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Of course, the podcast remains the engine behind it all.
We talked to the gang about the podcast, their new book, and the evolution of their process.
Its what we do.
I think its the same thing as saying Marilyn Manson caused school shooters in the mid-90s.
This is our visceral reaction to these stories: comedy.
Its how we always talked about it as friends.
Thats where this show came from; it was a natural extension of our conversations … Ben Kissel: Henry mentioned Columbine, and we grew up [in that era] …
They made him look someone who doesnt just have sex with corpses.
We defang them, we stare in their faces, we laugh at how pathetic they are.
And I think thats what people love about it.
It also comes down to the listeners.
The listeners responded a lot more when we had something that was a true deep dive.
And we also like to give our own perspectives on things.
Well, were accidental experts, but we didnt go to school for this.
We are not academics.
We dont have masters degrees here; these are still just our opinions.
Was there there any significant pushback on any content in your book from the publisher?
Zebrowski: The book is a decidedly different tone than a lot of the show …
It is pretty immature.
But Marcus does a lot of good work on the prose section of the book.
[Episodes denoted as gold star mean they are incredibly gruesome and not for the faint of heart.]
Do you guys, as dabblers in both fields, have any theories as to why that may be?
So I think its not about the true crime, I think its about the horror movie.
Horror is entertainment, so its a bit of a different thing.
I dont think that they necessarily need to be intertwined.
But its visceral in a different way.
Ive noticed that my horror tolerance has wildly changed since Ive gotten older.
Zebrowski: Oh, thats for certain.
Whats your guys typical relationship with your fans?
Zebrowski: I will say it does not stop being an overwhelming experience knowing that our idiocy can help.
And it feels great.
Especially when we see people face-to-face, during tours and during meet and greets and all that.
Zebrowski: But dont worry; our mental illnesses will verify that we dont feeltoogood.
Parks: Our neuroses will always propel us forward.
