast The Devil Within. Do they realize the ravenous thirst for folksy bonus content? It is not your fault people crave updates on your soccer trips and whatnot. Bonus episodes are supposed to give random reactions and context. Not reveal Zapruder level secrets. Sure Brandon cannot pronounce the word garage but he is not still using words like mansplain he is Carolyn’s friend and producer and sounding board. Great chemistry for platonic friends who have only met once.

I absolutely love the regular main episodes. I’ve been a fan of Carolyn since her podcast scene of the crime but I cannot stand the bonus episodes. Please get rid of them !

Finally unfollowing. Sound quality is worse now and stories are unoriginal. Too bad, this began as a podcast that I really enjoyed. Brandon kind of killed it. Not in a good way.

I wish I could eliminate the bonus episodes there is rarely new information.

And now he invaded the regular episode- I don’t want to hear some dude berate the host. I’m out— too many other pods to listen to

Ditch the “Bonus”

Love the main episode… Carolyn is great love her tone and the prospective she voices…. Brandon I could do with out…. I wish I could choose to only listen to the main episode and not download the bonus episode but I’m starting to feel like I can’t support him in any way so I’m hesitantly going to stop following the show. I listened to one bonus episode not too long ago that he was talking about how all his friends back in Jersey are racist meanwhile he’s throwing out terms like white trash multiple times even though Carolyn was definitely trying to back track him. I can’t take the hypocrisy. If you’re going to be ok your high horse… get all the way up.

I absolutely love the main episodes. Carolyn is an amazing writer and presenter. I look forward each week to see what the topic will be. I became aware of Carolyn’s work through her Shadow Girls podcast (another highly recommended!). I’ve learned not to look at the “bonus” episodes as a source of information, but as banter between Carolyn and Brandon. I love Brandon’s The Devil Within series, but I understand why some may choose to skip the Criminal Mischief bonus episodes. Still, a great podcast that I highly recommend!

I also love the bonus episodes.

Love the regular episodes. Skip the bonus

The bonus episode each week brings it down to a 3. Honestly, the actual episodes with Carolyn are all 5 stars. The reporting, the narration, all of it. Brandon and the bonus are 0 stars. Get rid of those and you will have a better podcast. Carolyn, please get rid of him. The few times I listened to the bonus episodes, Brandon jumps in with something either condescending, off putting, off topic, or to talk about himself. He loves to mansplain and be an overall annoying know-it-all, so I just remove all the bonus episodes from my feed. Unfortunately, that involves marking them as played, so I hate to think that Brandon thinks people are listening to the episodes. It would be perfect if I could choose to ignore all of these and just have the actual episodes land in my feed. Oh well!

Enjoy every episode! Various sources and lots of research is poured into each week. Great storytelling seasoned with raw audio makes the story come alive. Bonus episodes give behind the scenes info not just about the weekly featured story but the hosts’ lives and opinions. Great reporting and unique content makes this podcast’s releases the highlight of my downloads each week. Highly recommend to anyone who is interested and intrigued by the true crime genre.

No person has the right to stalk another or take another’s life period. Please, let’s stop pretending this women had no part to play in this drama! This women was a serial cheater, described from her best friend not breaking up with men before starting a new relationship. This is a horrible way to treat anyone. She’s avoiding having important conversations, which is childish, and as a nurse , is refusing to talk to counselor. I’m definitely seeing some mental health issues for her. This man clearly was coming unglued and needed professional help, as a RN in ED myself she definitely should know that from her training/experience. My issue with this podcast is painting this guy as the total “crazy man” she clearly reduced another man into breaking into her office for jewelry. Looks like a pattern to me. This women was no saint, women just like men can be manipulative, bad, corrupt, shallow, and so on. Fair reporting is all I ask.

No annoying interjections from another host. Thoughtful research. Qualified and/or connected guests help flesh out details. Most importantly a majority of episodes cover cases I’ve never heard. My new binge.

I’ve been listening since the beginning and love the contend. From what i can tell the episodes are well investigated . I will continue to listen to this podcast but I’m sorry I refuse to listen to the bonus episodes. I feel there is some good info given on there but do not care to listen to these two together. Mostly I can not listen to Brandon with out being irritated. Other that that keep up the good work.

The balance of the audio is sometimes off, so it’s hard to hear the entirety of an episode without adjusting the volume a lot. This is most apparent while listening in a car. I understand this is probably an issue with the outside source audio (interviews, etc). Bonus episodes are just (irritating) noise and I skip them all. However, that’s not where the good stuff is… I do recommend the actual episodes for its content and presentation.

I like this podcast, but the narration is the only part that you can hear really well. I have to constantly change the volume and get blasted whenever the narration starts back up. Also, don’t care about the weekly bonus episodes, so I have to manually remove them so they aren’t junking up the feed. I’ll probably give up on this podcast, even tho it’s definitely one of the best true crime ones I’ve listened to.

My favorite podcast! I look forward to what Brandon and Carolyn will say each week on the bonus content too!

This podcast would be more accessible and listener- friendlier if the most current episode showed up first instead of at the very end of the hundreds of episodes.

I loved Shadow Girls - thought this would a good follow-up - but disappointed - each episode, Carolyn is increasingly sensationalizing the killer, leaning into the gore of their acts, the exact opposite of what I loved about the Shadow Girls. The bonus content is a waste of time, Branden is toxic & only interested in his own thoughts, opinions, & voice. He spent a whole bonus content episode deriding people who believe in tarot reading & angels - but his whole chuckleheaded podcast - the Devil Within - is about the possible presence of demon possession (I listened, there was no delving into human psyche, just over-sensationalizing anything pointing to possible otherwordly influence).

I really enjoy the podcast itself but do not feel the same about the Bonus Content. I used to try and listen but now I just mark as played. Otherwise, great podcast

Brandon (Brenden??) adds very little to this. The bonus content is so difficult to listen to because he is off color and banal. This week’s Episode (the devil within) that he narrated, I had to stop 5 minutes in because his narration was so monotoned and zero emotion I couldn’t stay focused on it. Please let Carolyn do her job.. she does much better!

1. Bonus content detract from the main episode. 2. Other than the narration, audio is not clear and difficult to understand Otherwise, this is a very good podcast and very well done.

I would rate this higher but freaking the audio of guests/phone calls is impossible to hear

Carolyn is such an excellent crime reporter and storyteller. I would rate this podcast 5 stars if it weren’t for the bonus episodes. Is Brandon such a narcissistic producer that he HAS to hear his voice on the podcast? He adds nothing to the dialogue and dominates the conversations in these “bonus” episodes. Its too bad Carolyn can’t find a better way to add the content she wants to add without needing a bonus episode where we have to listen to Brandon make stupid comments.

It’s rare I can listen to an entire bonus episode without fast forwarding. They’re just…awful. I like the idea of a bonus episode but it’s not working. I don’t know if it’s the way their personalities play off each other or the long ramblings of things that don’t even matter, but ugh. The bonus episodes take away from an otherwise good podcast.

I have become addicted to this podcast. The narrator is great and the stories are so intriguing. I can’t listen to the bonus segments though. I feel they take away from the just greatly presented stories and dumb them down. I’d prefer to hear more extended versions of the content interviews. Otherwise, one of the best out there!

I love this podcast and I LOVE the bonus episodes. I love that they’re separate from the main case, and so candid!!

Did y’all bump uglies yet?!?! Just joking I love the podcast.

Omg the bonus material seriously has me laughing so hard! Brandon you are my soulmate in humor and then the laugh you have when say something funny but true ona level that’s so law enforcement humor makes me giggle with you! Love this podcast and even the bonus is so good on a different level!

I only listened to the podcast because I was searching for Sheryl Mac. From the beginning something about the tone or attitude of the host struck me. But it wasn’t until kind Sheryl Mac was describing how as a loving parent we think of our children first, we want to make them happy and going to grocery store we buy their favorite stuff. The host interjected coldly “only got a special occasion!” I had to stop listening right then no matter how much I love hearing Sheryl. I don’t know who this host is, her name, her background but there is childhood trauma in her history, lack of attachment to her mother or caregiver, dysfunctional family life. I only heard a 20 minutes of her personality but thats all I needed.

My dad is a retired cop, so that’s probably where my interest came from. I’ve been following you all since the Green River Killer. The episode I’ve found most disturbing was the little girl who was with her grandmother when she was murdered and the killer then sexually assaulted her and law enforcement didn’t take the time to investigate correctly and her uncle was locked up for it. Not to mention the Nextdoor broad covering for her husband.

Suitcase Episode was just a freaky story. I can’t believe bodies were found, police were called and no one was safe.

I love the show, very well done. Carolyn does a wonderful job of telling these True Crime stories in great detail. The subject matter is obviously very heavy, dark and disturbing, but the bonus episodes with Branden soften the blow a bit. I find listening to them after helps me decompress with Branden’s sense of humor and his informal conversations with Carolyn.

Some episodes are so hard to listen to when the music is so loud and covers the voice of the person being interviewed.

I’m still thinking about “The Shadow Girls” and it’s victim-centric narrative month—maybe it’s even been over a year—later. I tried searching “green river killer”, and “green river” but it didn’t come up for me. Partially that was frustrating. I searched Google for “green river podcast victims” and it was right there, second result. I think this speaks to this being a true crime podcast that really, truly, actually doesn’t glorify the killer. Great work.

The regular episodes are good but the bonus episodes are like nails on a chalkboard. The guy is way over the top and likes himself way too much. The host is much better by herself. I appreciate the work you do nonetheless.

Especially good episodes, Shadow Girls, to me. Very familiar area as I lived in Kent/Covington area 14 yrs & was avid cyclist. Actually rode bike many many times on the GR Trail or along the side roads around Green River. Not once during all those 100 or more rides including whenever stopped at the several bridges, for short rest breaks, while staring down at the current, sometimes spotting a very tired slow swimming upstream salmon or gazing along the mostly very overgrown berry vine covered river banks did I NOT think about all those poor victims. It was bizarre when they announced the arrest of the murderer, too, guy who grew up nearby in the Des Moines/SeaTac area. Weird thing I recall was several years prior to moving there from Salem, Oregon, when had no clue where or Kent, WA was even a place in Seattle region, I had read a superbly written paperback, bought at Fred Meyer, titled, The Green River Killer…. Thanks for your great podcasts.

This is a good podcast, but the bonus episode discussing men as domestic violence victims (bonus episode 19) was disgusting. It is not something to be laughed at by either Brandon or Carolyn. It’s appalling to hear that kind of talk about victims in 2023 based on their sex. Neither should be laughing. The hosts and interviewees in episode 20 kept talking about Chinese culture. Yet you couldn’t find someone who is Chinese to talk about the culture? Getting a white person’s take on Chinese culture is insulting and not productive at all to the conversation. In summary, do better. I will continue listening in hope that you will.

The podcast itself is good; the host is likable, pacing is great, information is great. But, please, for all that is holy, find a better way to record phone conversations! I have stopped listening to several episodes because of the sound quality of phone interviews. They’re so full of static and distorted it sounds like they were recorded through a bullhorn, and not only are the words unintelligible, the noise is painful on the ears. It’s disappointing because it is otherwise very good.

I have been listening to MURDER CHRONICLES since it started, and I absolutely loved SHADOW GIRLS. When I saw you already had an episode about the Idaho killer of college students I was thrilled. You were the first True Crime podcast to do an in depth story on the killer and how he was captured. Your shows have largely been fact based, fast paced, and super interesting. I even like the bumper music. You even get some of the case law enforcement to agree to interviews. However, I then listened to the Bonus episode that followed in which you disparaged law enforcement efforts with unsubstantiated opinions about racist and corrupt cops that had nothing to do with your story. I’m uncertain as to why you ruined your remarkable reporting on the Idaho case by speculating that if the suspect had been black the case would have been handled far differently. Where did that come from? Personal prejudices? Where is your evidence of that? And your co-host went out of his way to complain that police have the audacity to ask him his phone number on his frequent traffic stops. What does that have to do with your show? Not to mention, why is his driving so bad he is so frequently stopped by police? Who cares? I wonder if the investigators who talk to you would be so fast to grant an interview knowing that you’re just looking for an opportunity cast aspersions. Maybe you should think before you run your mouths. My rating went from 5 stars to 1 because of your disrespectful Bonus show. Ditch the axe-grinding co-host and Bonus content and stick to the facts. Maybe if you just want to stir the pot you would be better suited to a cooking show.

Totally agree with previous comment. Music adds nothing to content, but makes it frustrating to hear spoken content.

Great show and enjoying the stories. One suggestion is the background music especially during replaying interview content is loud and distracting making it hard to hear the interview.

I really like this podcast except that they do interviews and play background music over people’s voices. It’s distracting and annoying

The first episode I listened to was great. There was minimal interjection from the host and the story actually flowed progressively. The second episode I listened to was excruciating. I couldn’t even get through the whole thing. Incredibly redundant, way too much backstory on everything from why the host chose the story to what made the detective choose her line of work. There’s also an over abundance of lengthy explanations of common knowledge aspects of things that occur in criminal investigations (like the use of CODIS). It’s too much! Cut the excess. Just. Tell. The. Story.

I listen to way more true crime than I probably should. I get so excited to find a well researched intelligent podcast and this includes actual interviews! Excellent host, well produced, just excellent!

This is a pretty good podcast. However, the audio is all over the place. It’s annoying to constantly adjust my earbuds because the interviews are too low… Hard to hear. I’m listening to episode 14 and the audio is a mess. Can’t finish it.

This was a hard episode to listen to. This case is is so sad but the police officer involved in this cold case gave me hope. He gave just the right amount of information while maintaining his confidentiality. It helped me balance the law enforcement right to withhold but provide enough information that might generate tips! This was an amazing source of hope for me! Justice!

Thank you for your pod

Why play background music when it’s already hard to understand the recorded conversations? No need to make it more difficult to hear.