I had the good fortune of previewing this chilling and thrilling podcast — “Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories.” – Submitted by Derrick B
The podcast tells true crime stories, using highly professional audio technology and an extremely talented voice-over cast. It reminded me of the classic radio dramas of yesteryear, and this program is a welcome addition to the podcasting space! Afterwards, I sent over a few questions to the podcast’s creator, Max Cutler of Parcast Networks, which are below.
The podcast is available on iTunes as of June 14th! Also, check out their website — www.parcast.com
Can you tell us what we can expect from the first story arc of your podcast? What are the themes of your series?
In season one of Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories, we look into true unsolved cold cases that happened from the early 20th century up until 1970. As a result, Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories has an old time radio feel with a modern twist. We want this season to focus on two themes; “are you really safe” and the “effect media has on the psyche”. When we started analyzing different cold cases from fifty plus years ago, we found the parallels to cases that happen today to be uncanny. The media still played a huge role in the outcome or perceived outcome of a case and of course, people are always asking, “if this happened to him/her, can it happen to me?”
The first cold case we try to solve is the AXEMAN of NEW ORLEANS. A serial killer who terrorized the City of New Orleans and claimed to be a demon from hell. A mix of horror and mystery that will entertain and keep our listeners on the edge of their seats. The AXEMAN is fast paced and highly produced. The AXEMAN cold case is presented over the first three episodes of our podcast.
What differentiates you from other podcasts?
Entertainment. We are like an audio movie. We have screenwriters, an ensemble of voice actors, plus production values that stand out from the vast majority of podcasts. If we look at the podcast landscape, most can be broken down into three formats. They are a talk show that features one host or two hosts, an interview show or a host that is a gifted storyteller. We differentiate and stray away from these models through putting an emphasis on production value. We combine our two hosts, Carter and Wendy, with a highly talented ensemble cast of voice actors that take you on adventure through the crimes scene of each case as they attempt to solve these true and real cold cases.
How do the voice-actors augment the story?
Most podcasts feature one or two hosts and are interviews based, or one storyteller, so they tell and don’t show. Our ensemble of actors make you feel you’re there and enhance the experience for listeners. We a putting a great new modern twist on old time radio.
What led you to starting your own podcast network?
I have been a big podcast fan for a while now. The truth is I have always had a fascination with audio. I grew up in a radio household, my dad spent most of his professional life in radio and as a kid growing up in that environment, it had a profound impact on me. I loved listening to audio books and radio growing up. In November of 2015, the stars aligned for me. I was exiting my previous venture and I felt now was the time to enter the podcast space. The podcast space has grown up in recent years and it is finally a viable business. I believe it is a superior experience to radio and is the future of audio.
Another huge factor in my decision process was the opportunity to work with my Dad. For me, it is a dream come true. Lucky for me, I was able to recruit my Dad, Ron Cutler, out of retirement. He has since become my partner and advisor. For me to have the chance to work with someone that has created 12 national radio shows and services plus created the number one comedy network carried by 2000 radio stations in the 1990’s would be any persons dream. It just so happened this person was my Dad! We both believe the podcast space has a lot of room to grow and we plan on taking podcasting to the next level.
What will most appeal to horror/thriller fans about this podcast?
Serial killers, murders, torture, thrilling story plots and they are all true cases makes it that much scarier and something I believe horror fans will enjoy! Our first case, the AXEMAN of New Orleans is a serial killer who killed people with an Axe when they were sleeping and claimed he was a demon from hell. It is such a great horror story that you would think it is fake; yet it’s real. Knowing all these cases are real and they could have happened to anyone gives you chills and thrills! Hopefully not too many nightmares though.
What other shows can we look forward to in the Parcast network?
Currently, the Parcast network has 19 shows that are in different stages of development. Within the next year we will have history shows with a different twist and paranormal shows that are specifically targeting horror fans. We pride ourselves on being creative and be different than other existing podcasts. We spend an enormous amount of time on research and development to create shows we believe fulfill the needs and wants of the podcast community. Our hope is to attract and grow new listeners to the podcast community. I will say that our next show is coming out in August and is called “How they REALLY Died”.
Do you look towards horror/thriller genre in other mediums for inspiration? What is your favorite horror film?
Yes. We operate very similar to a movie studio. As a result, we look at movies for inspiration all the time. Without question, The Shining. Of course if you ask my Dad, he will say the Exorcist. I suppose you can’t go wrong with either.
What else should we know about the Unsolved Murders series?
Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories is broken into seasons. In season 1, starting June 14th, there will be 13 episodes focused on 5 different cold cases. New episodes will come out every other Tuesday. The second season will start shortly after the conclusion of the first.
