1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:07,280 You're listening to the Mind Over Murder podcast. My name is Bill Thomas. 2 00:00:07,799 --> 00:00:12,080 I'm a writer, consulting, producer, and now podcaster. I am now 3 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:16,039 trying to use my experience as the brother of a murder victim to help other 4 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,280 victims of violent crime. I'm working on a book on the unsolved Colonial Parkway 5 00:00:20,359 --> 00:00:24,679 murders, and I'm the co administrator of the Colonial Parkway Murders Facebook group together 6 00:00:24,719 --> 00:00:28,519 with Kristin Dilly. My name is Kristin Dilly. I'm a writer, a 7 00:00:28,559 --> 00:00:32,479 researcher, a teacher, and a victim's advocate, as well as the social 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:37,799 media manager and co administrator for the Colonial Parkway Murders Facebook page with my partner 9 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:48,399 in crime, Bill Thomas. Welcome to Mind Ever Murder. I'm Kristin Dilly 10 00:00:48,439 --> 00:00:52,719 and I'm Bill Thomas, and we're joined today by Stephen French, host of 11 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:58,119 the Unsolved Mysteries podcast. Do you thank you so much for joining us today. 12 00:00:58,799 --> 00:01:00,159 I am truly honored to be here. Thank you, Kristin, Thank 13 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:06,200 you Bill. Are you a fan of the og Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack. 14 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:11,239 That's the first thing I have to ask who you'd have to be? 15 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:12,599 You'd have to be out of your mind to not be a fan of the 16 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:17,599 original. I can still remember being a kid. Why I was allowed to 17 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:19,680 watch that show as a child, I have no idea, but I can 18 00:01:19,719 --> 00:01:23,799 still feel the shag carpeting in my family's house. I can still see some 19 00:01:23,879 --> 00:01:29,560 of those in the mug shots and the composite drawings. Yes, just absolutely 20 00:01:29,599 --> 00:01:30,879 hooked on it as a child. I don't know that I could have said, 21 00:01:30,879 --> 00:01:34,400 oh I remember this, I remember this, but I can remember moments 22 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,200 of it and just being absolutely terrified by both the horrendous crimes happening and by 23 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:42,640 Robert Stack's voice. Yes, definitely definitely loved it and can't believe I get 24 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,239 to be a very small part of it. It's a future here. I 25 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:47,799 was going to say, do you ever have moments when you think, oh 26 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,840 my gosh, I'm the new Robert Stack. I would never profane the legacy 27 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:56,920 of the new Robert Stack. Terry Dunmuir, our incredible co creator of the 28 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,200 show, who I get to record with every session, which is it is 29 00:02:00,239 --> 00:02:04,239 mind boggling. She originally said, so you have to understand you're going to 30 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,319 be the new voice of Unsolved Mystery that is going to carry with it a 31 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,639 whole lot of things. When I found out that I had gotten the job, 32 00:02:12,199 --> 00:02:14,360 I did have a moment of that, going what am I doing? 33 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,879 I hate this? How am I possibly going to It's obviously a very different 34 00:02:17,879 --> 00:02:21,960 thing. And fortunately I'm not on camera, nobody has to see my face 35 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:25,599 for radio. But it's don't know how I'm supposed to do this because all 36 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:29,560 I can think of is all anybody can think of with unsolved mysteries is Robert 37 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:31,879 Stack. Robert Stack. So yeah, it is weird. It's very weird, 38 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,800 but I think that we have found a good balance. And it's obviously 39 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,520 this new thing, it's a new creation. It's the same heart, the 40 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:43,479 same type of show. Never in a million years that was from the get 41 00:02:43,479 --> 00:02:46,039 gos. We're not trying to imitate Robert Stack. You're not trying to replace 42 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:50,479 Robert Stack. Just do your thing. But I did notice, Steve, 43 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,639 in interviews and I was reading some articles about you, you did talk about 44 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:59,039 feeling like a strong sense of responsibility. That was the word you used in 45 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,080 following in Robert Stack's footsteps. Of course, we should be clear for the 46 00:03:02,159 --> 00:03:06,840 audience, mister Stack's been dead for a number of years, so he won't 47 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,240 criticize the podcast as far as we can now, or any dumb questions we 48 00:03:10,319 --> 00:03:15,560 might ask you. In all seriousness, Steve, you talked about responsibility like 49 00:03:15,599 --> 00:03:19,560 you were taking on something important. There is such a following for the show, 50 00:03:19,719 --> 00:03:23,120 and like the incredible work that you both are doing with your podcast, 51 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:27,639 these are very serious issues, right. I mean, there's of course, 52 00:03:27,759 --> 00:03:30,560 with Unsolved Mysteries, there's a bit of this kind of cult following and memes 53 00:03:30,599 --> 00:03:34,439 to no end of Robert Stack and the theme song, but he loves the 54 00:03:34,439 --> 00:03:38,000 theme song. But it's this really serious job. We're talking about real people 55 00:03:38,039 --> 00:03:42,319 who have had unimaginable, unspeakable things happen to them in their lives and their 56 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:46,520 loved ones. So there is a responsibility to give those cases, give these 57 00:03:46,599 --> 00:03:52,560 victims the respect that they deserve, and also to keep up the mantle of 58 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:58,039 seriousness with which Tera has shepherded this, for lack of a better word, 59 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,360 this property that this show for so many years. So yeah, I did 60 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,560 feel a great responsibility, but I also felt like I was being taken care 61 00:04:03,599 --> 00:04:08,599 of by everyone at Cosgrove Muhr, And I thought it was pretty incredible that 62 00:04:08,639 --> 00:04:12,199 after all the success they've had after being a TV show for so long that 63 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,639 they said, wait, let's branch out, let's try a podcast. I'm 64 00:04:15,639 --> 00:04:17,319 sure it wasn't an easy decision to make, and I'm sure they knew that 65 00:04:17,319 --> 00:04:19,839 they were probably going to be up against people that are so set in their 66 00:04:19,879 --> 00:04:25,040 ways they can't imagine Unsolved Mysteries being anything other than Robert Stack in a trench 67 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,319 code. But I'm happy to say for any number of people that are out 68 00:04:28,319 --> 00:04:31,079 there that don't feel like listening to a podcast, we have a really incredible 69 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,199 group of fans that enjoyed the show for what it is and are there for 70 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:38,720 every episode and dedicated to helping to solve a mystery. So how did you 71 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:44,079 ultimately end up getting involved with the Unsolved Mysteries podcast. Did they put out 72 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,959 an all call and say, hey, we're looking for somebody to do the 73 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,800 pod, or how did this happen for you? Yeah, it was an 74 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:53,000 audition, just like any other of my voiceover auditions. You know. That's 75 00:04:53,079 --> 00:04:55,639 for anybody who maybe knows me from the show where doesn't know me at all. 76 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:59,199 I'm a voice actor. That's my job, and so just as I'm 77 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,920 meaning for the un Mysteries podcast, I'm auditioning for candy bar commercials and car 78 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:08,319 commercials and cartoons and any number of things. Yeah, it was an audition 79 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,319 that came in. I think it was in September of twenty twenty, if 80 00:05:11,319 --> 00:05:14,160 I'm not mistaken, and it took a little bit of time. They sent 81 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:15,720 a handful of scripts, nothing that was in our shows, but I think 82 00:05:15,759 --> 00:05:19,360 scripts from old shows that they had put in some of the amazing Unsolved Mysteries 83 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,839 writing, and so I thought I glanced over it. And with my line 84 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:27,279 of work, there's so much sort of rejection or you do so many auditions 85 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,519 that you never book that Now I've gotten to a point in my old age 86 00:05:30,519 --> 00:05:33,120 where I can say, just I'll record this and send it off and I'm 87 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:35,240 going to stop thinking about it. And so I said, oh, they're 88 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:39,439 doing an Unsolved Mysteries podcast. That'd be cool recording my stuff, send it 89 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,279 off. And then a handful of weeks later, maybe it was even a 90 00:05:42,319 --> 00:05:45,480 month later, I got a callback for it where they said you're one of 91 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,160 the finalists for this, and they sent over a couple of different scripts and 92 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,800 said, we want to see a range of tones. Can you try some 93 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,720 hears, some slightly different stories and we want to see a range of stuff. 94 00:05:54,759 --> 00:05:56,680 And then a few weeks after that, all of a sudden, I 95 00:05:56,759 --> 00:05:59,720 was on the phone with Terry dun Muir talking about how they wanted to craft 96 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:01,399 this part and what that would mean for me and how I could play a 97 00:06:01,399 --> 00:06:05,480 part in it. And that's when I had my OMG moment of what's going 98 00:06:05,519 --> 00:06:08,360 to happen. I'm sure I want to do this. I can't FULI but 99 00:06:08,399 --> 00:06:11,240 they just took such good care of me, and there was such collaboration from 100 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,800 the start, and from the beginning I said, listen, this is We've 101 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:16,720 got to strike the right tone. I can't be Robert Stack. I'm not 102 00:06:16,759 --> 00:06:20,079 going to try to do an impression of Robert Stack. And like you said, 103 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:25,000 my biggest thing was responsibility and respect for the subjects that we were talking 104 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,680 about. So that's what happened. I mean, that's I've questioned Steve. 105 00:06:28,879 --> 00:06:33,680 Back in the day, people in your field went into a recording studio with 106 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:40,480 other people and recorded voiceover that way. Now we're talking to you for your 107 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:45,560 home studio, and it sounds like you mostly do this electronically now. In 108 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,720 other words, you're not typically with the people that you work with. That's 109 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:53,160 right. Yeah, everything is remote for me. Now. We were talking 110 00:06:53,199 --> 00:06:56,680 before we started recording here. In March thirteenth, twenty twenty, was the 111 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,319 last time I went into a studio. I was doing a seried narrating a 112 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,800 series for National Geographic, And it was right as everything was really starting to 113 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,120 come to a head. And remember I went to the studio and I brought 114 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,319 some wipes, and the engineer had wipes, and we both looked at each 115 00:07:10,319 --> 00:07:12,720 other and we go, we don't know what we're supposed to be doing here 116 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,399 your music stand, in your school whatever. Yeah, everything used to be 117 00:07:16,439 --> 00:07:19,319 that way, Miss Lee. Some of some of the people who aren't familiar 118 00:07:19,319 --> 00:07:21,680 with the voiceover world. There was the may he Rest in peace, the 119 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:26,360 incredible Don la Fontaine, the fame one of the famous movie trailer voices. 120 00:07:26,759 --> 00:07:29,920 He was was known for. He is so busy, and he had to 121 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:31,839 go to all these studios around Los Angeles, and so the best way they 122 00:07:31,879 --> 00:07:34,279 figured out to get him to all those jobs was to pop him in a 123 00:07:34,319 --> 00:07:39,519 stretch limo and drive him right thing to thing so glamorous that today it's not 124 00:07:40,279 --> 00:07:43,639 those The rest of us don't have that kind of lifestyle, but the technology 125 00:07:43,879 --> 00:07:46,720 has improved so much that you used to if you wanted to have a home 126 00:07:46,759 --> 00:07:48,839 studio. A dear friend of mine, one of my favorite voice over people 127 00:07:48,839 --> 00:07:53,759 in the world, is the incredible Dennis Predewick, who I think, back 128 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,480 in the day was the only voiceover guy I knew the guy he was. 129 00:07:56,759 --> 00:07:59,399 He had been an actor and then he had this just incredible instrument, so 130 00:07:59,439 --> 00:08:01,360 he became a voice over guy. And he was the only guy I knew 131 00:08:01,399 --> 00:08:03,639 that had a home studio, which at that point was an ISDN lines, 132 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:07,160 this digital phone line that you have to have run into your house, and 133 00:08:07,199 --> 00:08:13,560 with an expensive codec box and monthly subscription fees, it was this enormous task 134 00:08:13,759 --> 00:08:16,639 to do voiceover from your home. But using that DN you could connect point 135 00:08:16,639 --> 00:08:20,279 to point with studios, and he was a very busy promo guy, and 136 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:24,079 so that's how that worked. But now your internet connection, as long as 137 00:08:24,079 --> 00:08:26,680 you have a hardwired internet connection, you can connect through these different modules like 138 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:31,039 Source Connect or Session Link Pro or IPDTL and it's pretty darn good. It's 139 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:35,600 pretty close to being zero latency, and so most of my sessions are done 140 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,600 that way, or I just do them on my own. I'm the promo 141 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:41,240 voice for the Mandalorian, and I think I've had one or two sessions where 142 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:45,720 someone else has been on the other line. Otherwise, my manager just texts 143 00:08:45,759 --> 00:08:48,480 me a script because it has to be turned around so fast. Can you 144 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:50,799 get in your both here's the script, pup up up, and then I 145 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:52,480 just jump up here, I stay where I am right now, and I 146 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:56,480 record this thing and then I send it off. So yeah, it's very 147 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:00,559 different than it used to be. So is there any feedback? Then there's 148 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,480 no one in your ear saying, can you go again, Steve, give 149 00:09:03,519 --> 00:09:07,919 me sexy, give me shy whatever. That doesn't happen anymore. No one's 150 00:09:07,919 --> 00:09:11,279 ever asking me to give them sexy necessarily built. But yes, we definitely 151 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:16,639 we have those. We have those remote sessions and so that that's when they 152 00:09:16,639 --> 00:09:20,000 can direct me. But I have been amazed at depending on the type of 153 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:24,840 project, if I'm doing something commercially or like our obviously our unsolved Mystery sessions, 154 00:09:24,879 --> 00:09:28,080 I'm talking to someone, they're listening directly in in real time, and 155 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,440 they can say, all right, let's try this, let's try something. 156 00:09:30,519 --> 00:09:33,080 The way that it's the major difference, I would say, is that auditions 157 00:09:33,159 --> 00:09:37,840 now I don't very rarely audition in front of people. All we actors used 158 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:41,879 to go into a casting director's office and all your buddies on the lobby, 159 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,200 and you'd small talk with each other and lie about all the work that you're 160 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:46,600 getting. And then then you go in and you stand in front of a 161 00:09:46,639 --> 00:09:50,120 microphone with the paragrimy headphones, and you would you'd do your auditions for them. 162 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:54,879 And so now it's all self directed auditions. So that's actually where like 163 00:09:54,919 --> 00:09:58,840 this added responsibility and kind of stress that has been put on the voice actors. 164 00:10:00,159 --> 00:10:01,440 You used to just get to go in and do your job. Now 165 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,759 you have to be your own engineer, you have to be your own director, 166 00:10:03,799 --> 00:10:07,279 you have to be able to edit your stuff and maybe do a little 167 00:10:07,279 --> 00:10:09,879 bit of voice acting along the way, all those different little things. Now 168 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:11,080 but now I have to say, I take that for granted. I don't 169 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,600 even think about the way it used to be. Just this is what it 170 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:18,120 is. We still have relationships with all those people, all those incredible casting 171 00:10:18,159 --> 00:10:20,279 directors, and you still have the relationships. It's just that you're not getting 172 00:10:20,279 --> 00:10:24,360 to be in the room together. So when you're settling in to do an 173 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:28,240 episode of unsolved mysteries about how long does that take you? Can you knock 174 00:10:28,279 --> 00:10:31,600 it out in thirty minutes or does it take a little bit longer. I'm 175 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:35,240 proud to say one of my I don't know if I'm any good at my 176 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:39,240 job, but I'm usually very fast at my job. You're good at us. 177 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:41,879 That's been good. Thank you. I was thinking about this the other 178 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:46,320 day. Terry and I have had I just can't even say enough about Terry. 179 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:50,720 I don't even know that it's like we have time for me to talk 180 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:52,320 about what this experience has been like with her. But in terms of the 181 00:10:52,399 --> 00:10:56,519 sessions themselves, we were just talking the other day after a session. When 182 00:10:56,559 --> 00:11:00,240 we started out back at the end of twenty twenty, we were doing listen 183 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:03,639 to the show. I have these blocks of narration, yeah, and so 184 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:05,799 we just go block by block and we record each of those. And when 185 00:11:05,799 --> 00:11:09,960 we started out, we were finding our feet for how do we want this 186 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,159 to sound? So I was actually doing three takes in three different kind of 187 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:18,360 tones for each of those, and then I think even up through the second 188 00:11:18,399 --> 00:11:20,360 season. Then after a session or two of that, I said, you 189 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:24,320 know what, I think we can narrow this to two takes. I think 190 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,000 I can give you this and this, and I think it'll be about what 191 00:11:26,039 --> 00:11:28,840 you want. And she said, yeah, let's try that out. And 192 00:11:28,879 --> 00:11:33,000 then recently, after having done this for a season and a half, I 193 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,080 said, what do you think if we just do one take and then if 194 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:39,759 you want to change something, we'll change something. If you want to try 195 00:11:39,759 --> 00:11:46,240 something, lean something there. And so now we do two episodes typically in 196 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:48,600 under an hour because and if you listen to it, I don't know. 197 00:11:48,639 --> 00:11:50,360 I don't have a ton of narration in all these things. It's mostly our 198 00:11:50,639 --> 00:11:54,720 family members and law enforcement. I maybe have five minutes sometimes maybe it's seven 199 00:11:54,759 --> 00:11:58,440 minutes of total narration for our show, probably even less. So if I'm 200 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,000 doing my job, I can breeze through these things. If we're only doing 201 00:12:01,039 --> 00:12:03,440 one take, maybe there's a note, can you hit this a little harder, 202 00:12:03,519 --> 00:12:07,279 let's do a copy change. Terry is always right up into the last 203 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:09,519 minute. She's hearing something. I say something. It triggers something of her 204 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:11,759 and she goes, you know what, that doesn't quite make sense, And 205 00:12:11,759 --> 00:12:15,360 she's amazing. Letting me say, you know, if there's something that doesn't 206 00:12:15,399 --> 00:12:16,759 quite roll off the tongue, how do we want to change that, So 207 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,080 yeah, we do try to breeze through it. Are you ever hearing the 208 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:24,320 other segments? So, in other words, listening to the podcast, there's 209 00:12:24,519 --> 00:12:28,679 oftentimes, like you say, a family member, law enforcement person, whatever, 210 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,519 who's also telling the story from their perspective, but you're also the connection 211 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,960 from point A to point B to set the stage for us to date and 212 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:43,360 the time and the place and what happened. Do you ever hear those lines 213 00:12:43,399 --> 00:12:48,440 that come before and after you? Are you just recording your end of things? 214 00:12:48,879 --> 00:12:52,120 Absolutely great question. Yes, I do get to hear those. And 215 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,799 that's one of the further amazing things about this gig is how well I'm taking 216 00:12:54,799 --> 00:12:58,919 care of a lot of other projects. I don't even know. Some things 217 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,879 are so secretive. There's much nda surrounding all the stuff that you're recording that 218 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:07,320 you literally don't know what you're doing until you've maybe had an audition. Sometimes 219 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:09,440 it's a dummy script, so you don't you go and do I come into 220 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:13,120 my booth here in five minutes before the session, I get emailed a script 221 00:13:13,159 --> 00:13:16,360 and I go, Okay, this is what I'm doing with the podcast. 222 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:22,240 Cadence thirteen is so unbelievable. They have the show pretty much fully fleshed out. 223 00:13:22,279 --> 00:13:24,559 There are some edits that they'll make, there's some sound things that they'll 224 00:13:24,639 --> 00:13:28,759 change, and then one of their editors does a scratch narration for me where 225 00:13:28,799 --> 00:13:33,279 he reads my stuff there's a different voice. So there's like a rough cut 226 00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:37,720 of every single one of these episodes with another guy going I'm Steve French and 227 00:13:37,759 --> 00:13:43,720 this is unsulted, but so it's amazing. So I typically get those. 228 00:13:43,759 --> 00:13:48,240 My kind of span of time with each episode is we record basically every other 229 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:52,200 Monday, and then usually the Thursday or Friday before that is when I get 230 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,320 our two shows for the week. I get the scripts and I get the 231 00:13:56,399 --> 00:13:58,679 audio cuts, So then I'll listen to those a couple of times over the 232 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:03,159 weekend before our session and then go over the scripts and run everything over the 233 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,320 lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue, make sure everything's coming 234 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:09,360 out okay. But yeah, I get to hear these episodes before anybody else, 235 00:14:09,919 --> 00:14:13,240 so I really have a great idea of what's being said, what the 236 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:18,120 story is, and how I should can best fit in to each of those 237 00:14:18,159 --> 00:14:20,480 things, and what's going to be required of me storytelling wise? What do 238 00:14:20,519 --> 00:14:24,720 they need me to push here? Do they need me to just move through 239 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:28,279 this? And the other incredible thing is that once we get recording a lot 240 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,639 of things that are so time sensitive with other projects, all my stuff for 241 00:14:31,759 --> 00:14:35,440 National Geographic everything has to be timed out or certainly in a commercial or promo, 242 00:14:35,519 --> 00:14:39,840 everything is an exact time a secondary amazing thing. Not only do they 243 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:41,840 have this episode for me and I can hear how everything should be, they 244 00:14:41,879 --> 00:14:46,159 also very rarely have any sort of strict timing that I have to adhere to. 245 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,840 They edit things around me and can strict because I'm just in this pocket. 246 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,120 They can stretch out music around me. It really is. It's I 247 00:14:54,159 --> 00:14:58,039 can't believe in terms of the actual doing of the thing, how easy they've 248 00:14:58,039 --> 00:15:01,799 made it for me. It really is like a dream in terms of all 249 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:03,159 that'suff I was talking about before, the self directing, the editing, I 250 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:07,080 record on my end, I clean up things and send it off. They've 251 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,399 just made it so easy. I can't even begin to describe how how lucky 252 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:13,080 I am to work on this in all facets of it. Would it be 253 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,879 bad if they heard this podcast and they realized just how easy they've made it 254 00:15:16,919 --> 00:15:24,840 for you? Would they use that against you somehow exactly? Maybe we won't, 255 00:15:24,919 --> 00:15:28,000 Maybe we won't send you the editor that beforehand. No. And they're 256 00:15:28,039 --> 00:15:31,120 so wonderful Chris, Chris Baseil, Andy Jaskowitz, who are incredible editors and 257 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,879 the main guys that do it. I just got an email from Andy the 258 00:15:33,879 --> 00:15:37,759 other day that was like complimenting me on my files and how clean they are 259 00:15:37,799 --> 00:15:41,120 and how easy it is to work with it. I was like, you're 260 00:15:41,159 --> 00:15:46,039 the you make it easy for me. Yeah. So they're very special everybody 261 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:50,000 involved. It's just I couldn't be luckier. So I told you at the 262 00:15:50,039 --> 00:15:52,159 outset of this that I'm a longtime fan. This is one of the only 263 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:56,159 podcasts that I listened to that as soon as the episode comes out, no 264 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,360 matter what I'm doing, damn, it's up and I'm listening to it. 265 00:16:00,039 --> 00:16:03,120 There seem to be the two type of episodes, the criminal case episodes and 266 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:07,000 the paranormal episodes. Is there one that you prefer? I can tell you 267 00:16:07,039 --> 00:16:10,559 before I get into that, I would say that you'd be amazed to learn 268 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:12,960 that there are fans of each who think there are way too many of the 269 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,960 other kind. We're never gonna get that we're never going to get that ratio 270 00:16:19,039 --> 00:16:22,159 correct or afraid it's great. You look in the iTunes reviews. Enough with 271 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:26,240 the paranormal episodes, but the next person, enough with the true crime episodes. 272 00:16:26,399 --> 00:16:29,960 Well that'll be some that we have to Sorry, you can't please everybody. 273 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:33,799 It's tough, isn't it. It's tough to say, with this job 274 00:16:33,159 --> 00:16:37,879 that you have that I enjoy doing it. You're talking about these really difficult 275 00:16:37,919 --> 00:16:41,440 things. I have this incredible fortune to work with Terry. We have a 276 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:48,000 wonderful time together. We've developed this really great working relationship everybody at CMP and 277 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:52,919 King's thirteen. I don't particularly enjoy telling the story of a young person that's 278 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:59,960 been trafficked, or people have lost family members, And even the paranormal stuff, 279 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,679 I could say I have more fun doing those. Sometimes sometimes it's fun 280 00:17:03,679 --> 00:17:07,519 to add a little spookiness to even those. Sometimes are the people telling us 281 00:17:07,519 --> 00:17:11,599 the stories have not had a fun experience. So if as I'm listening to 282 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,200 them, if you can sense that they're that the people telling the story are 283 00:17:15,519 --> 00:17:18,519 at peace or at ease with something, Okay, maybe that's all right. 284 00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:23,519 It's funny. I'm such I'm amongst my friends I'm famously a scaredy cat when 285 00:17:23,559 --> 00:17:26,880 it comes to any sort of ghosty thing or spooky thing. We don't have 286 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,200 to go into details, but there may have been a forced visit to a 287 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:34,400 haunted house when I was in college that garnered the nickname that I still am 288 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,640 trying to live down that kind of thing. We don't need to go into 289 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,200 that, so, but I would say at least, at the very least, 290 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:44,640 there's at least some a little bit of lightness to those the paranormal stories. 291 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,960 That's different than are the horrific cases that we deal with. Does that 292 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:49,720 answer? That didn't answer your question at all, but it definitely did. 293 00:17:51,039 --> 00:17:52,440 Like you guys, just recently, I think it was like three weeks ago, 294 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:57,160 it was the Demon of Brownsville Road episode. Scared the Jesus out of 295 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,359 me, but also at the same time, what a great story. That 296 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:06,440 was a terrifying episode, honestly, absolutely, And the stuff that I remember 297 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,559 the first time, the very first episode we did was the Ball Cemetery. 298 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:12,960 Oh yeah, And I remember thinking, oh great, this will be great. 299 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,640 They're sending me these scratches, don't okay, we'll turn out the lights. 300 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,400 I'll lay in bed here I'll put my headphones in and I'll bone up 301 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:25,000 on this three minutes into that episode. Never doing that again. Too scary, 302 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:30,000 Never too scary. Never listen to these things with the lights off people. 303 00:18:30,279 --> 00:18:34,920 Never. Oh that was a hair raiser of an episode. I remember 304 00:18:36,039 --> 00:18:40,000 that very well. Yeah, those stick with you, all these in some 305 00:18:40,039 --> 00:18:42,559 ways. We've done almost eighty of them now, and you remember little bits 306 00:18:42,599 --> 00:18:45,640 and pieces and details from each of them. And yeah, the paranormal ones, 307 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:49,119 it just doesn't sit with me. I just can I say alien aliens 308 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:52,720 flying through the sky that didn't hurt anybody and everybody's okay, and they just 309 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:53,720 saw them. Those are the ones I love. Let's do more of those. 310 00:18:53,839 --> 00:18:59,279 Yeah, it gets hurt, you know. So how often does the 311 00:18:59,319 --> 00:19:03,799 podcast resulted in arrest? Because I know that you guys recently had an arrest 312 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:07,279 made in a case it was featured on the pods, So I don't imagine 313 00:19:07,319 --> 00:19:11,000 you get to do those case updates very often, but I know that you 314 00:19:11,079 --> 00:19:15,480 recently had one. Do you have an idea about how often these cases resultant 315 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,920 in arrest? I think we have had. My answer to that is in 316 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,480 two parts. I actually don't know if I'm being completely honest that the podcast 317 00:19:22,519 --> 00:19:26,400 has been responsible for somebody heard the podcast and then said, oh, that's 318 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,359 my neighbor. And but we have covered I think it's five cases that have 319 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:36,119 had updates. I think three of those were resulted in arrest. Three of 320 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:40,160 the murder cases. There's also people who listen that the incredible story of the 321 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:44,839 girl with the S tattoo, Tammy Terrell, which through forensic genomics they found 322 00:19:44,839 --> 00:19:47,960 out finally found out who she was at what forty two years, which is 323 00:19:48,039 --> 00:19:51,160 just amazing. And also Kim Flint, who was covered in our story missing 324 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,519 from the bridge. They finally found her body and there are no signs of 325 00:19:53,559 --> 00:19:57,599 foul play. They determined those. So I think it's in terms of our 326 00:19:57,839 --> 00:20:02,480 over these two seasons, we've five cases where I've gotten to say the word 327 00:20:02,559 --> 00:20:06,000 update. So that's obviously that's the goal. That's the whole point, and 328 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:10,240 we can't rest until we've got many more updates than that. Is there any 329 00:20:10,319 --> 00:20:15,920 kind of internal discussion with your team about updates we are seeing, and of 330 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:21,039 course we've interviewed a lot of people that are involved in really advanced forensics who 331 00:20:21,039 --> 00:20:23,920 are breaking cases all over the place. Is that part of the mix now 332 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:30,799 do you think for unsolved mysteries the podcast, let's try to do more updates 333 00:20:30,839 --> 00:20:34,079 as new information is developed in some of these cases. Oh, certainly, 334 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,519 in any time that we have new information to share, I think would probably 335 00:20:38,559 --> 00:20:42,720 have to be of a certain dynamic, of a certain large result of some 336 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:47,079 kind. That's always the goal. I think that they're and they also it 337 00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:49,759 was funny the other day someone we have incredible fans, and somebody sent me 338 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:55,720 a news article I think somebody we had profiled before it was involved in another 339 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:00,119 had been arrested for separate crime another domestic violence or something, and I sent 340 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,960 it to them. I said, oh, one of the fans, and 341 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:04,160 they said, oh, yeah, we know. So they've got their ear 342 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,759 to the ground. And I'm sure the Google alerts set up like crazy, 343 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,680 so they are on it. So that's that really is. It's really the 344 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,480 whole point. And I just commend Terry for I feel like, I don't 345 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:17,880 think I'm exaggerating. I think she can remember every case they've covered, over 346 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,880 the cases and the decades that she's been doing this. It feels like when 347 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:22,640 we're talking, she'll say, oh, say, oh, did you ever 348 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,400 experience that she goes I remember it was like nineteen eighty eight there was this 349 00:21:26,759 --> 00:21:33,319 case with this wow, wow she has yeah and she just That's what really 350 00:21:33,319 --> 00:21:34,759 struck me, was not It wasn't like I got on the phone with somebody 351 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:37,920 said, oh yeah, I've been producing this unsolved mystery show, this thing 352 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,400 has been great, whatever, just to say what I mean, so invested 353 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,559 as if these are the first cases she's covered, is if it's the first 354 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:51,960 Terry O's ohs, nobody a rationale or a justification of her success and what 355 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,920 she's done for true crime, for unsolved mysteries, for that being basically the 356 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,440 first show to end with a call to action to insite viewers to help them 357 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,640 out. The way that she has changed the landscape of this is remarkable. 358 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:07,960 It's exactly the same today as it was all those years ago. So very, 359 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,920 so fortunate to have gotten in with this team. And I note that 360 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:17,440 her goals are never about creating content, creating a property, creating a brand. 361 00:22:17,559 --> 00:22:19,759 It's sure it's all those things, but it's really about the heart and 362 00:22:19,759 --> 00:22:23,559 soul of what she's trying to do. You're listening to Mind over Murder. 363 00:22:23,599 --> 00:22:33,519 We'll be right back after this word from our sponsors. We're back here at 364 00:22:33,559 --> 00:22:37,240 mindover Murder. You had mentioned a couple of minutes before that it can be 365 00:22:37,319 --> 00:22:41,599 difficult to deal with the details of true crime cases, and we know that, 366 00:22:41,759 --> 00:22:45,519 of course. Do you ever have difficulty dealing with the material after you've 367 00:22:45,559 --> 00:22:51,839 been spending a long day invested in learning about these true crime cases? How 368 00:22:51,839 --> 00:22:55,640 do you deal with the difficulties that can come with being immersed in that world. 369 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,200 I'm a father of a seven year old boy on the autism spectrum, 370 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:07,359 and we just did a case recently. Lord from Home teenager Alicia Navarro was 371 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:11,079 taken disappeared a few months ago. I was out with my son on a 372 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:17,200 nature walk and in a place that we've been often, and he's very fast, 373 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:18,960 and it's a place we've been a million times. But I lost him 374 00:23:19,079 --> 00:23:25,359 for twenty minutes in the woods, and it was the long longest twenty minutes 375 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:27,839 of my life, right of these things flashing before my eyes and the unbelievable 376 00:23:27,839 --> 00:23:32,440 amount of possibilities that went through my head. And some very kind people were 377 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:34,039 there and he found someone. He talks a lot, He's verbal, but 378 00:23:34,039 --> 00:23:38,480 he doesn't always communicate what he needs to communicate or what you'd like to try 379 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,160 to say, try to talk to him about but he found somebody. He 380 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,319 said, where's daddy? And I found him. The only reason I bring 381 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,160 this up is that was twenty minutes that I'm pretty sure took time off my 382 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:52,279 life, maybe a week or who knows how much. I cannot imagine what 383 00:23:52,559 --> 00:23:57,640 people who have lost someone in their lives that they when there's no closure, 384 00:23:57,759 --> 00:24:02,799 we don't know what's happened them. I even doing these cases, even studying 385 00:24:02,799 --> 00:24:06,240 these things, even telling these stories and trying to have as much empathy as 386 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:10,720 possible, I cannot imagine what that feels like. Those are the hardest cases 387 00:24:10,759 --> 00:24:14,160 for me. The lost children, the abducted children, the missing children. 388 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:18,759 Jessica Nunez is Alsi's mother and actually reached out to me over Facebook when I 389 00:24:18,759 --> 00:24:22,240 had posted this, and I just think it's extraordinary. But she and the 390 00:24:22,279 --> 00:24:25,880 parents of everyone that we've profiled, it's in the situation and all the even 391 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:27,839 the families of murder victims, and I just I don't know. I don't 392 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:32,680 know how. I don't know how people get by when this has happened. 393 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,359 It's really that was something that struck me doing the show that I don't think 394 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:41,160 i'd considered was listening to victims' families, to loved ones, that perseverance, 395 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:45,799 that ability to wake up every day with this part of you that will never 396 00:24:45,839 --> 00:24:48,359 be whole again. And I don't wish to presume, but Bill, this 397 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,319 is something I admire so much about you, of your direct experience with this. 398 00:24:52,519 --> 00:24:55,640 It's I don't know, that's the hardest thing for me to deal with, 399 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,960 and so I just try to tell these stories as simply as I can 400 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,799 and as pointedly as we can, with the hopes that by us doing this, 401 00:25:03,799 --> 00:25:07,839 something may happen, something may help down the line. Yeah, thank 402 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,079 a parent, it messes with you these ways. So yeah, no, 403 00:25:11,319 --> 00:25:15,599 it definitely does. And I think anybody that's been in your situation, even 404 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:21,920 for twenty minutes, the horrible thoughts that cross your mind and that immense sense 405 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:25,359 of responsibility that you feel as a parent. Now, my son is twenty 406 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,440 four years old now in law school, and you can pretty much take care 407 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,640 of himself, but I still worry about him every once in a while. 408 00:25:30,759 --> 00:25:34,440 And the thing you experienced losing your son for that short period of time, 409 00:25:34,559 --> 00:25:37,799 and then when you mentioned that he was on the spectrum and he didn't always 410 00:25:37,799 --> 00:25:42,720 communicate. I thought to myself, would he communicate what he needed if he 411 00:25:42,799 --> 00:25:48,240 ran into somebody else in this situation. Happily he did. We've talked about 412 00:25:48,279 --> 00:25:52,759 this with the Colonial Parkway murders. Actually, one of the four incidents in 413 00:25:52,799 --> 00:25:56,839 the Colonial Parkway murders is still technically a missing person's case. That's of Richard 414 00:25:57,039 --> 00:26:02,000 Keith Call and Cassandra Haley. They're still missing. It's been over thirty years. 415 00:26:02,039 --> 00:26:04,279 And I remember years ago when we attended up briefing with the FBI, 416 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:08,640 my father, who has since passed on, he actually leaned forward. We 417 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:12,559 were driving back from Newport News, Virginia, back to Annapolis, Maryland, 418 00:26:12,599 --> 00:26:17,079 where he was living at that time. He said, least we know what 419 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:21,119 happened to Kathy. We knew that my sister had been murdered and that her 420 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:23,400 life had been ended, along with her girlfriend, Rebecca Dowski, But there 421 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:29,119 wasn't any doubt in our mind about what had happened. There's the why and 422 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,440 the who and all the other questions that we still have all these years later. 423 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,839 But I'm not trying to balance out someone else's sense of loss. But 424 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:41,519 I actually think the not knowing of the missing persons cases is actually worse, 425 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,079 at least from my point of view and from my dad's that day that he 426 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:49,400 spoke to us in the car about it. I think that is incredibly difficult. 427 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,400 The missing person's cases, the missing children cases. I think all of 428 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:59,119 us struggle waving to do with kids, even a teenager. You could make 429 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:03,480 a case a teenager might have made some mistakes in terms of their judgment or 430 00:27:03,519 --> 00:27:07,319 whatever they were doing, not blaming the victim in any way, shape or 431 00:27:07,319 --> 00:27:11,160 form, but the kids are incredibly difficult. And our friends in law enforcement 432 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,519 it said the same thing for sharing that bill. Yeah, it's fascinating. 433 00:27:15,559 --> 00:27:18,720 It just it's brought this whole new level of human experience to me that I 434 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,799 didn't know. And so to me that has been the most profound thing is 435 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:26,359 just listening to the cadences of the way people talk when they've dealt with this. 436 00:27:26,519 --> 00:27:30,839 It's amazing. I can't really formulate exactly how profound it is, but 437 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,519 it's amazing. Are there times, Steve, when you've said to Terry and 438 00:27:34,559 --> 00:27:38,480 your team, I gotta stop or I gotta go again because you get a 439 00:27:38,519 --> 00:27:41,759 little too wrapped up in the emotion of the thing. Remember I was asking 440 00:27:41,759 --> 00:27:45,799 you about do you hear the voices of the people who come before and after 441 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:51,319 your narration segments? And you said yes, because I think that certainly helps 442 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:55,240 in terms of your storytelling. You're hearing what this person said, followed by 443 00:27:55,319 --> 00:27:59,799 your setting of the stage, followed by more of their perspective or a different 444 00:27:59,799 --> 00:28:03,359 person. Since the point of view on what happened? Is it difficult? 445 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:06,839 At times? It certainly is. I'd say the one thing I have going 446 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,640 in my favor, like we were alluding to before, the very unseerious aspect 447 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:12,480 of I have a lot technically that I'm doing. I got to make sure 448 00:28:12,519 --> 00:28:15,599 I'm recording everything. I've got to make sure everything is working on my end 449 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,839 and we're doing it. So I do get a bit of tunnel vision with 450 00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:22,640 Okay, let's make sure we're hitting this and then hitting my Marxism going through 451 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:26,839 and reading. So you try not to get too wrapped up. I always 452 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,839 say to Terry, we have this bit of Joe Friday, but it just 453 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:32,200 the facts. Man, Let's not get too wrapped up in this. Because 454 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:34,960 there are occasionally are times where I maybe have been what I remember in drama 455 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:38,160 school, I was playing a very dramatic character and I really got into this 456 00:28:38,279 --> 00:28:44,119 monologue and I was downsitter stage and I was drooling and pounding the floor. 457 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,039 And then after I was done, I expected the room to erupt in applause, 458 00:28:47,039 --> 00:28:49,440 and my very British director, the late Malcolm Morrison, took a pause. 459 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:56,559 If you were enjoying yourself, then wound you. And it made me 460 00:28:56,599 --> 00:29:00,400 realize, oh, yeah, it's not my place to myself. So I 461 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:04,319 don't think I've had those moments of we have to stop. I'm fortunate to 462 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:08,359 because it really is. It's in my thing is I'm always, as the 463 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:12,680 character of Steve French, the narrator in Unsolved Mysteries, I'm there to keep 464 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:17,880 things connected, keep things moving along. Plenty of emotion from everyone else that 465 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:19,480 you're hearing, though while I have to be respectful, there's a bit of 466 00:29:19,839 --> 00:29:22,160 a bit of a distance, and that was something that's stacked it so well. 467 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:26,039 You felt like he was holding us all as the audience, but he 468 00:29:26,559 --> 00:29:30,160 wasn't giving his opinion on this necessarily, he wasn't emoting. So that's how 469 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,920 I get through. But it is. I find it's difficult to start these 470 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:34,799 things. It's when we start each episode just to jump into this thing where 471 00:29:34,799 --> 00:29:40,000 you're gonna wear In three seconds, I'm gonna start talking about something horrific that's 472 00:29:40,039 --> 00:29:42,920 happened. It's tough to just do that, but you just start somewhere and 473 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,559 you do it. And I always try to remember by doing this, we 474 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:48,759 are paying homage to those we've lost and the people that have been through. 475 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:55,400 So how closely interrelated are the TV series, the wonderful TV series and the 476 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:57,759 pods? You the cases on the pod ever make it onto the show? 477 00:29:59,119 --> 00:30:00,960 And are we ever going to anything from the show making it onto the pod? 478 00:30:02,559 --> 00:30:06,000 I don't believe. So. A big part of the reason why the 479 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:11,200 podcast started was they had so many cases and a back people had requested that 480 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:17,799 they look into and there's just not enough bandwidth to produce all of those episodes 481 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:21,880 or television. And they say, there's so many true crime podcasts or the 482 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:25,000 OG true Crime, why don't we start a podcast and we can at least 483 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,359 tell a bunch of these stories. It won't be a TV show, but 484 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,240 we can get a lot of information. We can focus on one story at 485 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,640 a time, and so it's a way of adding to that case load, 486 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,799 getting those stories out there still in a beautifully produced way. In a very 487 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:41,720 sensitively produced way, with that same focus and attention that Unsolved Mysteries gives to 488 00:30:41,759 --> 00:30:44,480 all of its work. But no, I don't think they will ever cross 489 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:48,160 paths. And in fact, sometimes we'll be talking Terry and I and she'll 490 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:49,400 say, oh, we're doing this for Netflix. We're doing this for Netflix. 491 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:52,559 This is happening. And I've had a very few, very sweet people 492 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:56,640 that are still obsessed with this idea that Unsolved Mysteries as a TV show has 493 00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,440 to have a host. The new version on Netflix does not have a host, 494 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,000 and it's Brilli. I think it works great. And there's been all 495 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:07,079 these people who said, get Steve a host Netflix show, Just put him 496 00:31:07,119 --> 00:31:11,599 on there. He's got to get them a trench code. Give him the 497 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:15,200 trench code. This all work and time and the Burberry share. Everything's good. 498 00:31:15,559 --> 00:31:18,240 Obviously a little bit more goes into it than that, And I think, 499 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:22,200 again, I just think what's extra special about Terry and the team is 500 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,839 that they're not afraid to take chances, they're not afraid to change how they 501 00:31:25,839 --> 00:31:27,319 do what they do. And of course there's always this through line, but 502 00:31:27,519 --> 00:31:30,640 what a cool thing that they started out with the show decades ago and then 503 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:33,599 when Stack passed away and Dennis Farina took over a while, it was a 504 00:31:33,599 --> 00:31:37,759 little different then, and then Netflix a different animal then, and then to 505 00:31:37,799 --> 00:31:41,720 add a podcast to this really is They're just I don't know. They're brave 506 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,960 and everything they do and with so much heart. So I just appreciate being 507 00:31:45,079 --> 00:31:48,119 a small part of it. And please, folks, nobody needs to see 508 00:31:48,119 --> 00:31:49,759 my face on TV. It's why you don't act on stage. And nobody 509 00:31:49,759 --> 00:31:52,960 needs to see this. But you find the one episode of all My Children 510 00:31:53,359 --> 00:31:56,200 that I did as a blackjack dealer, and you will understand why you don't 511 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:59,400 need to see this muck. Okay, we just don't need to go. 512 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:04,240 But you did start as a stage actor. You started in theater. I 513 00:32:04,279 --> 00:32:07,880 did, yep. I caught the bug when I was young and up in 514 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:13,519 the incredible small town and Damrascott a main and Beth Preston my incredible drama teacher 515 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:15,680 and music director, and so I went to the Heart School in Hartford, 516 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:20,079 Connecticut, graduated in two thousand and three, a long time ago, and 517 00:32:20,319 --> 00:32:22,759 that was my goal. I was going to be a stage actor. And 518 00:32:22,799 --> 00:32:24,319 I had some very kind people occasion just say, oh, your voice is 519 00:32:24,359 --> 00:32:28,839 interesting. You ever thought about doing voiceover, thought of voiceover as a career. 520 00:32:29,279 --> 00:32:30,200 I just thought, oh, maybe you could do a commercial and make 521 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:34,119 a little money to pay your rent every once in a while between your stage 522 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,119 gigs. And in fact, even when I started finally got a kind of 523 00:32:37,119 --> 00:32:40,079 real deal voiceover agent and managed to get my first kind of long running campaign 524 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:44,039 right out of the gate. By beginner's luck, I was out of town 525 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:46,359 doing shows, and I was driving my agent's nuts because I was saving I 526 00:32:46,359 --> 00:32:50,920 was in Connecticut and trying to drive to Bristol, Connecticut to do stuff for 527 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:53,720 ESPN, and because being on stage was my focus. And it was only 528 00:32:53,799 --> 00:32:57,400 later in life when Alison and I got married and we decided to have a 529 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:00,519 family that oh, it looks like the technology is such that I could do 530 00:33:00,559 --> 00:33:02,079 this from home probably, and I was getting tired of life on the road, 531 00:33:02,119 --> 00:33:05,920 and so yeah, so that's where it comes from. But I think 532 00:33:06,079 --> 00:33:08,839 in my voiceover life, I love all kinds of narration because I'm still getting 533 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:13,400 to tell stories, and I consider myself a voice actor. I'm always an 534 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,279 actor for first and foremost. And I imagine it might be a little weird 535 00:33:16,319 --> 00:33:20,799 for fans of the show if they follow me on social media to see the 536 00:33:20,799 --> 00:33:24,839 same guy that's talking in such serious terms about unsolved mysteries, to then a 537 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:29,559 couple of days later post, Hey, here's me doing voices the moon on 538 00:33:30,119 --> 00:33:34,359 a Noggin Kid's yoga show. But there might be something weird. Oh here's 539 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:37,759 a Toyota commercial that Steve. I'm sure there's a bit of a weirdness to 540 00:33:37,799 --> 00:33:40,200 that, But I hope people know the seriousness with which I take my job 541 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:43,599 and that it's all just part of this thing. I wouldn't have even been 542 00:33:43,599 --> 00:33:45,680 involved if I wasn't a voice actor, So it's going to try to compartmentalize 543 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:51,279 these things. I was wondering something, how often do you get to identify 544 00:33:51,359 --> 00:33:54,640 yourself? Because I know you do a lot of different voiceover work, how 545 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:59,920 often do you actually say I'm Steve French. I think this is the only 546 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,960 time. I think it's the only time that it's ever come up. And 547 00:34:04,119 --> 00:34:07,920 when we first started, I felt so bad because I'm just part of what 548 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,119 I love about voiceovers. I get to be pretty anonymous and I just I'm 549 00:34:10,199 --> 00:34:14,320 behind the scenes. You just hear me as they were starting. I'm sure 550 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:16,239 there's a small part of them going How do we make it sound like Steve 551 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:22,360 French is somebody important that that should be hosting this series. He's just a 552 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:23,679 guy. He's just a guy. He's just a guy we got and he's 553 00:34:23,679 --> 00:34:28,199 going to do the show. So no, not very often. I think 554 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:30,519 that's about it. And frankly, Bill, I like it that way. 555 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:32,159 And the only other thing I get is, I don't know if you guys 556 00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:37,840 are familiar with that old Canadian sitcom Trailer Park Boys. There's famously a mountain 557 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,239 lion that makes an appearance in the show, and his name is Steve French. 558 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:45,800 And so I often have people responding to post by Unsolved Mystery that say 559 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:47,480 Steve French and then there's a picture of Steve French, the mountain Lion. 560 00:34:47,519 --> 00:34:52,119 I know, folks, I know there's a mountainline named Steve French. Is 561 00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:55,559 this an homage to you or is that just a coincidence? Oh definitely, 562 00:34:55,760 --> 00:35:00,679 Oh definitely not. No, it's just for some reason, this beautiful mountain 563 00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:04,440 line was named Steve French. And so here we are. I'm sure you 564 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:07,760 probably have to scroll down on Google on the Google search results past the mountain 565 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:12,320 line to get to me. If you're looking for me. So if someone 566 00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:17,280 wants to put their unsolved mystery up for consideration on the pod, how do 567 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:22,719 they We would love to see our case on Unsolved Mysteries. How would we 568 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:25,719 do that? You can go to unsolved dot com, as we say at 569 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:30,000 the end of every episode, or submit a tip at unsolved dot com and 570 00:35:30,039 --> 00:35:32,199 you'll see up on the menu there's submit a story and so you can submit 571 00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:36,760 a form there with your details and they look at all of them. They 572 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:40,639 those are read, those are looked after. They really do know everything that's 573 00:35:40,639 --> 00:35:46,039 coming down down the pipeline and keeping it on what they can tell, what's 574 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:49,719 what's best for them to be working on. Where can they best put their 575 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:52,599 resources while they go on the TV show? Will it be a podcast? 576 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:57,159 So please never hesitate to to submit to them. There was a really cool 577 00:35:57,199 --> 00:36:02,000 show on the television series That's season or two ago that was all about a 578 00:36:02,559 --> 00:36:07,679 UFO siding in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, which is quite close to us. 579 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:12,440 And I knew nothing about the case, nor did Pamela, my partner, 580 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:15,320 and we go to GB all the time, and we just about fell out 581 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:19,480 of our chair. It was such a cool episode and I thought, man, 582 00:36:20,159 --> 00:36:22,559 this is like an amazing story. I've had a weekend house here for 583 00:36:22,639 --> 00:36:27,880 twenty five years. We've been living back here full time for four years. 584 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:31,320 I said, I never knew they were a bunch of spaceships in Great Bearrington. 585 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:37,199 It was a really cool episode. Isn't that amazing? I hear that 586 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:40,000 a lot. People say sometimes there's stuff that's really infamous, and people don't 587 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,480 but say the same thing. I've lived here for years. It's right down 588 00:36:43,519 --> 00:36:45,239 the street from me. I never knew that happened in the Hudson Valley in 589 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,920 New York, and we did an episode on the podcast Something in the Sky 590 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:52,679 and it was about this enormous number of UFO sidings that was so big. 591 00:36:52,719 --> 00:36:54,679 It was called the Hudson Valley Wave. I didn't know anything about that. 592 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,800 Of course it was before my time here, but it was. But nonetheless, 593 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:02,159 you think that something like that had happened and thousands of people knew about 594 00:37:02,199 --> 00:37:05,960 it, and you're like, why did I not know about this? Yes, 595 00:37:06,119 --> 00:37:07,559 isn't it weird? Which I guess is why it's so important that we 596 00:37:07,599 --> 00:37:10,960 have all these different ways to get these stories out there. We're covering often 597 00:37:12,039 --> 00:37:15,639 on our podcast, we're covering stories that have been covered elsewhere, and I 598 00:37:15,679 --> 00:37:20,039 think it's important to just keep telling these stories. It's not like one place 599 00:37:20,039 --> 00:37:22,440 should tell them that should be the authority. We should tell these stories as 600 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:23,880 many times as we can, with as many different viewpoints as we can, 601 00:37:24,079 --> 00:37:29,039 until we uncover the truth about every one of them. And the podcast also 602 00:37:29,119 --> 00:37:32,559 covers a lot of stories that I wasn't familiar with because there are interesting and 603 00:37:32,599 --> 00:37:37,079 sometimes tragic stories that have happened across the country, and you guys have actually 604 00:37:37,159 --> 00:37:40,760 shined a spotlight on a lot of cases that I literally knew nothing about. 605 00:37:42,159 --> 00:37:45,159 It just feels really important to be a part of that. And I always 606 00:37:45,239 --> 00:37:49,960 enjoy when I hear somebody say, oh, they covered this on this and 607 00:37:50,039 --> 00:37:52,760 so it always makes me want to go and look those things up and see 608 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:57,119 how they told those or we will post about the upcoming episode and someone will 609 00:37:57,119 --> 00:37:59,760 say, oh, there's this info. So it's just we feel like we're 610 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:02,239 apart of it. We are certainly never thinking that we are the only authority 611 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:06,280 on an earned subject. We're just adding to the conversation as best we can. 612 00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:09,400 So what do you see is the future of the podcast and the show. 613 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:12,800 If you feel like you want to speak to the show as well. 614 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:15,280 But what does the future look like? Can we expect to hear the voice 615 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:19,960 for years to come? Are we going to hear Steve French for seasons five, 616 00:38:20,079 --> 00:38:22,920 six, seven, eight and so on? I have no idea. 617 00:38:22,039 --> 00:38:25,360 I of course would be there with bells on. I think that's all up 618 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:30,320 to Terry and the team and if they feel that it's worth their time and 619 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,079 effort, because they do put so much time and effort, and it's Cadence 620 00:38:32,159 --> 00:38:36,639 the thirteen putting a ton of effort into this. I really have the easiest 621 00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:38,199 job of everybody. I just come in at the end and tell me what 622 00:38:38,239 --> 00:38:42,079 to say and I'll say it. So I think it just it's a process 623 00:38:42,119 --> 00:38:45,719 for them of where can they best allocate their resources of a feeling like it's 624 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:47,880 creating positive mark within their all of the projects that they have going on. 625 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:51,199 So I hope so. But at this point as much as I do, 626 00:38:51,199 --> 00:38:55,880 do you think you would ever consider attending this true crime and paranormal podcast fest 627 00:38:55,960 --> 00:39:01,039 that's going to be happening in Austin in August? Kristin and I are going 628 00:39:01,119 --> 00:39:05,960 to be getting down there, Yes, please come, please come. Is 629 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:09,079 that something you would ever consider doing? Gosh. I always think of things 630 00:39:09,159 --> 00:39:13,000 like that. It'd be like the loneliest guy at the booth. That'd be 631 00:39:13,039 --> 00:39:17,920 like it still is, truly thank you for asking that. It is still 632 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,599 so bizarre to me that I would ever do something that people would know who 633 00:39:22,639 --> 00:39:27,760 I am. That this. I'm always so moved when people reach out to 634 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:30,519 me and pass along a kind word and tell me that they love listening to 635 00:39:30,559 --> 00:39:34,599 it, and then I'm part of their week. It's really extraordinary. And 636 00:39:34,599 --> 00:39:37,000 again I always feel a little sheepish because I am not, by any means 637 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,880 a true crime expert. Of course, I'm learning about all of this and 638 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:45,039 meeting incredible people like you who are welcoming me into this community. I'm so 639 00:39:45,199 --> 00:39:47,960 proud to be a part of it. But I'm definitely not a scholar or 640 00:39:49,039 --> 00:39:52,000 the best authority on a lot of these things. So listen, I'll never 641 00:39:52,039 --> 00:39:53,719 say never. I don't know who would want me to come down to crime 642 00:39:53,800 --> 00:40:00,800 con but everybody, anybody, everybody, Yeah, you would have some it's 643 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:06,079 crazy. Maybe certainly no one would know who I am. I mean, 644 00:40:06,119 --> 00:40:07,840 that would be fine. Yeah, I guess you're standing in line. You. 645 00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:10,679 I guess I'd never have to put those words together. We who aren't 646 00:40:10,679 --> 00:40:15,400 you saying at the front desk, I'm Steve French with unself mystery. People 647 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:20,920 will be like, whoa, But as soon as you open your mouth, 648 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:23,360 people will be like, I know you who you are? Yes? Yes, 649 00:40:23,639 --> 00:40:28,679 Oh, it's so much fun. You should definitely come to any and 650 00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:32,039 all of it. It's an incredible community, and I'm again, I'm just 651 00:40:32,119 --> 00:40:36,159 I'm happy to be a small part of it and feels very important. I 652 00:40:36,199 --> 00:40:37,559 try to. I think that about a lot of the work I do, 653 00:40:37,639 --> 00:40:39,840 and some of the work I do is more frivolous than others, and I 654 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:43,679 always put my heart and soul into it. But doing something like this has 655 00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:47,079 really been very special. That you were working on something just a voiceover guy, 656 00:40:47,159 --> 00:40:51,800 right, But I'm doing something that affects people, and we're telling stories 657 00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:54,840 from people who really are desperate for help and closure. So anytime I have 658 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:59,440 a family member reach out, it's really it stops me in my tracks for 659 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:01,440 a minute. Ago. This is way more than just a voice over gig. 660 00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:05,440 Kristen, Before we sign off, I think there was something you wanted 661 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:09,760 to ask Steve to do. It's a little bit on the lighter side of 662 00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:17,079 things. Let me let me get a sip of my tea here. Yes, 663 00:41:17,719 --> 00:41:23,320 we are definitely hoping that you would be willing to say, I'm Steve 664 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:30,360 French and this is mind never murder. All right, let me just really 665 00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:37,039 quickly email my agents here told you we couldn't afford him. Bill it to 666 00:41:37,159 --> 00:41:40,000 Bill Thomas went in charge of all of that, exactly. Yes, it 667 00:41:40,039 --> 00:41:44,840 goes to Bill Thomas Ryning up in Connecticut. You said, okay, no 668 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:47,159 problem, Okay, let's see all right, let's see what we can do 669 00:41:47,159 --> 00:42:00,679 for you. I'm Steve French and this is mind over murder. Let the 670 00:42:00,679 --> 00:42:05,800 record show that Christen is freaking out. Don la Fontaine, who Mike did 671 00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:08,280 meet and work with, would be very proud. Oh wow, oh well, 672 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:12,800 oh we'll have to have this. I love. I'll have to get 673 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:15,400 We'll do that off off Mike sometime. But my favorite thing I remember seeing 674 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:19,599 Don la fontainne do is because he was so extraordinary. He came on Jay 675 00:42:19,639 --> 00:42:22,280 Leno one time. There was a bit where they had him come out and 676 00:42:22,559 --> 00:42:24,320 so that he could say something. It was like like the fair balance or 677 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:29,199 the disclaimer for a pharmaceutical thing or something and live in the moment. I 678 00:42:29,199 --> 00:42:31,760 remember he messed it up. He tripped over his words and put his finger 679 00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:37,000 in his mouth and popped his cheek out. Just just a wonderful ambassador for 680 00:42:37,079 --> 00:42:39,599 the voiceover world, full of great humility about what he did. He was 681 00:42:39,639 --> 00:42:45,039 born with a gift and paved the way for basically everybody else. You get 682 00:42:45,079 --> 00:42:47,559 generations of us who've been trying to imitate Don Lafontaine, and it's just it's 683 00:42:47,639 --> 00:42:52,800 so cool to see how that landscape has changed, see more incredible diversity of 684 00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:54,800 voices that are getting to do movie trailers, and how things have changed. 685 00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:59,159 But I don't think we'll ever no one will ever forget voices like Don la 686 00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:01,679 Fontayne or how Douglass and just the way that they created this whole thing. 687 00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:05,639 And so because of those guys, I'm proud to be a voiceover guy, 688 00:43:05,639 --> 00:43:07,320 for whatever that means. I'm very proud of this. Jeve, this was 689 00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:10,840 absolutely wonderful chatting with you. Thank you so much for joining us on this 690 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:15,440 episode of Mind Over Murder. Thank you truly for having me, and keep 691 00:43:15,519 --> 00:43:19,719 up the great work. And you know, I respect so much about that. 692 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:23,440 You come to your work with such grace and respect and seriousness, but 693 00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:25,639 you also have a good time, which I think when you're dealing with such 694 00:43:25,639 --> 00:43:29,199 heavy stuff you have to right, you have to keep it light and make 695 00:43:29,239 --> 00:43:31,320 your way through it. So thank you. Still in shock that anyone would 696 00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:35,360 ever want to talk to me about anything, So thank you very much for 697 00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:37,440 having me. It's going to do it for this episode of Mind of a 698 00:43:37,559 --> 00:43:44,800 Murder. We'll see you next time. I'm Steve Frene and this is mind 699 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:59,039 Over Murder. Mind Over Murder is a production of Absolute Zero and Another Dog 700 00:43:59,159 --> 00:44:04,960 Productions. Our executive producers are Bill Thomas and Kristin Dilley. Our logo art 701 00:44:05,039 --> 00:44:09,159 is by Pamela Arnois. Our theme music is by Kevin McLeod. Mind Over 702 00:44:09,239 --> 00:44:15,400 Murder is distributed in partnership with cral Space Media. You can follow us on 703 00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:19,440 Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. You can also follow our page on the 704 00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:23,360 Colonial Parkway Murders on Facebook, and finally, you can follow Bill Thomas on 705 00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:30,280 Twitter at Bill Thomas five six. Thank you for listening to mind Over Murder.