Overview of MFM Minisode 508
This minisode is a classic My Favorite Murder listener-story roundup: part heartfelt, part horrifying, and part absurdly funny. Karen and Georgia read emails about 9/11 heroism, supernatural kid logic, near-tragedy from careless ’90s parenting, accidental on-air embarrassment, feminist family memories, and a teen-run illicit DVD business that somehow turned into a career in labor law.
Notable Listener Stories
Roselle the 9/11 guide dog hero
A listener shared the story of Roselle, the yellow Labrador guide dog who helped blind World Trade Center employee Michael Hingson evacuate from the 78th floor of the North Tower on 9/11.
- Roselle calmly led him and roughly 30 others down 1,463 stairs to safety.
- She even paused to comfort a woman having a panic attack in the stairwell.
- The listener, a Seeing Eye puppy raiser, connected the story to the larger mission of raising future guide dogs.
- Karen and Georgia highlighted the emotional weight of how ordinary puppy training can become life-saving heroism.
The Ouija board that answered with a family death date
A new listener recalled finding an old Ouija board in her grandparents’ house as a child in the early 1970s.
- She asked it, “When will I die?”
- The board gave a date: February 10, 1919.
- That date turned out to be the death date of her great-grandmother, for whom she was named.
- Her family was understandably horrified, and the board mysteriously disappeared afterward.
A childhood train-track disaster narrowly avoided
One listener described a terrifying childhood trip in Indiana where she, her younger sister, and baby cousin walked to a candy store and had to cross train tracks on the way back.
- As a train approached, she made the split-second decision to get her frozen younger sister to run across the tracks.
- The kids made it across just before the train passed.
- She reflected on how wildly inappropriate it was for children to be put in charge of life-or-death decisions.
Accidentally blasting My Favorite Murder in front of a marching band
A high school band teacher wrote in about an embarrassing classroom moment:
- While testing a Bluetooth speaker, she accidentally played a clip from a live MFM episode out loud in front of her marching band.
- The audio included Georgia and Karen’s “Anthony” bit, which sounded unintentionally suggestive without context.
- She hit the wrong control and replayed it, making the moment even worse.
- The entire band heard it, and she spent the rest of rehearsal mortified.
A dad, Billie Jean King, and Gloria Steinem
One especially moving email came from a listener whose father was a sports-loving but progressive man who made sure she listened to Gloria Steinem whenever she appeared on TV.
- When the Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs “Battle of the Sexes” match ended, her father wiped away a tear and said, “We just watched history. Remember this.”
- The listener said that moment shaped how she understood women’s progress and the men who helped support it.
- Karen and Georgia briefly honored Gloria Steinem’s legacy and the importance of recognizing feminist trailblazers.
The high school R-rated DVD rental side hustle
A final listener shared a wildly entrepreneurial teen scam from 2005:
- While working long hours at Subway as a teenager, she started an underground R-rated DVD rental business out of her backpack.
- She created laminated menus, stocked lockers with movies by genre, and even sold candy and microwave popcorn as add-ons.
- She made around $3,000 before a teacher warned her to shut it down.
- The twist: she now works in human resources and employment law, helping companies follow the exact rules she once ignored.
Themes and Takeaways
Childhood competence vs. adult neglect
Several stories centered on kids being forced into adult-level responsibility too early, especially the train-track story.
Heroism in unexpected forms
The Roselle story emphasized that bravery can come from trained animals, and from the people who raise and train them.
Feminist progress through family
The Billie Jean King story showed how political and cultural change often enters a child’s life through one supportive parent.
Chaos, hustle, and hindsight
The DVD-rental story was a reminder that teenage ingenuity can be impressive, even when it’s wildly illegal.
Closing Note
The episode ends with the usual invitation for listeners to send in hometown stories, plus the show’s signature sign-off: stay sexy and don’t get murdered.