00:00:00
This is exactly right. of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Wireless plan
00:00:33
as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit BoostMobile.com. How much do you weigh, Wanda?
00:00:37
Right now, I'm about 130. I'm at 183. We should race. No, I want to leave here with my original hips.
00:00:43
On the podcast to match up with L'Aleah, I pair prominent female athletes with unexpected guests.
00:00:48
On a recent episode, I sat down with undisputed boxing champ Clarissa Shields and comedian Wanda Sykes
00:00:53
to talk about Wanda's new movie, Undercard, the art of trash talk, and what it really means to be ladylike.
00:00:57
Open your free iHeartRadio app, Search the matchup with Aaliyah and listen now. Brought to you by Novartis,
00:01:03
founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network. You know the famous author Roald Dahl.
00:01:08
He thought up Willy Wonka and the BFG. But did you know he was a spy? Neither did I.
00:01:15
You can hear all about his wildlife story in the podcast, The Secret World of Roald Dahl.
00:01:20
All episodes are out now. Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been.
00:01:24
What? Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you, the guy was a spy. Binge all 10 episodes of The Secret World of Roald Dahl.
00:01:32
Now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist,
00:01:42
they take matters into their own hands. I vowed I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this.
00:01:50
He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that, trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends.
00:01:57
Trust me, babe. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:02:03
I don't know. I don't know. Hello and welcome. Welcome to My Favorite Murder. That's Georgia Hartstark.
00:02:29
That's Karen Kilgariff. This is the mini-sode. It's the mini-sode. It's the mini-sode.
00:02:36
I know. It feels like a little more relaxed when we do the mini-sode because we don't have to think too much.
00:02:40
That's right. We're just reading. We don't have to be charming. Everyone does it for us in the letters.
00:02:44
That's right. This is us floating in the—I'm literally making a list of what to get at the grocery store later.
00:02:50
This is like summer school for My Favorite Murder. What a rude way to approach this gift of an opportunity we have.
00:02:59
I meant that all positively. No, I didn't mean that to you. No, no, I meant to me where I'm just like, what am I doing?
00:03:05
What is the intro to this fucking show? We've only been doing it for 10 years. Almost 11.
00:03:12
10 and a half now. 10 and a half. We're over the 10-year mark. Jesus Christ. We have to stop looking back.
00:03:17
We have to start looking forward. To the next 10 and a half years. Why don't you go first?
00:03:22
Why don't I? In full gratitude, I read you an email with the subject line, serial killer dinner party.
00:03:29
There we go. Now we're back. Back on track. I recently came into a treasure of a story from my aunt. Let's call her E.
00:03:37
Aunt E was a longtime dental assistant of a small dental practice in the Sacramento area in the 80s and 90s.
00:03:44
Dun, dun, dun. Represent. One of their frequent patients was none other than the Dorothea Puente.
00:03:50
Yep. It says yep, two exclamations points. Imagine how thrilled I was to have my aunt regale me a murderino with this thriller. So if you want to go listen to our Dorothea Puente episode, which of course I covered because we lived two doors down from her when I lived in Sacramento.
00:04:10
That's right. In the very late 80s, early 90s. What episode number is that? That was so long ago.
00:04:15
That was episode 37. Jesus. That was entitled Liminal Space. Okay, look for the rewind of that, guys.
00:04:21
Yeah. Okay, so it goes back into this email saying after frequent, and when I say it, I mean myself.
00:04:28
After frequent appointments, they became friendly. My aunt is a lovely, warm lady who can chat it up with anyone.
00:04:35
She even attended a dinner party at Dorothea's house. No. Yep, that house. She said Dorothea was an excellent cook.
00:04:43
The dinner table was set and Dorothea's renters were all there except for one. My aunt mentioned the empty plate, and she said Dorothea stood up and opened the door just off the dining room to reveal a man passed out on the bed and said something to the effect of him sleeping it off.
00:04:58
My aunt said his head was hanging off the bed, but she assumed he passed out because she knew Dorothea's renters were men often struggling with alcohol addiction, which is like the ultimate manipulation.
00:05:10
You have people who it's indefensible because the worst is always assumed. Right.
00:05:14
And the best of her intentions is always assumed. They're the best victims because nobody takes them seriously.
00:05:20
Right. Then it says, was he just passed out? Aunt E would wonder about this later.
00:05:25
Fast forward to 1988. Dorothea had an appointment and noticed my aunt wasn't her normal cheerful self.
00:05:31
My aunt, my dad, and the rest of their seven siblings had just returned from burying their father in Oklahoma, and she was still grieving.
00:05:38
When she explained this, she said Dorothea grabbed her forearm with both hands and looked closely in her eyes and said, everyone has to die sometime.
00:05:47
Chill. So chill. It says, holy shit, right? Right. Yeah. I mean, also, it's the grabbing.
00:05:54
That the one punch Intense Once the truth of Dorothea deeds were revealed to my aunt she actually got subpoenaed to give evidence to the DA Aunt E who has the gift of gab definitely filled them in on what she knew
00:06:08
Bet. How could you not go over every minute detail? It's like gossiping on the stand.
00:06:14
You're not going to believe what she fucking said to me. She's like, I was there.
00:06:17
I was part of this whole nightmare. She grabbed my arm. She grabbed my arm. With both her hands.
00:06:23
Ugh. And then it just says stay sexy and be leery of little old bespectacle ladies, Heidi.
00:06:29
You know what's so weird to me is that you can be a straight up serial killer and still be up to date on your dental cleanings.
00:06:37
Like what happens in your mind that you're like, oh, got to go to the dentist. Yeah, because they're going to take care of themselves, their teeth, their comfort, their thing.
00:06:48
But in their brain, the broken part is that they care about anybody else. It's just so weird to me that like you can have such horrible, you know, actions and thoughts and still go do a normal thing like going to the dentist.
00:07:01
And still have clean, fresh breath. Yeah. Yeah. Like I struggle going to the dentist when I need to.
00:07:06
I mean. Okay. Cold case solved after 20 plus years. Dear Georgia and Karen, all caps, my time has come finally.
00:07:16
You guys are rock stars and thank you for everything you've done for me over the years.
00:07:20
I started listening in 2018, and I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to finally have a solid story to share with you.
00:07:26
Okay, so here it goes. In 1998, four teenagers in Medina, Ohio, about 40 miles from where I live, found two suitcases off the I-77.
00:07:37
Inside were human remains that had been dismembered. The victim's hands, feet, and head were missing, which made identification impossible at the time.
00:07:46
Remember, it was like, well, now we'll never know who it is. Yeah. Back then? The case went cold for over two decades.
00:07:53
Your favorite. Fast forward to 2023 with new DNA technology, the victim was finally identified as Lawrence A. Drotliff.
00:08:01
After that identification, investigators uncovered something even more disturbing.
00:08:06
His son, Larry Drotliff, now 81, had been fraudulently collecting his father's Social Security benefits for years, telling people his father had simply moved away.
00:08:17
Do you know this one? I mean, it sounds familiar, but it sounds like the beginning.
00:08:21
Kids finding severed human remains in suitcases, there's a couple that start like this.
00:08:27
Yeah. Eventually, Larry confessed that he came home from work one day and found his father deceased in their home.
00:08:33
He then dismembered the body and disposed of it along I-77 in the suitcases. Then he went to the dentist.
00:08:40
No, I'm just kidding. Oh. Sorry, I had to do it. I mean, that's the vibe, though.
00:08:47
It's not confined. This is your to-do list. Yeah, let me just stop on the way. It's like the idea that it's like you're trying to explain this to any authorities going,
00:08:58
and then I dismembered my father. Yeah, he was already dead. So I thought, no, there's nothing I can do now.
00:09:05
That only sounds normal to a complete psychopath. Yeah. Here's where it gets absolutely insane.
00:09:11
My stepdad told me he watched a documentary about this case a few years ago. He's not usually into true crime, but was interested in the story and the close location.
00:09:20
My stepdad is also in recovery. And he said a few years back he met a man at a meeting and started giving him rides.
00:09:28
He would pick him up from his apartment where he lived only about five minutes away from our home.
00:09:32
Fast forward this week, a mutual acquaintance sent over an article about this solved cold case.
00:09:37
My stepdad read it and thought about that documentary he had watched years ago. He was amazed to hear that the case was reopened and solved.
00:09:45
Then he realized the man he had been giving rides to and spending time with was none other than Larry Drotliff.
00:09:53
My stepdad said he always had a weird feeling about him but couldn't explain why.
00:09:57
I mean, I have that about everybody. But that is that thing where it's like when they say you look at somebody and they have like dead eyes or there's just absolutely no kind of chemical connection to them as a person.
00:10:08
Totally. And it makes you like get all freaked out but on an animal level. Yeah.
00:10:13
I'm just kidding. I don't feel that about anyone. I'm friendly to everyone for some fucking reason.
00:10:18
Anyway, stay sexy and always trust your gut. Sylvia. Sylvia. Great name, by the way.
00:10:24
Such a good name. Also, just like to have interacted in a very mundane way, like a dental way with a person.
00:10:31
And a meaningful way because when you're in recovery with someone and, you know, Alcoholics Anonymous, like you have a bond there that is beyond just acquaintances.
00:10:43
Now I want to know what the true details of the beginning of that story are. Four teenagers in 1998 finding a suitcase.
00:10:51
That's some fucking horror movie. On the highway. And there's something so, I don't know why it's like so much, this is why I like books placed in the 90s or before so much better.
00:11:00
They didn't have cell phones. They had no way to contact anyone. They had to run to the fucking, you know, gas station and call the police.
00:11:07
They had no like. Connection. Yeah. No way to, like, reach out. It was just them and a fucking suitcase.
00:11:15
Yes. And that's where my book begins. And that's where your film kicks off. Well, solved cold case.
00:11:23
You love it. We love those. I took one off the list of nine billion, and we're getting close.
00:11:29
Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was.
00:11:34
Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Dani Shapiro, and these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring
00:11:42
on the 14th season of Family Secrets. Just then, we felt the plane turn in the air, so much so that the bags that were under people's
00:11:52
seats just kind of flew into the aisle. Each week we dive headfirst into the complex power of secrecy how it shapes our identities and relationships and how it ultimately can reveal to us our truest selves My daughter she
00:12:07
pretending she doesn't know, but is trying to cook and feed me and keep me alive because I wasn't
00:12:11
eating anything. And me pretending like everything was fine. He kind of shoved me out of the way and
00:12:16
said, move. And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and drove off. And that was the
00:12:21
last time I saw him. Listen to season 14 of Family Secrets on the iHeartRadio app,
00:12:26
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Anna Navarro, and on my new podcast, Bleep with Anna Navarro, I'm talking to the people
00:12:35
closest to the biggest issues happening in your community and around the world. Because I know
00:12:40
deep down inside right now, we are all cursing and asking what the bleep is going on. Every week,
00:12:47
I'm breaking down the biggest issues happening in our communities and around the world.
00:12:51
I'm talking to people like Julie Kay Brown, who broke the explosive story on Jeffrey Epstein in
00:12:56
2018. The Justice Department, through we counted four presidential administrations,
00:13:02
failed these victims. Listen to Bleep with Adam Navarro on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:13:10
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, Nick? Huge news.
00:13:14
We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. How do we actually come up with the name Hey Jonas, guys?
00:13:20
I honestly don't remember. We were talking about a fit for the podcast where people could call in and say, Hey Jonas.
00:13:25
And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
00:13:32
But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:13:38
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Every story has a point where it's balanced on a knife's edge.
00:13:45
That's where we begin. For some, it's a confrontation no parent ever expects. They finally admit, we're here to take your children.
00:13:53
The department has taken custody and we're here to take your kids. It was just shock and horror and desperation.
00:14:00
For others, it's surviving the unthinkable. As they're having this gun battle, thousands of feet up in the air,
00:14:08
many of the bullets start to puncture the aircraft. I thought we were going to die then.
00:14:13
The Knife is a podcast about real people whose lives were upended in an instant.
00:14:18
We talk to the people who lived it, unpacking what happened, how they got through it, and what came next.
00:14:24
And on our off-record episodes, we go even deeper into the reporting and answer the questions you can't stop thinking about.
00:14:31
New episodes drop every Thursday on the Exactly Right Network and the iHeart Podcast Network.
00:14:36
Listen to The Knife on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:14:42
Let's change the tone with a trash dog and trash dad story. Yay. It says, hi, MFM crew and fellow murderinos.
00:14:49
You recently asked for garbage dad or garbage dog stories, and I have a story with both.
00:14:54
A couple of years ago, my husband and I decided to take our two young boys to Dallas to visit the Great Wolf Lodge.
00:15:00
We were going for almost a week and needed someone to watch our two-year-old 80-pound golden retriever, Nellie.
00:15:06
My parents were between homes at the time, living in a fifth-wheel trailer. And then in brackets, it says a towable RV.
00:15:13
That's fine. We're fine. And it says, after moving out of a 4,000-square-foot home, and I thought maybe they'd really like to stay in our house to enjoy more room, A.C., a washer and dryer, et cetera.
00:15:25
The only stipulation would be that they had to take care of the dog. They agreed and saved us a fortune in boarding fees.
00:15:31
Or so we thought. Oh, Jesus. Yes. We love an or so we thought story. The day we left, my sweet mom decided to take the dog for a walk.
00:15:39
I had instructed her to only use a leash if they went walking around the neighborhood and not on the dirt paths across the street, as our dog was used to running free on those paths.
00:15:49
However, my nervous mom didn't want Nellie to get lost, so she put the leash on her and proceeded to walk her along the dirt paths.
00:15:56
She did the responsible thing. I'd do the same thing if it was someone else's dog.
00:15:59
Right. You know? Sure. Okay. Just as they were finishing, Nellie spotted wildlife and took off after it without regard to the lady holding the leash.
00:16:08
My mom was yanked hard and fell to the ground. When she tried to get up, she found she couldn't as her hip was broken.
00:16:15
Fucking. Which, unfortunately, she knew from experience. Oh, no. She called out for help and tried to drag herself, but she had left her phone at home charging,
00:16:25
and no one could see her from the road as she fell behind a patch of sage. It's like 1998 all over again.
00:16:31
That's right. Of course, the garbage dog thought my mom was on the ground to play and get kisses, so she decided to slobber all over mom while she cried out for help.
00:16:39
Meanwhile, two hours later, we were at the airport when my ring doorbell notification went off.
00:16:44
I opened the app and watched as a man informed my dad that his wife had fallen across the street and thinks her hip is broken.
00:16:51
Our wonderful neighbor heard something from his backyard, decided to investigate, and found my mom lying in the dirt, unable to walk.
00:16:58
He got my dad and they called an ambulance. I repeatedly called to find out if she was okay,
00:17:02
but I got no answer as both parents had left their phones at my house. God. I finally asked another neighbor to track down our hero neighbor
00:17:10
to find out what was going on. It turns out that my dad had watched TV through the whole thing,
00:17:15
even though my mom was gone much longer than she said she would be. My mom was convinced that he wouldn't have come looking for her until morning,
00:17:21
and based on his past record, she's probably right. Jesus. She ended up getting her third hip replacement surgery,
00:17:29
and the first for that hip and Nellie ended up being boarded until we got home. My lucky sister also had two house guests
00:17:37
for the next few months while my mom recovered as she didn't want to stay with us
00:17:40
and chance my garbage dog injuring her further. Probably a pretty good call. Stay sexy and think twice
00:17:47
before letting your garbage dad and osteoporosis riddled mom dog sit. And here she is.
00:17:54
There's a photo of it. Oh bad girl She didn mean it Bad girl but very good girl It was a squirrel Look at that face What she supposed to do if a squirrel comes And the perfect perm Oh
00:18:05
Gorgeous. Yeah, that's it. That dog only wants what's best for all of us. Remember when my dad almost killed Elvis when we were on tour?
00:18:13
We were in like Australia. And I had had a bag of all his pills and treats, you know, in the pill pockets.
00:18:21
It was his heart medication. He had one a day. but my dad left the bag out and so Elvis of course
00:18:26
chewed through it because he was a monster and my dad was like it's a cat he doesn't do that
00:18:30
and like yes he does ate all of his fucking heart pills and Vince was like if you kill George's cat
00:18:37
she's never going to speak to you again he was fine and somehow he powered through it
00:18:42
he got he was a dump truck he was like it bought him three more years yeah he's Frank
00:18:47
he was like Frank Frank is Elvis and Elvis is fine he was fine okay this is called
00:18:51
I wish I went to this high school um hi coven let's do this yes i had been with my boyfriend for an unsettlingly long time before he
00:19:00
thought to share with me two of the best stories i've ever heard both of which occurred during the
00:19:04
same period the late 90s at his high school in oregon the first is about a guy named deandre
00:19:10
who transferred from california and immediately became a model student and extremely popular
00:19:15
everyone thought deandre was cool not only was he a basketball star at his old school in beverly
00:19:20
Hills, but he drove a flashy red Camaro and word quickly spread that his aunt was Diana Ross.
00:19:26
That's always the rumor, especially if you go to a tiny white town and there's someone of color
00:19:33
shows up there and that's the stuff that happens. Totally. I sure you didn't mind it. I drove a
00:19:38
Camaro and my aunt Diana Ross. You show up and you're just like, that's right. You should absolutely
00:19:43
kiss my ass. You're not denying it. Yeah. He got straight A's, rose to the top of his class,
00:19:47
and was genuinely nice and friendly to everyone, so much so that he was elected to student government.
00:19:53
That winter, he was chosen to sing a prize solo at the Christmas concert. Then, two days later, choir practice was interrupted
00:20:00
by the police bursting in to arrest him. Turns out, DeAndre wasn't 17 after all.
00:20:07
Oh, these are my favorites. Oh, I know. These are my favorites. But a 31-year-old convicted felon on the run.
00:20:15
Oh, he's not just doing it for fun. He made like a fucking Drew Barrymore movie out of his fucking life.
00:20:21
He's reverse 21 Jump Streeting it. He's like, I'm not the cops coming into your high school.
00:20:25
I'm the robbers coming into your high school. That's right. He actually had attended this high school 15 years earlier and remembered it as the happiest time of his life.
00:20:33
Hence his decision to hide out there for a while. OK, here's my next fucking book and how it starts.
00:20:38
Like, how sweet is that? But also, please write a book about any high schooler that is the best time of their life is high school.
00:20:45
Truly. Jesus, get it all down while you can. Crazily enough, he even had one or two of the same teachers, none of whom seem to recognize him.
00:20:55
The whole scenario is one of my absolute favorite movie tropes. So the fact that this actually happened in real life is a dream come true.
00:21:02
That has to be made into a movie. Yes. And this is from Sarah and she put fucking links.
00:21:07
This is all this all checks out. She's like proof. And then she writes, and then it gets even better.
00:21:12
Oh. At the same time, all caps, at the same school, another popular student, this one student body president, was living out his own cinematic fantasy.
00:21:23
Tom was charming, smart, an Eagle Scout, a track star, and homecoming king. Again, there's links.
00:21:30
This sounds like bullshit. It's not. He also happened to be a serial armed robber terrorizing local businesses throughout his senior year.
00:21:38
When they get started that early, it's almost impressive. Like those cheerleaders who were robbing a bank.
00:21:42
It's almost like I was just fucking ditching school to smoke cigarettes by that tree.
00:21:46
I always felt like I had low, like iron poor blood. You know what I mean? Like I always felt so tired.
00:21:52
And so, you know what I mean? Totally. I think I need peanut butter or something like for energy.
00:21:57
Not robbing, planning and robbing a fucking bank. I can't finish like a book for a book report.
00:22:03
I can't take change out of my mom's purse without her hearing me upstairs. I'm not fucking running into a bank.
00:22:08
I can't sneak in or out of my house successfully ever. How do I rob this bank? And they're just killing it all over town.
00:22:14
Oh, there's so many things we could have done when we were younger. Look at us now.
00:22:20
This is the alternative. When he was finally caught, his accomplice was arrested, but Tom managed to escape to Mexico as a teenager.
00:22:30
Wait, this is Oregon? Yeah. These aren't my—remember the two guys from Grant High School?
00:22:35
Karen, I just looked it up. I think that this is your guy. What? This is my guy.
00:22:41
Remember the story of the two people in high school together that started? They were like the kings of the high school, but they started robbing businesses.
00:22:47
What episode is this, Molly? It's so fascinating. This is from the live show. Yeah, remember?
00:22:52
Karen covered it in Oregon. Yeah, in Portland. Amazing. Yes. All right. I kept talking about the high school.
00:22:57
Yes, yes, yes. Yeah. Now I remember. Yeah. But only us and the Portland murderinos know because we haven't done it yet.
00:23:03
Sarah clearly wasn't there. Yes. When he was finally caught, side note, my boyfriend's sister tells me this arrest actually happened on prom night.
00:23:11
You can't make this shit up. Tom successfully hid out in Mexico for months, even going so far as to party with 37 of his high school classmates who traveled there for a graduation trip.
00:23:23
Yeah. None of them tipped off the police. Man, there's no fucking rats. That's right.
00:23:27
I remember this one. You have photos of them. All the pieces, like so many of these stories are similar baseline, but then those details come up and then you're like, oh, wait a second.
00:23:35
I'll just always remember the time that you were halfway through a story about Circleville on stage live when I realized I had already told that story on Drunk History.
00:23:44
And it just hadn't come out yet because I completely I blacked it out literally.
00:23:48
Right. Yeah. Because you were on Drunk History. Yeah. It's a good one. Anyways, none of them tiptoe off the police.
00:23:54
Tom did eventually turn himself in months later after seeing himself on America's Most Wanted.
00:23:58
I remember this. It still baffles me that it took my boyfriend over two years to share what has to be the coolest and most important thing ever to happen to him in his life.
00:24:08
But knowing his proximity to these absolutely delicious tales made me love him even more than I already did.
00:24:14
I wouldn't say it's the only reason we're now engaged, but it definitely didn't hurt.
00:24:19
Stay sexy and don't trust the popular guy, Sarah. Something in the water there. Getting away with it, yeah.
00:24:24
Someone opened a portal to hell down in like the basement and just a bunch of weird energy came out that summer.
00:24:31
Eugene is just going crazy. Eugene Oregon. Well, amazing. And look forward to that episode in the future.
00:24:38
We can like future market that one. Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was.
00:24:46
Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Dani Shapiro, and these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets.
00:24:57
Just then, we felt the plane turn in the air, so much so that the bags that were under people's seats just kind of flew into the aisle.
00:25:06
Each week, we dive headfirst into the complex power of secrecy, how it shapes our identities and relationships, and how it ultimately can reveal to us our truest selves.
00:25:17
my daughter, she's pretending she doesn't know, but is trying to cook and feed me and keep me
00:25:22
alive because I wasn't eating anything. And me pretending like everything was fine.
00:25:27
He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move. And he went out the front door and he jumped
00:25:31
in a car and drove off. And that was the last time I saw him. Listen to season 14 of Family
00:25:35
Secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:25:41
I'm Anna Navarro. And on my new podcast, Bleep with Anna Navarro, I'm talking to the people closest to the biggest issues happening in your community and around the world.
00:25:51
Because I know deep down inside right now, we are all cursing and asking what the bleep is going on.
00:25:58
Every week, I'm breaking down the biggest issues happening in our communities and around the world.
00:26:03
I'm talking to people like Julie K. Brown, who broke the explosive story on Jeffrey Epstein in 2018.
00:26:09
The Justice Department, through we counted four presidential administrations, failed these victims.
00:26:16
Listen to Bleep with Anna Navarro on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:26:22
Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and iHeart Podcast presents Soccer Bombs. So I'm Leanne.
00:26:28
Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hip since high school.
00:26:31
Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips.
00:26:37
This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey.
00:26:42
With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a BOGO. Well, then you got them.
00:26:49
Listen to Soccer Moms on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:26:55
Every story has a point where it's balanced on a knife's edge. That's where we begin.
00:27:00
For some, it's a confrontation no parent ever expects. They finally admit, we're here to take your children.
00:27:07
The department has taken custody and we're here to take your kids. It was just shock and horror and desperation.
00:27:14
For others, it's surviving the unthinkable. As they're having this gun battle, thousands of feet up in the air,
00:27:22
many of the bullets start to puncture the aircraft. I thought we were going to die then.
00:27:26
The Knife is a podcast about real people whose lives were upended in an instant.
00:27:32
We talk to the people who lived it, unpacking what happened, how they got through it,
00:27:37
and what came next. And on our off-record episodes, we go even deeper into the reporting
00:27:42
and answer the questions you can't stop thinking about. New episodes drop every Thursday
00:27:47
on the Exactly Right Network and the iHeart Podcast Network. Listen to The Knife on the iHeart Radio app,
00:27:52
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is a follow-up to Minnesota 482,
00:27:59
482, my mom's legendary radio contest win. In honor of our beloved Banana Boys hello guys gals and non pals of MFM I writing in as a direct follow to the story in Minnesota 482 about the kid who won the trip to Disney from the TV contest
00:28:15
Yeah. Do you remember that? Kind of. It reminded me that the early 2000s were truly the Wild West of local radio contests.
00:28:24
Very true. So, of course, I need to tell you how my mom, Dawn, entered one and became a local legend.
00:28:29
Dawn is everyone's mom's name. Dawn. Dawn. She had a long cigarette. Yeah. In the summer of 2000, our local radio station announced a Britney Spears listening contest at our local mall.
00:28:40
The prize, front row seats to the Oops, I Did It Again Tour. Take me there. My sister and I were fully possessed by the spirit of Britney.
00:28:49
My dad, Dan, who had a heart of gold but is also a lifelong prankster, entered the contest every single day to get us a shot at winning tickets.
00:28:58
Aw. The catch? He entered using my mom's name. When the radio station called her to say that she had been chosen to compete, she was horrified.
00:29:07
To make matters worse, my dad then told us kids, all caps, told us kids, so we would get excited and peer pressure my mom to do it.
00:29:17
That's so sweet. I can see why you married him, but no, I don't want to do karaoke in the mall.
00:29:24
In public. In public. This is a prank to a level that is dastardly and insane and hilarious, but also just think of it.
00:29:32
That's like someone put my name in one time when we were at. Magic Mike. Oh, yeah.
00:29:38
Oh, my God. Is that what you were going to say? No, I was going to do the one where I was in New York and it was Marie's Crisis, which is where all the Broadway singers go to sing songs around a real piano.
00:29:47
Yeah. And all of a sudden they're like, Karen, get up here. And I was like, I got so mad and I just walked out where I'm just like, don't shame me in front of these talented people.
00:29:55
It's diabolical. Okay. So, so. Also, you're a great singer. If I were you, I'd have gone the fuck up there and sang.
00:30:01
I appreciate it. Thank you. It's all Annie. It's straight out my nose, Annie. And those people are like opera stars.
00:30:07
And we just don't want to. That's not how we have fun. Got it. Okay. So my mom has massive social anxiety.
00:30:15
Oh, no. Okay. I don't know about this, Dad. This is Dawn. Yeah. Dan knew, right?
00:30:23
Dan and Dawn? Dan and Dawn. Dan knew that Dawn had social anxiety. But my dad knew she would be weak to seeing our tiny hopeful faces.
00:30:31
She decided to say fuck it to the anxiety and yes to trying to make her kids' dreams come true.
00:30:36
Oh, my God. She thrifted and aggressively hot glued a music video accurate schoolgirl outfit.
00:30:43
She recorded episodes of TRL on a VHS tape and watched the Baby One More Time video on a loop.
00:30:49
breaking down the choreography like she was preparing for the Olympics. She committed to the bit.
00:30:56
The day of the contest arrives at our classic sprawling 90s mall. The stage was, I kid you not, built directly on top of the mall fountain.
00:31:04
Yeah, I remember that. The competition was stiff. There were dozens of contestants, including several drag queens.
00:31:11
So genius. As a sheltered kid, I mean, those drag queens were like, we are going to win this hands down.
00:31:16
This is what we do. As a sheltered kid, I remember whispering, look at all those other dads competing for their daughters.
00:31:24
Aww, so sweet. When it was Dawn's turn, she stepped onto that fountain stage in her pleated skirt and pigtails.
00:31:32
She said she blacked out from nerves, but I remember the audience losing their minds.
00:31:37
She nailed every hair flip and snap and was crowned winner of the Britney Spears lip sync battle.
00:31:42
Dawn for the win. Dawn for the win. A month later, we sat in the literal front row watching Britney.
00:31:49
My badass mom, who had just conquered her greatest fear atop a mall fountain, danced the entire night with us.
00:31:56
Shout out to all the moms who will embarrass the shit out of themselves to make their kids' dreams come true.
00:32:00
And a special shout out to my OG Murderino mom, who used to tell me terrifying true stories about her childhood growing up on 8 Mile in Detroit just to make sure I'd lock the doors and fuck politeness.
00:32:12
Damn. Stay sexy and lip sync for your life Katie Oh my God What a great story Dawn this one for you You number one Did we tell people to send us when they won contests
00:32:26
Because I think they should. Yes, especially if your contest got, if the battle took place at the mall.
00:32:32
Yeah. And you won it or you lost it. You lost it for sure. You shamed yourself and your family deeply
00:32:37
right in front of Mrs. Fields' cookies. I won a modeling contest at the mall once.
00:32:41
Georgia, what? I know, I don't want to talk about it. Year 10 reveal. I don't want to talk about it.
00:32:46
Can you just say those words again and look me in the face? No. Georgia won? I won.
00:32:51
She won the modeling contest. I was obsessed with Kate Moss, so I, like, knew the walk.
00:32:55
And I had gone to Barbizon where I trained to be a model and look like one or whatever.
00:32:59
Thank God you didn't get trafficked. I totally should have. I mean, Jesus. I should have.
00:33:05
There was, like, a guy with a fucking hook waiting to, like, pull me out. What'd you get for winning?
00:33:10
I went to this, like, scout camp thing, and I don't want to talk about it. Yes, you do, and we're going to do a whole special episode on the fan cult.
00:33:20
Everybody sign up. There's been a reason it's been 10 years, and I haven't told you that.
00:33:23
This is incredible. We better get the pictures. In 10 years, you can get the photo.
00:33:28
Oh, okay. Like a Ponzi scheme. Okay, this one's serious. It's the beginning of Pride Month, so let's pay tribute to the amazing life of Kayla Hoosin,
00:33:39
America's first lesbian photojournalist. Nice. Hi, MFM gang. Back in nursing school, I had my first clinical experience at an assisted living home in Pennsylvania.
00:33:49
During my clinical, I met a resident named Kayla Hoosen, who described herself as a gay lady who takes pictures.
00:33:55
This is one of the, like, old ladies at the home. Yeah. As a newly out 20-year-old, I was intrigued.
00:34:01
I imagine the people you meet there are just, like, ready to tell you their story.
00:34:05
But I mean, how rare that would be, at least for, I'm thinking, that generation.
00:34:10
It's a very new thing for, I think, a person to be like, hey. Totally. Yeah. I learned via Google, as she was incredibly humble, that Kay was the first openly lesbian American photojournalist.
00:34:21
While living in Boston in the early 60s, she met Barbara Giddings, and they soon fell in love.
00:34:27
During this time, they both worked for a lesbian magazine called The Ladder, L-A-D-D-E-R.
00:34:31
Barbara served as the editor, and Kay was the art director. In 1963, the art on the cover of the magazine was, as Kay described it, quote, pretty bland little cats insipid human figures, end quote.
00:34:44
Little cats? Little cats for a lesbian magazine. And then, of course, ladders. Implied lesbianism.
00:34:50
Kay, a lifelong photographer, wanted to show actual people, lesbians, on the cover instead.
00:34:57
The first photo was of two women taken from the back. Kay then fought to show actual faces on the cover.
00:35:03
She stated, quote, If you go around as if you don't dare show your face, it sends forth a terrible message, end quote.
00:35:09
From the mid-60s on, Kay photographed all sorts of women for the cover of the magazine.
00:35:14
She went on to photograph Barbara Giddings and others picketing at Independence Hall until the late 60s.
00:35:20
In 1970, she was part of the founding of the Gay Activists Alliance. In 1972, she worked closely with the GAA to push for removal of homosexuality from the DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders.
00:35:34
We all know. They have a chapter about us. Kay and Barbara worked together for 46 years before Barbara passed in 2007.
00:35:43
Kay living until 2021. Up until her death, she worked as an activist, publishing multiple books on her photographs and fighting for the rights of LGBTQ plus people.
00:35:53
Kay and Barbara's ashes are interned inside a stone bench in the Congressional Cemetery.
00:35:59
The bench is engraved with the phrase, Gay is good. And there's a photo if you want to see it.
00:36:05
It's like a sweet little tribute with all the pride flags. I knew Kay for a very short amount of time,
00:36:11
but the work that she did for my community is nothing short of spectacular. I remember that her room at the assisted living facility was full of photographs.
00:36:18
I hope she knew just how much she had done for so many. I know that this is not the typical topic that you cover but I wanted to share a little about this woman who had a profound impact on me She was at the time the only older adult queer person I had ever met
00:36:33
Up until then, I hadn't been able to picture growing old with a woman that I loved.
00:36:38
It makes my heart so happy to know that she got her love story just like we all deserve.
00:36:44
Stay sexy and remember that gay is good. Kay, they, them. Yes, we have the same name.
00:36:49
Yes, I think it's rad. I mean, it's like a movie. I know. Where it's like, oh, you just work at an old folks home, and then there's one lady that you hit it off with and is so interesting.
00:37:00
Legendary. And she's a legend. Here's a photo of her. That's her. Oh, look at her.
00:37:05
Oh, and those are her photographs. Look at the letter. A lesbian review, it says.
00:37:09
Yes. And sorry, the letter started like in the 50s? Is that what you were saying?
00:37:12
It was around, it seems like, it says that the magazine started in 1956. 56. God, I want to find those at an estate sale.
00:37:19
Oh, my God. Right? It's so good. It's so good. Well, that's a really nice email to end for Pride Month.
00:37:27
Yeah. Perfect. Send us your stories, whatever they may be. Yeah. Who have you discovered in your life that surprised you?
00:37:34
Yeah. That was actually turned out to be a legend. Totally. Well, everybody stay sexy.
00:37:40
And don't get murdered. Goodbye. Elvis, do you want a cookie? Ah. This has been an Exactly Right production.
00:37:54
Our senior producer is Molly Smith, and our associate producer is Tessa Hughes. Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.
00:38:00
This episode was mixed by Liana Squalacci. Email your hometowns to MyFavoriteMurder at gmail.com.
00:38:05
Follow the show on Instagram at MyFavoriteMurder. Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:38:12
And now you can watch My Favorite Murder on Netflix. And when you're there, hit the double thumbs up and the remind me buttons.
00:38:17
That's the best way you can support our show. Goodbye. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins,
00:38:32
but the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct?
00:38:38
I doctored the test once. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern.
00:38:45
Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Gillespie and Michael Mancini.
00:38:49
My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police.
00:38:55
As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:39:06
Joy is essential, and it's also elusive. But now, there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence.
00:39:16
Joy 101. It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotb. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats.
00:39:27
Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Joy 101, and listen now. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS.
00:39:36
I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families.
00:39:45
Late one night, Bobby Gumpright became the victim of a random crime. The perpetrator was sentenced to 99 years until a confession changed everything.
00:39:57
I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:40:08
How much do you weigh, Wanda? Right now, I'm about 130. I'm like 183. We should race.
00:40:12
No, I want to leave here with my original hip. On the podcast, The Matchup with Aliyah, I pair prominent female athletes with unexpected guests.
00:40:19
On a recent episode, I sat down with undisputed boxing champ, Claressa Shields, and comedian Wanda Sykes to talk about Wanda's new movie, Undercard,
00:40:26
the art of trash talk and what it really means to be ladylike. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search The Matchup with Aliyah and listen now.
00:40:33
Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network.