Strictly Stalking - Podcast Rankings and reviews

One of my favorite podcasts! They do a fantastic job of giving survivors a platform to share their stories while sharing resources and insight. Sharing these stories is so important as so many often struggle in silence. Keep doing what you’re doing guys!

My previous review mysteriously “vanished” so let’s see how long this one stays up. I wasn’t aware shows could remove or not allow some reviews, especially if it’s even remotely critical. Hmmm…

Firstly, I’ve always found this show interesting and the content is good and very helpful. Sadly, I too have been a target (I refuse to use the word “victim”) of stalking, not once but twice. So, unfortunately, I can relate to the horrific reality of the guests who are on the show.

Second, it’s SO obvious that Jake only does the intro and may pop in occasionally and then doesn’t make an appearance until the very end. It’s not at all seamless and sounds like he’s not a real part of the hosting or podcast. It’s pretty much all Jaime which isn’t bad, it just seems like a bait and switch when Jake gets top billing.

Lastly, episode #228 “Charming Harmer - Stalking Belinda” was almost more than I could handle, not because of the subject matter but because of the guest’s voice. Between the grating, raspy (not in a good way) voice to the HUNDREDS of times they said “Um, yeah” or “Yeah, um” or “Well, um.” If the “ums” were taken out of the episode it would have been half as long as it was. I understand that this is how someone speak but can’t/don’t you edit your content before you release it? Smooth it out somehow? Between these two incredibly distracting issues, I couldn’t concentrate on their story.

Thank you for sharing these people’s stories. It’s so incredibly important to NOT cover up or downplay the true horror of this crime. I only wish there were platforms such as this when I was dealing with my own experiences.

Some episodes are more compelling than others but they’re all amazing stories about amazing people living through some of the toughest situations. It’s an educational listen, helpful ways to keep yourself safe and what you can do if you find yourself in a similar situation.

Ep 238 In-Law Obsession was terrifying for mothers and I think we have all experienced a little of it and never really realized that it truly is another form of stalking and control! This is such a great podcast and fills a space in the podcast world that is so desperately needed! I want to hear even more of her in law stories!

I was suggested this show, I do love first person true crime stories. I appreciate that they let these survivors sit and tell their stories. I’m sure that it gives these individuals who have been stalked a way to find their own voice.

What I do not like is that they clearly put in zero effort into vetting these people and their stories. Episode 204, the man “claims” he was an Olympic contender and was a big shot on his college swimming team, this notoriety was integral to his story. With an easy google search you can see that none of his sporting history was true. That down to his acting credits were fake.

The only reason why I found this out was because this man’s story seemed so outrageous and with my limited knowledge of collegiate sports and acting credits I figured it out. So now I question why a podcast with sponsors and a large platform didn’t take the 5 min to do the due diligence.

You can hear what little effort there is in the production of this podcast. Sometimes the audio quality is so bad it’s unenjoyable to listen to the episode. Sometimes background noise, static and food noises directly into the mic make it hard to hear. The hosts do not seem to host/interview their guests well at all. Some guests are great story tellers others need more direction and just ramble. It’s unfortunate because you want to hear their story, they just need direction.

This could be a really great podcast if there was more effort put into it than sitting down in front of a mic and pressing record.

I typically love the show. It’s always my first listen on Tues mornings. But this episode (241) was just incredibly bad. I’m not sure what happened re: the typical vetting process, but someone was out to lunch on this one.

The interviewee was all over the place and provided nothing coherent whatsoever on her allegations (other than some untoward social media postings about her). I’m hoping this was just a one-off rather than a harbinger of episodes to come.