Why I Support...Swindled

 

There is very little that makes me as angry at white collar crime. Partly because it so often takes advantage of people in precarious situations and partly because it's so rarely prosecuted. But hearing about it is key, especially since the lack of prosecution often allows this brand of criminal to return to public life without any consequences. Enter Swindled.

Swindled in an independent podcast produced by an anonymous host called A Concerned Citizen (ACC). He speaks in an even and almost monotonous voice, which took me a little time to adjust to. I've grown to truly appreciate it because it lands some of his sarcasm incredibly well and because the topics are so infuriating that outrage on his part would be overdone. Each episode covers 2 swines - an intro and then a connected main story. ACC is unafraid of backlash and, in true Millineal fashion, posts the complaint emails and DMs he gets to his IG feed (which I also follow). This is also seen in his choice of targets - he's gone after Dole and the banana republics, Mother Theresa, the Space Program, con artists, politicans, and public servants. The first episode I listened to was about the Dalkon Shield, which Crime Junkies also did as a crossover. I have never been so enraged by a podcast and I was hooked.

From a design perspective, the music is excellent (music is produced by Deformr (aka Trever Howard) and each episode gets some killer artwork, much of which becomes available as various types of merch. ACC clearly cares a lot about his work and I appreciate how much research and sheer time is involved since he's a mostly single-man enterprise.

I am a Patron on Patreon for Swindled and I've been eyeballing merch though I haven't gotten any yet. Mostly, I needed access to extra episodes (I have a problem). As large podcast networks start popping up and consume independent entities, supporting independent or small podcast entities it critical in determining what kind of programming will be available in this media as it continues to grow. As ACC likes to say, it sucks to live in late stage capitalism and try to create something, but rent must be paid.

Money truly is the root of all evil.

Why I Support...Crime Junkies

True crime is a genre that is everywhere. Between Netflix, podcasts, and miniseries, it's having a moment. The problem I run into is that I get pretty gross feelings about true crime as entertainment. It's someone's life you're gawking at and, by the nature of the genre, not one they usually have any say in how it's portrayed. So I have some benchmarks for consumption of true crime that basically come down to if it feels like advocacy vs shock factor or pure entertainmnet.

Crime Junkie is a podcast produced by friends Ashley and Brit. They talk through one case every Monday. The cases are often designed around advocacy - they have contributed money to the DNA Doe project as well as family member's advocacting for changes in laws or attention being paid to their case. They try to focus on underreported demographics, such as people of color, whose disappearances don't get as much attention as white victims. And this is why I support them - I am a Patron on Patreon, as well as a purchaser of their merch (the Season of Justice muscle shirt is my favorite yoga shirt). They are self-produced and if you listen through their backlog, you can hear the way they've grown. 

Ashley and Brit are a super relatable friendship that has spanned most of their lives. They are also big supporters of dogs (Ashley's dog, Charlie, signs off every episode and their company, audiochuck, is named for him). Once a month they do a Pruppet of the Month to showcase a listener's dog and use it to raise awareness for dogs available for adoption in various areas. The pictures on their website of the Pruppets are too cute. Also, go back in the history and listen to Brit force Ashley to give up doing Pruppet of the Month because she couldn't get through them without crying. Brit runs them and now Ashley's sniffles are just in the background. 

Their friendship is what makes it an enjoyable listen to me, their heart for victims and advocacy work does good for my soul. I've donated to their causes, signed petitions, and supported the podcast and merch store. 

Take a listen. Check out the information on their website. Maybe make a If I Go Missing file. If you like true crime, this one might be for you - especially if you get the icky feeling using someone's worst day as entertainment.

Be weird. Be Rude. Stay Alive.