MFM Minisode 495

Summary

My Favorite Murder Minisode 495
Release Date: July 6, 2026
Hosts: Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark

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Episode Overview

In this lively Minisode of My Favorite Murder, Karen and Georgia return to their hallmark format: reading listener-submitted hometown stories blending true crime, bizarre history, family lore, and pure absurdity. This week features tales of medical scams, haunted artifacts, lost children, celebrity encounters, and a legendary dad’s rock-and-roll hustle. The hosts’ signature blend of gasped horror, comedic banter, and heartfelt connection brings listeners’ stories to life.

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Key Discussion Points & Listener Stories

1. The Great Goat Gland Grift (02:51–08:49)

• Main Story: Listener Alberto from Del Rio, Texas, tells the wild tale of Dr. John Brinkley, an early 20th-century “doctor” famous for implanting goat testicles in patients as a supposed cure for impotence and other ailments.

• Highlights:

  • Brinkley’s scam began with a joke from a farmer in 1917 and spiraled into a lucrative, dangerous career.
  • He used charisma, costumes, and even started his own commercial radio station to promote his bizarre procedures and quack medicines.
  • Despite being exposed by Dr. Morris Fishbein of the American Medical Association and linked to at least 42 patient deaths, Brinkley skirted criminal prosecution due to loopholes.
  • After losing his medical license, he moved to Del Rio and built a massive radio station just over the Mexican border, broadcasting pseudoscience worldwide.
    • “Our old neighbor claimed that his station was so strong, it made their bed springs hum and car headlights flicker.” (07:14, Alberto via Karen)
  • Brinkley’s house remains as a Texas historical site—“a bizarre monument to a con man who built an empire on charisma, deception and, well, goat testicles.” (08:26, Karen reading Alberto)

• Memorable Quotes:

  • Georgia (reacting): “No, no, no. You can’t make up a fucking medical procedure.” (04:12)
  • Karen: “But in 1917, you could.” (04:16)
  • Georgia: “He’s like the KFC of testicles.” (04:41)

2. Inca Talking Skulls, Lima, Peru (10:05–14:53)

• Main Story: Listener Molly shares family lore about bringing home bones—and even skulls—from ancient Inca grave sites outside Lima in the 1970s.
• Highlights:
  • Molly’s husband and his brother played with ancient femur bones as kids, while his grandmother brought home Incan skulls to decorate her piano.
  • Two Incan-descendant staff claimed the skulls gossiped and fought at night, prompting a hasty reburying.
    • “They didn’t care that the skulls were there. The problem was, apparently, that the skulls were talking and gossiping to each other all the time and often even fighting.” (12:49, Molly via Georgia)
  • Molly bemoans 1970s casual grave robbing and shares fun, tangential family spy stories.
• Cultural Law: There’s a Peruvian law mandating burial before the second sunset after death (13:12).
• Hosts’ Reaction: Karen recounts similar stories of kids collecting artifacts in Sicily, highlighting widespread casual encounters with archaeology in some cultures (15:08–16:00).

3. Trash Parent Stories – The SeaWorld Orca Ride (19:22–22:26)

• Main Story: Emily reminisces about her 1995 family trip to SeaWorld, where her mom’s boldness led four-year-old Emily to ride an orca whale in the show.
• Highlights:
  • Emily’s mother, learning the requirements for a kid “orca ride,” volunteers her daughter without hesitation.
  • “Not five minutes later, I’ve been taken from my family by two random people… I, a literal four year old, am sitting straddling a killer whale.” (20:25, Emily via Karen)
  • The story is both shocking and comic in its 90s innocence; Karen and Georgia riff on the dangers, reminisce about their own SeaWorld mishaps, and joke about orca revenge.
• Hosts’ Reaction:
  • Georgia: “Holy fucking shit… it’s like she’s on a fucking carousel with a literal killer whale.” (20:48)
  • Karen: “Meanwhile, this is an apex predator. These are more dangerous than great white sharks…” (21:03)

4. Trash Parent + Disney Lore – Lost at Disneyland (23:16–26:44)

• Main Story: Listener Brittany tells of getting lost at Disneyland during a loosely supervised group trip in the early 2000s.
• Highlights:
  • After a day of summer fun, Brittany gets separated at closing time, spends hours in the “lost kid center” with a kindly “Santa,” while her family doesn’t notice she’s missing until they get home.
  • “I waited and waited until a cast member saw me and asked if I was lost… they took me to a lost kid center.” (24:55, Brittany via Georgia)
  • She spends her ninth birthday at a Disneyland hotel, courtesy of cast members.
  • Both hosts share their own stories of getting lost at Disneyland as kids; Karen: “The feeling of being lost as a little kid is the scariest.” (27:06)

5. Celebrity Encounter – Liza Minnelli’s Dance Studio Antics (30:29–35:24)

• Main Story: “H” recounts ballet training in early 2000s NYC and had the surreal experience of sharing class time with Liza Minnelli.
• Highlights:
  • Liza, known as “Auntie Liza,” was approachable and eccentric, often holding conversations naked in the dressing room and encouraging students in classic theater-kid fashion.
    • “She insisted we call her Auntie Liza… Often while naked, about whatever she felt like talking about.” (33:18, “H” via Karen)
  • Hosts marvel at getting this story after years of requests for Liza Minnelli anecdotes.
• Hosts’ Banter:
  • Georgia: “How is it taking you 10 years to fucking write this in? It’s one of the best…” (34:38)
  • Karen, to Liza: “You’re the person I always pick when someone says, who would play you in a…” (35:02)

6. Dad Lore – The Jimi Hendrix Guitar Ruse (35:29–38:28)

• Main Story: Bernie shares the story of her father Dennis, who, in 1968, used a clever ruse to gain backstage access to see Jimi Hendrix.
• Highlights:
  • Dennis pretends to deliver a special guitar for Hendrix, which is actually his own, gaining access to the show.
  • “He simply couldn’t afford both. So he thought on his feet and beep, boop, bopped the stagehand into letting him backstage.” (36:31, Bernie via Georgia)
  • Hosts praise Dad’s charisma and resolve, reflect on the power of confidence and props to get you anywhere.
  • Bernie notes how her sisters joke about favorite-child status and shares an old photo of Dennis at Red Rocks, beloved dad and “girl-dad” grip.
• Hosts’ Banter:
  • Georgia: “That’s like the thing, if you walk in somewhere carrying a stepladder, you can get in anywhere.” (36:55)
  • Karen: “That guy absolutely belongs backstage at a Jimi Hendrix or any other concert…” (38:06)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He’s like the KFC of testicles.” – Georgia (04:41)
• “It’s just like—oh yeah, did you bring a femur home from the ruins?” – Karen (15:06)
• “If the carousel had horses that were dangerously wide because this little girl’s practically doing the splits on top of this orca…” – Karen (21:03)
• “How is it taking you 10 years to fucking write this in? It’s one of the best…” – Georgia (34:38)
• “If your daughters are writing to this podcast about you, I’m not calling you a trash dad…” – Karen (38:33)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:51] – The Great Goat Gland Grift (Dr. Brinkley Story)
• [10:05] – Inca Talking Skulls (Lima, Peru Hometown)
• [19:22] – Trash Parent: The San Diego SeaWorld Orca Ride
• [23:16] – Disney Lore: Lost and Found at Disneyland
• [30:29] – Liza Minnelli’s NYC Dance Studio Antics
• [35:29] – Dad Lore: Jimi Hendrix Guitar Ruse

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Tone & Closing Thoughts

The episode is filled with Karen and Georgia’s signature rapport—equal parts irreverent, supportive, and astutely skeptical of authority and nostalgia. They crack each other up, digress into childhood memories, and riff on broader issues that factor into these stories: misplaced trust, cultural customs, and the strange allure of local legends. Listeners are left feeling both entertained and invited to send in their own wild stories.

Closing call:
Georgia: “Write your story. Write your dad’s story to us.” (38:47)
Karen: “Stay sexy and don’t get murdered.” (38:56)

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For New Listeners

If you love weird history, hometown legends, and the messy, hilarious truth of family and community, this episode offers all that wrapped in killer storytelling and genuine warmth.

Transcript

[A]

This is exactly right.

[B]

When a charming neurosurgeon rode into frontier town selling a Persona of confidence and care, patients trusted him.

[A]

He wore cowboy boots in the operating room and became sought after by patients.

[B]

He promised to heal them. Instead, he left a trail of broken bodies.

[A]

This is a story of greed, betrayal and a fight for justice.

[B]

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[C]

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[D]

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[E]

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[A]

Hello and welcome to my favorite murder the Minisode.

[B]

That's right. We tell you things you didn't even know.

[A]

That's right. You want to know you're about to learn?

[B]

Go ahead.

[A]

The subject line of this email is the Great Goat Gland Grift. It says, hello, my favorite emotional support podcasters. That's a good one. Love y'. All. Love the podcast. Day 13 listener here. So roughly around the time I started writing this hometown. I'll get right to it. That's funny. Day 13. I love that. That's lucky they know. Okay, it says, I now live in Los Angeles, but I hail from a small border town of Del Rio, Texas. When I was nine, we moved to a new neighborhood, and I remember driving past the rundown old mansion at the end of our street for the first time. Its imposing iron gates bore the name Dr. Brinkley. From the backseat, I asked, who's Dr. Brinkley? To which my dad casually replied, oh, that was the goat testicle doctor. As you can imagine, that nickname comes with an equally insane backstory that honestly feels like it could have happened today. In 1917, a young doctor named John Romulus Brinkley moved to a tiny town in Kansas with his wife Minnie. One day, a farmer visited Brinkley complaining of being a flat tire, AKA erectile dysfunction. Oh. They joked about how goats never seem to have that problem. And the farmer said, too bad you don't have billy goat nuts. What started as a joke turned serious when the farmer insisted Brinkley implant goat testicles into his scrotum to fix the issue.

[B]

No, no, no, no. You can't make up a fucking medical procedure.

[A]

But in 1917, you could.

[B]

Yeah, I guess so.

[A]

Thus, the goat gland cure was born. Brinkley began promoting the procedure as a cure all, claiming could fix everything from impotence, even offering a version for women. To be clear, this surgery was a complete hoax and Brinkley knew it. But his charisma and flair, complete with a goatee, round glasses, and a three piece suit, helped sell the scam.

[B]

The guy, he's like the KFC of testicles.

[A]

They're like, there's something familiar about that guy and I trust him, Colonel, with my testicles. It was also around this time that commercial radio was taking off, and Brinkley saw and seized its potential. He launched his own station, using it to promote his hospitality, quack remedies and elixirs.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So he has his own means of production. Brinkley was a natural, using his calm and conversational voice. He was a natural. Using his calm and conversational voice, he convinced and captivated audiences, turning himself into a nationwide sensation. Not everyone was buying it, though. Enter Dr. Morris Fishbein of the newly established American Medical Association.

[B]

Morris, you're such a buzzkill.

[A]

Morris, get here. Because he also has a curly mustache

[B]

and round glasses and erectile dysfunction. That's not something to laugh at.

[A]

It's okay, they're not paying attention. For years, he worked tirelessly to expose Brinkley as a fraud and eventually succeeded, taking him to court. The trial revealed Brinkley had a questionable medical degree and was linked to 42 death certificates of patients who died at his clinic.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

With countless more likely succumbing to his dangerous advice. This is incredible.

[B]

Yeah. Wow.

[A]

Brinkley had become one of the most successful killers in American history, operating openly in full public view. Even crazier, he couldn't be criminally prosecuted due to the laws at the time.

[B]

Oh my God. I want a whole episode about this.

[A]

I mean, meet dibs.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, you can have it. It's worse. It's worth so much.

[A]

I'm touching the paper, so it's mine. Kansas revoked his medical license and federal authorities shut down his radio station. But Brinkley wasn't finished. He ran for guff. Wow.

[B]

Of course he did. And he has the audacity.

[A]

Get that shit out there and kill more people. It's your right.

[B]

Please spread the word.

[A]

Using his celebrity, massive cult like following and radio platform to cast himself as a victim of the elites. Sound familiar? He lost, but only because the state rejected thousands of votes that misspelled his name. Lost on a technicality. By 1931, Brinkley relocated to Del Rio, where he built one of the most powerful radio stations in the world, just across the Rio Grande in Mexico. Outside US regulations, his pseudoscience reached millions spanning as far as Asia. And then in parentheses it says, our old neighbor claimed that his station was so strong, it made their bed springs hum and car headlights flicker.

[B]

This is amazing.

[A]

It's fucking unbelievable.

[B]

Oh my God, there's a picture. Okay, keep going. I want to go.

[A]

As Brinkley's fame grew, so did his ego. He was rubbing elbows at Hollywood premieres, sl his name on his mansion, a custom Cadillac and a private airplane. After visiting 1930s Germany, he embraced, of course, Nazi. He embraced pro fascist views, even considered running for president again. Sound familiar? Eventually, lawsuits and investigations caught up with him. A libel suit against Fishbein backfired, exposing his fraudulent empire. Yes, that's indiscovery. If you try to sue somebody, they can depose you. It all comes out. Within two years, he was bankrupt and a year later, he died of a heart attack at the age 56. Today, his mansion still stands, restored by a series of subsequent owners and marked as a Texas historical site, a bizarre monument to a con man who built an empire on charisma, deception and, well, goat testicles. I just want to thank you two for being my constant companions for all these years and for always making my Mondays, Thursdays, and now Wednesdays a little brighter. Not until every day of the week is Jake it up. So proud of everything that you've accomplished and all the lives you've touched.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

A big shout out to my friend Annie, who introduced me to the show, and to my road trip buddies Brian and Cody, who are always along for the stories. Hope to see you soon. Alberto.

[B]

Alberto.

[A]

With an exclamation point.

[B]

Alberto.

[A]

Alberto.

[D]

He.

[A]

Him. And then he included a newspaper article highlighting Billy the first goat gland baby.

[B]

Okay.

[F]

What?

[A]

So basically because.

[B]

Oh, it can't be real though, right?

[A]

The erectile stopped dysfunctioning. And here comes the.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Billy the goat gland baby.

[B]

Get that, John R. Brinkley. And Billy.

[A]

Billy the goat.

[B]

Billy goat. Billy goat. I didn't even think of it.

[A]

And that baby is Chris Farley's father.

[B]

Wow. There are so many. I just. There's so many things I want to hear. People's like, crazy person from their town that everyone knows about. Like his. Like the person who has, like, a legend.

[A]

Yes. There was an incredible old Victorian that was on a hill, on the highway, on the road, like on the highway in Petaluma. And it was white and faded and it absolutely looked like it was from a horror movie.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it just sat there, like, falling apart. I'd always be like, who lives? Who lives there? And no one knew. I think at one point a teacher at our school was like. It was like the egg magnate of Petaluma or whatever. But it looked like a witch lived there.

[B]

That's so amazing.

[A]

It was amazing.

[B]

Okay. My first one's called Inca Talking Lima, Peru, hometown.

[C]

Ooh.

[B]

Hello and welcome to my favorite story. Smiley winky face. I live in a great little town just north of Petaluma called. And I'm going to get this wrong. It's not Seba. Polish.

[A]

Sebastopol.

[B]

Sebastopol. I'm sure Karen knows it well.

[A]

Very well.

[B]

Yay. I saved. Says yay. I saved all my fangirling for you two until the end. So let's dive in because this period is period good. Nice. My husband is an American now. Previously British and even earlier than that. Peruvian. And it says. Yes, his accent is to die for. Yeah, I bet he was born in Lima and lived there for his first 15 years when he was really young. There were many Incan burial grounds just outside town. I'm sure they are all protected now, but sadly.

[F]

Great.

[B]

Had mostly already pillaged all of them over time. Anyway, it was the early 70s, ladies, so however inappropriate this was, folks treated checking out the graves as a day outing of sorts.

[A]

Yeah. And go look at the ruins. Kind of.

[B]

Yeah. There was some stuff left behind by the robbers, like tiny bits of pottery, rope, and even some bones, like femurs that my husband and his brother would take home. And sword fight with. Sword fight.

[A]

That's not sword yoga. I just remembered. But also, that's bad. You don't want that.

[B]

No.

[A]

On your hands or home.

[B]

Well, here it goes. Well, his grandmother, Brenda. That is not a grandmother's name. And that is not Brenda.

[A]

Brenda.

[B]

Grandma Brenda. Grandma Brenda had done the same thing many years earlier than that when the graves were, quote, less pillaged. Back then, she came across two relatively intact Incan skulls she decided to take home with her. She felt it surely seemed better than them being strewn across the desert as she had found them. She placed them at each end of the piano in her house and went along with the day. My husband's whole family plays piano a lot. So for months, the skulls were always in good company, or so they thought. Oh, until one day, his grandmother's gardener and cook, both Incan descendants, asked to talk to her. They sat her down and told her that the skulls had to go. She was mortified and realized she had probably desecrated their culture and said she would rebury them immediately. But no, it wasn't that at all. They didn't care at all that the skulls were there. The problem was, apparently, that the skulls were talking and gossiping to each other all the time and often even fighting. What? It's like fucking haunted mansion come to life. Yes, they said all this back and forth bickering from the skulls was driving them nuts and they couldn't sleep at night. Seriously? This actually happened? So off the skulls went to be buried back where they came from, and a new family rule was enacted. They were still allowed to bring home bones. And it says, Yep, still the 70s. They just couldn't be skulls. And they had to bury them in the garden before the second sunset from when they brought them home.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Interestingly, there's a Peruvian law that states all deceased must be buried before the second sunset of their death.

[A]

Hmm.

[B]

This time in South America seems to be brimming with truly incredible family stories. Like the time when they found out his other grandparents were M16 spies, right? MI6. MI6. MI6 spies in Colombia during the Cold War. And a super romantic story of his father serenading his mom at her house from a Piano that he and his friends had stolen from a bar, put in a truck.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And drove onto her lawn playing the whole way.

[A]

Why can't I have that?

[B]

That is romance. That's all anyone wants. Swipe. Now you fucking. I swiped on you.

[A]

Now you're just nagging people in a bar and you're supposed to. That's enough.

[B]

No. And then it says, aw, so sweet. But those are stories for another day. Thanks for all you do. I've been a listener since year two and really love your dedicated empowerment of women. I'm a female business owner, disrupting my traditionally male industry and making space for mental health conversations. I also especially love your book and TV recommendations. I travel a lot for work, and I love to cook. And there's nothing better than a few MFM episodes to brighten my mood, no matter how slightly disturbing my husband finds it. Thank you again. You two are inimitable and we all appreciate you so much. Ash, what does inimitable mean?

[A]

Like, one of a kind. Molly.

[B]

Impossible to copy or imitate. One of a kind.

[A]

Well, that's not true. Let's not be crazy.

[B]

Oh. You know what we're talking about.

[A]

Wonderful. Thank you, Ash.

[D]

Thank you.

[A]

That was a. First of all culturally interesting, relevant, but also like, what an insane thing that's just nearby. Yeah, like, that's just like. Oh, yeah. Did you bring a femur home from the ruins?

[B]

Ruins? The ruins? Cemetery.

[A]

Actually, we had a driver in Italy, across Sicily, and he was saying that there are ruins all across Sicily, but no one ever tells anybody because the government will come and take your land.

[B]

Wait, what?

[A]

They kind of like, go. It's like, if you have. You know. So he goes, oh, we used to. He goes. We used to climb on. There would be big columns from the temples, and we played on all of it because it was a driver who took us to this one site where they had, like, built stuff up, and you walked all around it, and it was super cool. He's like, oh, we used to play here when we were little kids. We just get all over it. We climbed all over this stuff.

[B]

I thought you were gonna say there were some, like, mines hidden.

[A]

Oh, no, that's.

[B]

That's crazy.

[A]

It's wild. And then he's like, oh. He goes, I know so many people. I know so many people that just have, like, ancient stuff in their garage

[B]

because they're gonna take their land if they tell them.

[A]

They're not telling anybody.

[B]

Oh, my God. That's amazing.

[A]

It's so good. I mean, there's your there's the tour you want to go on.

[F]

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[C]

You ever get the feeling the city walls closing in the concrete jungle suffocating your soul? You crave wide open spaces, the chance to connect with nature, maybe chase some elk, fish a private stream. Well listen up. There's a whole world out there and finding your own piece of it just got easier. Head over to land.com they've got ranches, forest, mountains, you name it. Search by acreage, location, the kind of hunting or fishing you dream of. Land. It's where the adventure begins.

[E]

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[D]

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[B]

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[D]

only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy. See terms. This is Ashley Akineti from the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast. Did you know that over 70% of new parents are combo feeding? They're using both breast milk and formula to feed their baby. Whether you're exclusively formula feeding, combo feeding, or just want to back up in the pantry, Bobby is the formula that I trust to deliver safe, complete nutrition to my baby's bottle. Both of my children use Bobby. We loved it so much, had the best experience with this brand they're incredible. The customer service, what they stand for. Bobby's organic European style formulas are crafted with clinically backed ingredients and designed for easy digestion just like breast milk. I did a lot of research before formula feeding and I loved what I saw from Bobby. Every single batch goes through 2,000plus safety and quality checks before leaving their owned US manufacturing facility. If you want to feed with confidence too, head to hi bobby.com that is high H I B O B B I E to find your baby's new favorite formula.

[A]

Okay, this is. This is a trash parent story, but I'm not gonna read you the subject line. It says, hey, Karen in Georgia. Picture it. It's summer 1995 and I'm four years old and my family and I travel all the way to San Diego, California from Kentucky. For the first time, we did it right. We rented out the red convertible, drove across the Mexican border to have dinner and a dance in parentheses, not a passport in sight, and spent the day at all. Caps Sea World.

[B]

Well, no, horrible, but horrible.

[A]

But as a kid, it was how it was. I was so excited. All the beautiful fish and they even had those whales were sitting there watching the orca show. This is a four year old. We're sitting there watching the orca show at the top of the bleachers and my mom, an elementary school teacher with permed hair and an ear for whispering, overhears some workers saying they need to be about 38 inches and less than 40 pounds. And my mother, not one to lose out on an experience, says my daughter is less than 40 pounds and gestures to me.

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

Not five minutes later, I've been taken from my family by two random people, walked back behind the gates and onto a stage where directly in front of me emerges an orca whale.

[B]

No.

[A]

Onto a semi submerged platform.

[B]

No.

[A]

A trainer in Lycra grabs me and hoists me up. I, a literal four year old, am sitting straddling a killer whale.

[B]

That's a snack. You have a photo. Holy fucking shit. This bitch. It's like she's on a fucking. What are those called? Carousel with fucking literal killer whale. And everyone's just laughing and smiling about it.

[A]

If the carousel had horses that were dangerously wide because this little girl's practically doing the splits on top of this orca. Holy shit. Meanwhile, this is an apex predator. These are more dangerous than great white sharks. I made that up, but I feel like I read that somewhere. They're the most dangerous. They're the biggest killers.

[B]

And in the crowd Not a speck of sunblock to be found.

[A]

Wow, what a time.

[B]

So maybe that same year I fainted at SeaWorld. Oh, I was there and I fainted. I wasn't.

[A]

Was it? Cause that little girl was doing the split so hard.

[B]

No, but can we see my head in the background? Am I there?

[A]

Okay. I am nothing but my mother's daughter and I am loving it. I sit, smile and wave to my adoring fans, not knowing at all what the actual hell was going on today. I don't remember much of it other than being slightly upset afterwards that my butt was wet after the experience.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But this is definitely now my fun fact about me. I have made fun of my mother many times about this. How she let her oldest child but 4 year olds go off with strangers and be placed on top of a giant sea creature whose name literally includes the word killer. Not true trash parent behavior. Because come on, it was the 90s. Say sexy and volunteer your toddlers for cool things. Emily. And then she says psc attached photo of little Emily.

[B]

Oh my God, I love it. So watch Dark Water, everyone. We have to say it.

[A]

I mean, I feel like they orcas should absolutely be protected, but I love that it's come to the turn in our culture where people need to be protected from the orcas now. Cause they're fucking trying to kill people.

[B]

Because they deserve it.

[A]

They're on it.

[B]

Okay, well, I have a dad. Lore State, Georgia. Yeah. Did you say Dark Water? What's it called? Black Water.

[A]

Blackfish.

[B]

Dark Water. Blackfish. Dark Water is a Japanese horror movie, isn't it?

[A]

Is it?

[B]

Isn't it? I think it's a film starring Mark Ruffalo. But it's from a. But it's a Japanese.

[A]

It's about chemicals in our water, I think. Yes.

[B]

Oh, okay. So Blackfish is what I'm talking about. Can you leave us all in, by the way?

[A]

Obviously, 100%, because this is great podcasting.

[B]

It's content. Okay. And Rebecca, it's called the Disney X Trash parent crossover you have been waiting for. Oh, ladies, sending love to you and the erm, team from my sofa in Oslo, Norway. Hey, we've been there.

[A]

Hello.

[B]

I'm currently watching you on Netflix. Congrats. And the Disney story from Anaheim made me rush to my laptop to share my contrasting yet parallel experience. Summer break for us back in the early 2000s was a bunch of my classmates parents in Eagle Rock figuring out what to do with a gang of kids that included crashing the houses with pools, camping at Lake Peru, and An annual trip to Disney, normally at the peak of summer in July, date relevant later. With so many kids and activities, it isn't that wild that you wouldn't drive in the same car as your parents if you wanted to sit with your friend, et cetera. On this occasion to Disney, I sat and drove there with my friends, family, and we had a great day. As a gaggle of kids and our parents, the time came to get on the trams that would bring us to the parking lot areas. In the chaos of everyone boarding the trams, I somehow got lost in the shuffle and couldn't recognize anyone in our group. I didn't end up boarding.

[A]

We had just didn't get on the tram. No, because you didn't think everyone.

[B]

We had parked all in the same area. So I knew to stay put and someone would be back to get me since they would realize I was missing. The fireworks were long over, it was getting colder, and the sparkle of the day had officially faded. I waited and waited until a cast member saw me and asked if I was lost. After telling them what had happened and how much time had passed, they took me to a lost kid center.

[A]

I've been at Disneyland. Yeah, I've been to that. The little house.

[B]

Oh my God, the like, you ran off.

[A]

Yep. Oh, yeah. I ruined part of vacation. My parents thought I'd been kidnapped out at Disneyland when I was five.

[B]

This is that. That day at Disney is one big blur. But I remember clearly the older man who kind of looked like Santa, staying with me for hours and gave me multiple pins for my lanyard, some Mickey Mouse nuggets, and set up some blankets for me to lay in. It's like a lost dog.

[A]

I was just in a red chair. No one gave you shit.

[B]

Meanwhile, my parents had driven all the way home.

[A]

Sorry, I missed that completely. It was like a lost dog. I was put in a kennel. They put a nice fleece underneath me,

[B]

Got a chew toy. Meanwhile, my parents had driven all the way home and Eagle Rock is fucking. It's back in Los Angeles, where they finally realized I wasn't with the family that I originally drove with. And because it was 2000, they had to go into the family's house to use their dial up to find a hotline to Disneyland, which I always find the most cinematic part of the story. My parents apologized and fussed over me when I did finally talk to them on the phone as they were headed back to pick me up. I was so tired and slightly traumatized by this point, and my spacey but loving parents were a mess when they got there. My guardian Santa and other cast members kindly offered us a room in one of the hotels since it had been hours since the park had closed and they had already driven home and back.

[A]

That's so fucked.

[B]

In hindsight, it is reasonable to think that the family I arrived with had assumed I would be going home with my parents and my parents assumed I would go in the car with the family I drove with.

[A]

It's definitely something you lock down beforehand though.

[B]

On the other hand, wtf? Mom and dad? Anywho, that's how I also got a free night at a Disney hotel and spent my ninth birthday.

[A]

Oh that's cool.

[B]

Stay sexy and teach your kids your phone number. And it says Parenting 101.

[A]

Brittany legendary. So scary though. I got lost during the day and then was found. You know, I turned myself in and was found. But the idea that you're there and then just everything closes around you.

[B]

Everything's just kind of shutting down.

[A]

No.

[B]

You're like oh shit. The feeling of being lost as a little kid is the scariest.

[F]

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[C]

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[E]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for Fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills but it turned turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

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[D]

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[A]

Okay, well, so my last email, the subject line is Liza Minnelli's story. Okay, brace yourself. Hi all. I grew up in a New York suburb and I spent my youth training to be a ballet dancer.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Well, well, well. Among the many places I would take class was a tiny underground literally studio on the Upper west side of man that my trash parents inexplicably let me travel to by myself starting around the age 12. And this was the early aughts.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I had a book called A Very Young Dancer that I was given probably age 7, and it was all about the little girl who gets cast to play Clara in the Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

And I was just like, oh, it's her. She's here to tell us some stories.

[B]

I had one called Angelina who was a ballet dancing mouse.

[A]

Oh, I know that book.

[B]

Angelina.

[A]

Very cute.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

This place also rented studio space to a jazz teacher known only as Luigi

[D]

Louie.

[B]

Hit the thing.

[F]

Hit it.

[A]

Finally.

[B]

Hit it.

[A]

Ding, ding, ding. In honor of Georgia, about to become

[B]

a part of Italy folklore.

[A]

Get ready.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

He'd been around forever and had a cult following within the New York theater scene. Luigi actually has an amazing story himself. And in parentheses, it says, major car accident, would never walk again. Self rehabbed, et cetera. Oh, my God. Please tell us Luigi's story.

[B]

Please. Documentary of that shit.

[A]

Please. I would love to hear that. Okay, but that's for another time. Well, make time. Little bun heads like me were required to take his jazz classes during the school's August intensive program as part of our dance training, which I was not thrilled about at first. My 12 year old brain saw Luigi as a hairy, weird old dude, and he honestly skipped. But boy, am I glad I went because his classes were unforgettable. I don't think I've ever seen a more bizarre mix of people in such a tiny space. Child ballerinas, random rich Upper west side old ladies in thong leotards and massive beehive hairdoers.

[B]

Oh, please let that be me.

[A]

Young theater professionals and Broadway legends like Ben Vereen and, you guessed it, Liza fucking Minnelli. One of our employees here, Craig Peralta, who we know and love very much, who was also on Broadway himself, concurs that Luigi was a very big deal, knows who it is, and said that there's a line about Luigi in one of the songs, in a chorus line.

[B]

Holy shit.

[A]

So this guy's legendary.

[B]

Legendary.

[A]

Ooh, I'm so excited. Okay, so it says the adults were always kind and encouraging to us in class and around the studio, but Liza really stood out. She insisted we call her Auntie Liza.

[B]

Oh, I love her.

[A]

And she'd chat to us in the dressing room. Often while. No, often while naked.

[B]

Oh, no, Liza.

[A]

About whatever she felt like talking about. But you had loved the theater department because standing around naked was this thing people did to, like, where it's like, it's natural and it's your body.

[B]

That was me. I make people so uncomfortable. I don't. I don't fucking give a shit.

[A]

Yeah. And then. And it's also kind of a brag of like, I'm actually willing to stand around naked. And, you know, that's theater. The fact that she did that stuff, that's amazing. She'd tell us crazy stories about her life, ask us about ourselves, our goals and our dreams, or just monologue about shit I definitely didn't understand at the time. I'll never forget her encouraging us to go on and tell Auntie Liza what the young people are into these days. While she was butt naked.

[B]

Holy shit.

[A]

She was just so kind and fun. And I still still laugh thinking about her doing finger guns at the end of every combination in just class. Liza, she her and Luigi. I didn't appreciate how much she struggled with her mental health and substance abuse until I got older, but that only made me respect and admire her even more. She's truly incredible, and I'm so glad I was lucky enough to share even a little time with her. Oh, that's.

[B]

How is it taking you 10 years to fucking write this in? It's one of the best fucking years.

[A]

You're so selfish. You're one of the worst listeners we have. Because this is the story we've been waiting for.

[B]

We've been asking you for this, and God damn, you're kind of withholding.

[A]

I just would like to mention now, if Liz Minnelli hears this, I got to play you in a musical about New year's Eve before 1980.

[B]

And you're the person I always pick when someone says, who would play you in a.

[A]

Yes, that's right.

[B]

Always you.

[A]

Yep. Liza, we're big fans.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Stay sexy and treat Liza Minnelli like she's anyone else. Even when she's naked and it's signed H she her. And then here's a photo H in costume for a production of Petrushka around the time she took dance with Luigi and Auntie Liza.

[B]

Look at her little baby.

[A]

Amazing.

[B]

Amazing. Great job. Okay, here's my last one. I'm a huge fan and longtime listener. I heard your call for dad Lore, and I wanted to tell you one of my favorite stories about my awesome dad. It was 1968, and Dennis was 20 years old, living in the band district of Richmond, Virginia. He had a day job working for an engineer, but at night and on the weekends, he would play in a band and do odd jobs. One night, he was asked to deliver a brand new Pearl White Vox Phantom guitar to the Mosque theater near his apartment. It was a guitar for the one and only Jimi Hendrix.

[A]

Shit.

[B]

Who was playing a show that night. Dennis knocked on the stage door and told the doorman that he had a delivery for the band. The doorman looked at him, looked at the guitar, and said, I'll take it from here, but this was a big effing deal. And so my dad said, no way. I have to deliver this myself. The doorman let him backstage and went to find someone from the band to receive the guitar.

[A]

Yeah, you can't fucking just hand a guy at the door something that precious.

[B]

Or so the stagehand thought.

[A]

Ooh.

[B]

In actuality, my dad had spent months saving up for his very own Pearl White Vox Phantom, the same guitar Brian Jones from the Rolling Stones played. I'm told he had finally purchased the guitar when he found out that Jimi Hendrix was coming to town. He simply couldn't afford both. So he thought on his feet and beep, boop, bopped the stagehand into letting him backstage. Just held up his own guitar.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That's like the thing of, like. Like, if you walk in somewhere, like, carrying a stepladder, you can get it anywhere.

[A]

Or a clipboard.

[B]

A clipboard, too. Yeah. From there, in what must have been the absolute most anxious moments of his entire life. No, he's a white man. He gets away with fucking anything.

[A]

Yeah, he's fine.

[B]

My dad managed to sneak up onto the balcony with his guitar. When Jimi Hendrix started playing, my dad worked his way into the crowd and watched the entire show. He got both the guitar and the show of a lifetime. Fuck. Epic. Thank you for reading the story. I adore my dad home gym, and Marty would love Dennis. He's sweet, funny, kind, and then it says, up, grumpy and one of my favorite people. I like to think that me and my two sisters helped make him that way. That's what happens to girl dads, but you already know that. Stay sexy and rock on, Bernie. P.S. dad, if you're listening, it's okay. I know I'm the favorite, and we don't have to tell my sisters. And then there's a photo. So there's a photo of my dad as a grip at Red Rock.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Where me and my sisters were fortunate enough to watch many concerts from backstage while our dad worked.

[A]

Look at him.

[B]

Look at him. There's probably, like, 30 in this photo.

[A]

This guy absolutely belongs backstage at a Jimi Hendrix or any other concert he wants to go to.

[B]

I want that guy to be our grip on our next tour.

[A]

That's a guy that's like. He's gonna be like. He's gonna know where the coke is.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then he's also gonna know where the really good chicken strips after the show are.

[B]

Totally. And he's got so much gaffer tape on him.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And great stories.

[B]

Great stories.

[A]

And he can drink.

[B]

He can drink.

[A]

Fun. All right, Dennis, Dennis, we believe in you. Thanks for doing a good dad job.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

If your daughters are writing to this podcast about you, I'm not calling you a trash dad. And but even still. And not. Yeah, exactly. You still kind of made it. Well, amazing.

[B]

Those were great. Thank you guys for writing in. Write your series, write your story. Yeah, for sure.

[A]

Write your story. Write your dad's story to us.

[B]

Y favorite murdermail.

[A]

It can be anybody. And now we go to Italy.

[B]

Stay sexy and don't get murdered. Goodbye, Elvis. Do you want a cookie?

[A]

This has been an exactly right production.

[B]

Our senior producer is Molly Smith and our associate producer is Tessa Hughes.

[A]

Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

[B]

This episode was mixed by Liana Scratch.

[A]

Email your hometowns to My Favorite Murder gmail dot com.

[B]

Follow the show on Instagram at My Favorite murder.

[A]

Listen to My favorite murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[B]

And now you can watch My Favorite Murder on Netflix.

[A]

And when you're there, hit the double thumbs up and the remind me buttons. That's the best way you can support our show.

[B]

Goodbye.

[C]

You ever get the feeling the city walls closing in the concrete jungle suffocating your soul? You crave wide open spaces, the chance to connect with nature, maybe chase some elk, fish a private stream. Well, listen up. There's a whole world out there. And finding your own piece of it just got easier. Head over to land.com. they've got ranches, forests, mountains, you name it. Search by acreage, location, the kind of hunting or fishing you dream of. Of land dot Com. It's where the adventure begins.

[B]

It's called soccer. It's called football. Soccer.

[E]

Football.

[B]

Domino's Best deal ever.

[E]

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[A]

Yeah, fully. So pineapple.

[E]

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Minimum purchase required for delivery prices, participation, delivery area and charges may vary. M&M's popped caramel do sound different. Oh, no.

[B]

People are going to be obsessed.

[C]

What do you mean?

[B]

People hate the sound of chewing.

[E]

Maybe they won't like the crunch.

[C]

Maybe we're saved.

[B]

Wait a minute. Yellow. Have you been eating them this whole time?

[A]

Mmm.

[C]

So tasty. Hands off us M&M's popped caramel. It's more fun together.

[B]

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