Bad Women: The Blackout Ripper - Podcast Rankings and reviews

What a fascinating podcast! This is such deep and thorough insight into the women sadly memorialized in history by “Jack the Ripper.” We have always known everything about the killer, but all we know about the women are their names and the work they may have found themselves in to survive the poverty at this time. We have seen the gruesome pictures, but have never thought to learn more about those struggling in period of history. Charles Dickens wrote so much about the working class in England and the podcast almost feels like an extension of that scenery. We finally get to know the women’s personal lives and they are made into human beings, worthy for us to know so much more about them than only their senseless murders. It is such an intriguing approach, a very necessary one, given that we have been so enthralled by the killer and never once seemed to ask who the women were. Did they have families? Had they come from wealth but lost money? Did they have children? Could they sing? Excellent history, research, and narration.

I loved the first season and am really enjoying the second season as well. This is a refreshing and much needed reframing of the true crime genre of podcasts, etc, where the narrative is focused on the victims: who they were, what their lives were, and the society around them at the time. The host helps the listener understand the broader worlds and historical context these women lived in and how it shaped them. Looking forward to the rest of season two, and fingers crossed for a season three!

I’m a podcast junkie and this is a great podcast! An excellent combo of history and true crime. The story tellers are amazing, the subjects well researched and emphasis is given to compassion for the victims. All to often in true crime it’s about glorifying the perpetrators. Not here. And can’t say enough about this show. I hope there are more seasons!!

I am so impressed with the production value of this podcast. From the research to the dramatization to the astounding background audio and sound effects. I am embarrassed to admit the number of times I have listened while walking my dog, doing dishes, etc. to literally jump at the sound of a scream or think one of my kids is crying out in their sleep, only to realize it’s just the podcast. I hope you continue to come up with great ideas for future seasons.

When the podcast was announced, it seemed promising. I thought that Rubenhold was going to address some of the more problematic and vague details of The Five and make more of an attempt to flesh things out. What we got, though, was basically 15 episodes of a very smug and self-righteous Rubenhold lashing out at her critics and those who don’t agree with her, all the while doubling down on the claims she made in The Five. While she’s totally entitled to her opinion and her claims, it was the way she reacted to feedback about her work that is mostly the issue. Rubenhold was harassed by edgelords like Trevor Marriott and 4 or 5 other jerks, which should not have happened, and most Ripperologists condemned this. Most of her issue with the community is that they did not agree with her premise and they had questions about the work. Really, what disillusioned me is how she lashed out and bullied critics and reviewers on social media when the book was first released, and then used the podcast as another means of doing so. The way Rubenhold treated Patricia Cornwell, who had done nothing to her, was gross and uncalled for. But from what I have seen, this is Rubenhold’s pattern of behavior toward people who don’t agree with her or who don’t offer the feedback she prefers. At the end of the day, it’s not the work itself. It’s the way Rubenhold chose to treat people who didn’t agree on her, and this behavior only reflects upon her and shows the public who she is as a person. Hopefully she has reflected on this over the past year or so and has tried to do better. Time will tell.

Although the author and host of this podcast has a very different position than typical Ripperologists, they do have one thing in common; they are both equally insufferable.

Much like Ripperologists, her position is ‘I am right and everyone else is wrong’. She says Ripperologists use sources that can’t be trusted, but it’s obvious she uses the same and similar sources, but those can be trusted because they align with her views?

She tries to shame others in wanting to know the identity of Jack the Ripper as if that’s wrong. As if she cannot conceive the possibility that other people have different interests. She makes the claim that knowing Jack the Ripper won’t change anything. Well neither will knowing anything about the victims.

She dramatizes many aspects of the victims’ stories, stating things in a factual manner, that she couldn’t possibly know. She gives no supporting evidence of her claims, perhaps it’s one of those “you gotta buy the book for that” scenarios. But if this podcast is any indication, the book is probably not worth the read.

I thought this would be a genuine look at these women’s lives, who they were, how they lived, and while it is in part, it ends up being drowned out by the chip the host seems to have on her shoulder. She spends a great deal of time talking about other people on how they’re wrong (much like Ripperologists do), like she’s bitter and angry that she’s not being showered with adoration by these people. When you spend any amount of time trying to tear others down to make your point, it’s a bad look. For this reason, she’s as insufferable as the Ripperologists she so despises.

However I do agree with her, I wish the victims of these monsters were out on the forefront of story telling.