Mostly Murder (But Sometimes Not)

About Mostly Murder (But Sometimes Not)

Mostly Murder (But Sometimes Not) is a podcast where four siblings loosely discuss mysteries and whodunits throughout a vast array of pop culture media. We love mysteries, and have since we were reading Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew by flashlight after Lights-Out. The endless detectives, investigators, and groups of roving teenagers who solve crime are all game for discussion on this show. It doubles as an excuse for us to hang out with each other—but also discuss murder! For more information, please see our website, linked below!

Publisher

The O'Brien Siblings

Category

tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

7 Sept 2019

Latest episode

7 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

153 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Oct 2026

   Poker Face, "The Orpheus Syndrome"

   New episode out now! We watched “The Orpheus Syndrome”, a season one episode of Poker Face which was created by Rian Johnson and stars Natasha Lyonne as human lie detector Charlie Cale. We talk about the obvious influence of Columbo; not only with the title design but in how the episodes are structured, how it is so character-driven that the guest stars are really the stars, and how Charlie is kind of just there talking to people until they are confronted with their actions. We compare this to other Rian Johnson productions and like that it pushes forward his themes of exploring the unseen people within our world and how everyone matters. We also talk about how Charlie has no authority and cannot arrest anyone, get into the motivations and manipulative behavior of the murderer, enjoyed the vocal volleying of Natasha Lyonne and Nick Nolte, and confront that this episode concerning guilt and loss was just also very sad. Katy mixes up The Lord of the Rings and Shakespeare, Carrie took a photography class, Maddy loves a little scurry, and Mack has a point of order. We loved the excellent production design and artistry of the episode (especially the very cool stop-motion props and footage), discuss the often uncredited women behind the films of auteur men, learn the term “fair play” in regards to mystery stories, and really just love a horse. Listen to hear more about Quantum Leap, the snail question, Phil Tippett, VHS extras, internalized misogyny, Macbeth, shaving heads, and Star Trek. Enjoy! TW: Misogyny, child trafficking, suicide Show Notes: Marcia Lucas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Lucas) (née Griffin) edited Star Wars (1977) and Return of the Jedi (1983), as well as THX 1138 (1971) and American Graffiti (1973). Emma Thomas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Thomas) has produced all of the feature films directed by Christopher Nolan.

2. 

   17 Sept 2026

   Star Wars: The Clone Wars, "Sphere of Influence"

   New episode out now! We take a semi-detour to a galaxy far, far away with the season three episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, “Sphere of Influence”. We debate the role of the Jedi within the Republic and talk about how they serve as diplomats, law enforcement, security, advisors, monks, or investigators whenever the need arises. We discuss how this show is for children and therefore the “mystery” is highly simplified, think the tone can swing wildly between Saturday Morning Cartoon and complicated political intrigue, pick apart the sequel trilogy at length, and are mildly amused by the George Lucas self-insert character. We also talk about bonkers Star Wars nomenclature, think it is interesting that this episode dealt with the blocking of trade routes and frustration with a slow democratic process, and lament the oversaturation and corporatization of Star Wars media as a whole. Katy forgot about LEGOs, Carrie is haunted by images of dismemberment, Maddy has a skeleton friend, and Mack does a lot of explaining (and justifying). We also are very confused by the abundance of mismatched accents, touch on the topic of gender in a galaxy full of different alien species, discuss how sci-fi / fantasy mysteries are harder to judge as they have different rules, and Mack runs a mini-game where we try to differentiate between real and fake character names. Listen to hear more about familiar props, weird animation, The Fast and the Furious, cool stunt doubles, Arthurian knights, beach towels, and the mouths of Rodians. We also want to give a shout out to voice actors – within this episode you will hear our attempted impressions of various Star Wars characters as well as John Wayne, the Green Goblin, stun lasers, goats, and more! Enjoy! “Star Wars: The Clone Wars – it’s good sometimes.” - Mack TW: Current global politics, John Wayne Gacy, Catholic priest scandals, racism, slavery. There is also an audible burp at 00:03:52. Show Notes: A few excellent Tumblr posts: George Lucas Star Wars v Disney Star Wars (https://comebackali.tumblr.com/post/811590549828141056/i-think-the-key-difference-between-george-lucass) Obi-Wan in the cantina (https://kidrat.tumblr.com/post/759277071502606337/u-can-watch-star-wars-so-many-times-and-it-doesnt) Trilogy concepts and execution comparison (https://www.tumblr.com/haltraveler/619147643435745280/the-cast-of-the-original-trilogy-had-cliched?source=share) Katy was wrong about Dr. Mandible being a character in Futurama. She was thinking about Dr. Zoidberg. Greedo in heels (https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ca986/behind_the_scenes_star_wars_photo_shows_greedo/) The music used under the game intro is “The Path of the Force” by Luis Humanoide; YouTube link here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-jvCcE5sI4)

3. 

   26 Aug 2026

   Deadloch, "Episode 1"

   New episode out now! We watched the first episode of Deadloch, an Australian dark comedy mystery where two very different detectives are thrown together to solve a baffling serial murder case. We really liked how atmospheric it was, setting a very different tone which was then offset by the excellent and sharply hilarious writing. We discuss the two main characters and how they felt refreshingly unique in the mystery show landscape, loved the wacky small-town antics, think that female creators really know how to write nuanced and fleshed out relationships, and talk about how you can stereotype with love. Katy was clocked by her bird app, Carrie loves an adult choir, Maddy comes up with a great nickname, and Mack does not have anger triggers. We also talk about tropes of ‘90s feminism, get caught by rage bait, learn Australian slang, rant about hotel bathroom doors, and learn so much about seagull copulation. Listen to hear more about the murder cascade (or snowball), equal opportunity nudity, Columbo, speakerphone etiquette, lesbians, Taskmaster, and even more seagull sex facts. Enjoy! TW: Nudity, mutilation of a body, suicide Show Notes: Taskmaster New Zealand Series 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmuPSROix94&list=PLBnNCEkNaIIA) playlist with Madeleine Sami Taskmaster Australia Series 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zpjscgN250&list=PLB6dtuogWD_-cwhruWAI7B3D6czFVQEbO) playlist with Nina Oyama (not Nina Okama, apologies) Recent CNN article (https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/11/world/australia-neil-elephant-seal-tasmania-intl-hnk) about Neal the Seal Some Australians call a minor car accident a “bingle” or “prang” as illustrated in this Tumblr post (https://www.tumblr.com/mauverawrites/769156856165875712?source=share)(image here (https://www.reddit.com/r/CuratedTumblr/comments/1hrt4sy/australian_nicknames/)on Reddit) The app Katy uses for her (casual) bird identification and logging is Merlin Bird ID (https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/) from Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University If you want to tell your elected officials that you do not want data centers, we recommend using 5 Calls (https://5calls.org/) which can connect you to your specific officials and offer many scripts and options to contact them about many issues, including anti-data center concerns

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 35 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

35

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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