Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley are the hosts of the true-crime podcast Morbid: A True Crime Podcast in the United States. Both Urquhart and Kelley work as hairdressers and autopsy technicians. Despite being Urquhart’s aunt, Kelley and Urquhart frequently refer to one another as sisters. On May 1, 2018, the podcast debuted.
The Post, Bleeding Cool, Erie Reader, and Vogue have all placed Morbid on their best-of lists. Under the auspices of both the Wondery podcast network, Urquhart and Kelley launched the “Morbid Network” podcast network in 2022.
That’s Seven Deadly Sinners, Scream!, The Strange and Unusual Podcast and Spooky are the other four podcasts produced by the Morbid Network. Cult Litter with Spencer Henry is the fifth. In addition to Morbid, Urquhart and Kelly co-hosted “Crime Countdown,” a podcast associated with Parcast, from November 2021 until June 2022.
Morbid: A True Crime Podcast Controversy
The Wren and the Butcher, Urquhart’s debut book, was released in September 2022 by indie publisher Zando. As of August 16, 2022, Apple Podcasts and Spotify have put Morbid: A True Crime Podcast among the top 10 podcasts in the country.
After one of its most well-known shows, Crime Junkie was accused of cheating. The real crime podcasting community has been recently rocked by controversy. Of course, if the podcast in issue reports on a scandal, the terms “scandal” and “podcast” don’t often go together; nonetheless, here we are.
For those unaware, Brit Prawat and Ashley Flowers run a weekly podcast called Crime Junkie, where they explore a new case in each episode. As one of the year’s top true crime podcasts, Rolling Stone highlighted it in 2018. Even the idea of a television show was floated.
It’s now being questioned if that legacy was worthwhile. Behind the humor, education, and news, actual crime is the fourth most popular podcast listening category, with actual crime also fitting into the comedy, education, and news categories.
On the about page of one American true crime podcast, it is noted that it falls under the actual crime and humor genre and reads: “Weirdos, this place is like a funny nightmare! An autopsy tech and a hairdresser co-host the true crime, unsettling history, and all things eerie podcast Morbid.
Come along for a strong dose of research with a splash of humor for good measure. The Morbid Network and Morbid: A True Crime Podcast are both co-hosted by the aunt and niece Ash and Alaina, who were reared as sisters. They are also founders of the Morbid Network.
Host, You can’t miss Ash because she is Alaina’s niece, was brought up as the younger sister, works as a hairdresser, and is a Gemini. Ash is the one who can make each episode’s detail link back to herself.
For example, she will tell people if she and a serial murderer have any characteristics. Ash’s voice is typically used in commercials, while her boyfriend, Drew, records the palate cleanser audio.
Ash has been dating the same person her entire life if you’re trying to keep track. The name of Drew changed. After all, Alaina is the autopsy technician, so it stands to reason that she is the only character in the show who is knowledgeable in science. Wrong.
Parents should be aware that this program does not have even one episode that would qualify for the classification of “clean” under the terms and conditions of Apple Podcasts, even though the show has an “explicit” rating overall and “clean” ratings for each episode.
I have never listened to a podcast addressing anything distressing, graphic, or explicit without giving a vocal or written “warning: this installment is for mature audiences” at the beginning of the episode or in the description box in the show notes.
Morbid is an exception to this. Their “trigger warning” is meaningless and comes across as condescending. We should discuss the fallout from the Brittanee Drexel issue if you’re genuinely going to complain about the hosts’ unwillingness to listen to criticism.
The hosts carelessly blamed the companions who drove Brittanee Drexel from New York to South Carolina for her abduction using clumsy disclaimers. In 2009, Drexel went missing after being forced to South Carolina for spring break. Because of these two hosts, superfans felt compelled to pursue and abuse Brittanee Drexel’s pals online.
Take a moment or a few to let things sink in. The Morbid Superfans started cyberstalking and harassing Brittannee’s friends after Ash and Alaina alluded in a story they shared on their podcast that Brittannee’s friend was to blame for her disappearance.
