March 26, 2025 • 9 mins
In Season 1, The Girlfriends told the story of how a group of incredible women came together to bring down one bad ex-boyfriend and seek justice for the murder of Gail Katz. In Season 2, we found the truth about a torso washed up on Staten Island, and gave Heidi Balch the memorial she deserved.
Now, we want to introduce you to a global gang of girlfriends in our new show, Girlfriends: Spotlight. Each week, Anna Sinfield is bringing you stories of women winning.
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, listener, it's me Carol Fisher. Just a heads up.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This episode will contain spoilers for The Girlfriends Season one
and two, so you might want to make sure you've
listened to both of those before listening to this one.
Also a warning, we mentioned some distressing themes, including violence
and abuse towards women, and of course you may hear
some bad language from me, just typical. First up, I
(00:34):
want to start by saying thank you so much for
all the love for The girlfriend since our second season
finish back in the summer of twenty twenty four. It's
just incredible to think that this crazy journey I've been
on as a host, starting from one bad boyfriend, has
come to an end.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I feel so grateful to have shared my story with you.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Telling the story of Gail Katz in season one and
Heidi Balch in our second season has been the honor
of my life. These two women are the cornerstones of
The Girlfriends and thanks to all of you, they will
never be forgotten. Today The Girlfriends has become even bigger
than Galen Heidie stories, and what the brilliant production team
(01:20):
has realized is that there's so many important stories out there,
stories of incredible women who have fought injustice.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
They stood up.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
For themselves and for others, making a real difference. Girlfriends
supporting one another. And so I'm really excited to say
that there's a lot more of the girlfriends to come,
and I get to pass the baton to a new host,
a new generation, well sort of. The new host is
(01:50):
a girlfriend who we all know and love. She's a
beautiful human and my daughter in another life, my favorite
vegan and superstar producer Anna sinfil Hey Anna.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Hi Carol. It's lovely to be back here with you.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Oh my gosh, I can't believe the band's back together,
and oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I'm so excited for you. Are you like freaking out?
Are you excited?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Tell me? I am freaking out, Yeah, a little bit.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
I mean, I'm excited because being the new house means
that the girlfriends is continuing.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
But it's also I mean there's some pretty big shoes
to fill.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Well, look, I'm only a size six and a half shoe,
so you're going to be fine.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
You can fill those easily, you know.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I am just I gotta tell you, I am so
happy that you are going to keep this beautiful show
going and I'm really proud of you for just growing
from a producer to a host.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
It's just amazing.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
You know, we built something together, and I will never
forget that that that was such a partnership between the
two of us, as well as Mindy and Elaine and
everyone else who got on board for seasons one and two.
And as much as it's a range transition to see
that changing, it feels like the best way of honoring
what we did together is to keep doing it, to
(03:07):
keep our mission alive, which we agreed on at the beginning,
which was to tell these amazing stories of how women
are just more powerful together and can do amazing things.
And you know, in so many situations where you interpret
women as potentially losing in these true crime stories, we're
telling the other side where they win.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Yeah. I think you're going to love the shows. I
really do. I think you're going to love what's to come.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Well, like you can always count on me, and you know,
I'm continuing my work as an ambassador with our charity
partner from season one no More. I'm excited they do
such incredible work fighting to end domestic violence worldwide, and
I'm really dedicated to helping them, and I'm expanding my journey.
(03:54):
I'm doing keynote speaking now and I'm continuing to do
executive coaching.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And for those of you.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Who want to keep up with me in my work,
you can find me on social media.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Just search Carol A. Fisher.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Make sure you grab the e at the end of Carol.
But enough about me. I'm so curious.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
What's coming up on the show. What can we expect?
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Well, you've got to get ready because we'll be bringing
a lot of new stories. That's the main claxon at
the top of this that the Girlfriends is coming back
with a vengeance, so there'll be more stories like yours, Carol,
and of course Gail and Heidi's these nice long narratives
in which we follow one group of amazing women across
(04:37):
multiple episodes as they come together and raise hell to
make sure justice is served.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
So I think you're like those ones.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Definitely.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
A couple of those are actually already in the works,
and they are some of the most fascinating and important
as well.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Stories that I've ever come across.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
But we're also starting, and this is coming sooner, the
Girlfriend's Spotlight, which will arrive on the feed in April,
so really soon. And in every episode I sit down
with a different woman and talk to her about her
own amazing story. And gosh, the stories that I've heard, Carol,
they are incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I love that you're really creating a space for women
to have a voice, badass women, and so I just
think that's fabulous. Anna, What are these individual stories going
to be about.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Well, this is the coolest thing about it.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
We have all of these wonderful but very different women
to talk to, women from all over the world who
have lived very different lives, but all of them embody
the spirit of the girlfriends in their own way. They
each transcend their circumstances and achieve something extraordinary. For example,
I speak to a woman who escaped a shadowy polygamous
(05:56):
Mormon group.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
This is Luanne.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
I was approached to be Mary to my cousin slash
nephew as his fourth wife.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I knew that it was going to happen, with or
without my concern.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
I talked to a former detective who solved nearly one
hundred cold cases using this long forgotten database of DNA evidence.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
I had told my detectors when they first went there,
to make sure you tell these women that we've never
forgotten you.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
I meet an Indian financial journalist who uncovered one of
the country's largest ever scams.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
It was a big story to start with, but what
it blew up into that was unimaginable.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
I chat to an incredible guitarist who toured the world
with her all female rock band in the nineteen seventies,
blowing sexist preconceptions out of the water. I might as
well have said we're going to walk on the moon
as say we're starting a band.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
And it was that ridiculous, you know.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
And I hear the inspiring story of a woman who
turned a terrible tragedy into an amazing new life chapter
which took her all the way to the Paralympic Games.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I took my first shot, I hit the target, and
I'm just like, oh my gosh, I love this.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
This is amazing, and so so many more.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
It just sounds like a beautiful group, a great collection
of women and their stories.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
I mean, it's been really inspiring and humbling and eye
opening hearing all of these women's voices coming together. I mean,
we have every kind of story imaginable. I can't stress
it enough. But that's not all this time around. We
also want to hear from you, are listeners, our girlfriends
(07:45):
out in the wild, Please send us voice notes and
tell us small stories from your own lives, times when
your own girlfriends had your back and lifted you up.
I'm thinking stories like the time a friend called you
with a faker agency, when you're on a bad date,
or when you're bestie showed up with a week's worth
of lasagna, when you just had a baby, bless her.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
They can be.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
Big or small, life changing or every day we'll play
them out on the show. Here you can email them
to the girlfriends at novel dot Audio.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
You are going big Anna, Yeah, we are.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
So Anna. When is the girlfriend Spot late? Starty soon?
Speaker 4 (08:29):
The first episode will be out on April seventh, right
here in this feed. And if you want to listen
ad free and one week early, you need to get
yourself an Iheartrue Crime Plus subscription, which is available exclusively
on Apple podcasts. So Carol, please listeners, spread the word.
Let's make the Girlfriend's Club bigger than ever.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You Well, wait, are we done? Yeah? So Vince really
wants to go to Burning Man.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
That's so venous.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Oh my god, it's so fucking Vince. So then I
start watching videos.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Last night, I'm burning man, and I don't know if
you know much about it now.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I'm from Las Vegas, Desert
Hey, listener, it's me Carol Fisher. Just a heads up.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This episode will contain spoilers for The Girlfriends Season one
and two, so you might want to make sure you've
listened to both of those before listening to this one.
Also a warning, we mentioned some distressing themes, including violence
and abuse towards women, and of course you may hear
some bad language from me, just typical. First up, I
(00:34):
want to start by saying thank you so much for
all the love for The girlfriend since our second season
finish back in the summer of twenty twenty four. It's
just incredible to think that this crazy journey I've been
on as a host, starting from one bad boyfriend, has
come to an end.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I feel so grateful to have shared my story with you.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Telling the story of Gail Katz in season one and
Heidi Balch in our second season has been the honor
of my life. These two women are the cornerstones of
The Girlfriends and thanks to all of you, they will
never be forgotten. Today The Girlfriends has become even bigger
than Galen Heidie stories, and what the brilliant production team
(01:20):
has realized is that there's so many important stories out there,
stories of incredible women who have fought injustice.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
They stood up.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
For themselves and for others, making a real difference. Girlfriends
supporting one another. And so I'm really excited to say
that there's a lot more of the girlfriends to come,
and I get to pass the baton to a new host,
a new generation, well sort of. The new host is
(01:50):
a girlfriend who we all know and love. She's a
beautiful human and my daughter in another life, my favorite
vegan and superstar producer Anna sinfil Hey Anna.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Hi Carol. It's lovely to be back here with you.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Oh my gosh, I can't believe the band's back together,
and oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I'm so excited for you. Are you like freaking out?
Are you excited?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Tell me? I am freaking out, Yeah, a little bit.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
I mean, I'm excited because being the new house means
that the girlfriends is continuing.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
But it's also I mean there's some pretty big shoes
to fill.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Well, look, I'm only a size six and a half shoe,
so you're going to be fine.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
You can fill those easily, you know.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I am just I gotta tell you, I am so
happy that you are going to keep this beautiful show
going and I'm really proud of you for just growing
from a producer to a host.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
It's just amazing.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
You know, we built something together, and I will never
forget that that that was such a partnership between the
two of us, as well as Mindy and Elaine and
everyone else who got on board for seasons one and two.
And as much as it's a range transition to see
that changing, it feels like the best way of honoring
what we did together is to keep doing it, to
(03:07):
keep our mission alive, which we agreed on at the beginning,
which was to tell these amazing stories of how women
are just more powerful together and can do amazing things.
And you know, in so many situations where you interpret
women as potentially losing in these true crime stories, we're
telling the other side where they win.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Yeah. I think you're going to love the shows. I
really do. I think you're going to love what's to come.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Well, like you can always count on me, and you know,
I'm continuing my work as an ambassador with our charity
partner from season one no More. I'm excited they do
such incredible work fighting to end domestic violence worldwide, and
I'm really dedicated to helping them, and I'm expanding my journey.
(03:54):
I'm doing keynote speaking now and I'm continuing to do
executive coaching.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And for those of you.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Who want to keep up with me in my work,
you can find me on social media.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Just search Carol A. Fisher.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Make sure you grab the e at the end of Carol.
But enough about me. I'm so curious.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
What's coming up on the show. What can we expect?
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Well, you've got to get ready because we'll be bringing
a lot of new stories. That's the main claxon at
the top of this that the Girlfriends is coming back
with a vengeance, so there'll be more stories like yours, Carol,
and of course Gail and Heidi's these nice long narratives
in which we follow one group of amazing women across
(04:37):
multiple episodes as they come together and raise hell to
make sure justice is served.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
So I think you're like those ones.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Definitely.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
A couple of those are actually already in the works,
and they are some of the most fascinating and important
as well.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Stories that I've ever come across.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
But we're also starting, and this is coming sooner, the
Girlfriend's Spotlight, which will arrive on the feed in April,
so really soon. And in every episode I sit down
with a different woman and talk to her about her
own amazing story. And gosh, the stories that I've heard, Carol,
they are incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I love that you're really creating a space for women
to have a voice, badass women, and so I just
think that's fabulous. Anna, What are these individual stories going
to be about.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Well, this is the coolest thing about it.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
We have all of these wonderful but very different women
to talk to, women from all over the world who
have lived very different lives, but all of them embody
the spirit of the girlfriends in their own way. They
each transcend their circumstances and achieve something extraordinary. For example,
I speak to a woman who escaped a shadowy polygamous
(05:56):
Mormon group.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
This is Luanne.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
I was approached to be Mary to my cousin slash
nephew as his fourth wife.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I knew that it was going to happen, with or
without my concern.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
I talked to a former detective who solved nearly one
hundred cold cases using this long forgotten database of DNA evidence.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
I had told my detectors when they first went there,
to make sure you tell these women that we've never
forgotten you.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
I meet an Indian financial journalist who uncovered one of
the country's largest ever scams.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
It was a big story to start with, but what
it blew up into that was unimaginable.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
I chat to an incredible guitarist who toured the world
with her all female rock band in the nineteen seventies,
blowing sexist preconceptions out of the water. I might as
well have said we're going to walk on the moon
as say we're starting a band.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
And it was that ridiculous, you know.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
And I hear the inspiring story of a woman who
turned a terrible tragedy into an amazing new life chapter
which took her all the way to the Paralympic Games.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I took my first shot, I hit the target, and
I'm just like, oh my gosh, I love this.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
This is amazing, and so so many more.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
It just sounds like a beautiful group, a great collection
of women and their stories.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
I mean, it's been really inspiring and humbling and eye
opening hearing all of these women's voices coming together. I mean,
we have every kind of story imaginable. I can't stress
it enough. But that's not all this time around. We
also want to hear from you, are listeners, our girlfriends
(07:45):
out in the wild, Please send us voice notes and
tell us small stories from your own lives, times when
your own girlfriends had your back and lifted you up.
I'm thinking stories like the time a friend called you
with a faker agency, when you're on a bad date,
or when you're bestie showed up with a week's worth
of lasagna, when you just had a baby, bless her.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
They can be.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
Big or small, life changing or every day we'll play
them out on the show. Here you can email them
to the girlfriends at novel dot Audio.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
You are going big Anna, Yeah, we are.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
So Anna. When is the girlfriend Spot late? Starty soon?
Speaker 4 (08:29):
The first episode will be out on April seventh, right
here in this feed. And if you want to listen
ad free and one week early, you need to get
yourself an Iheartrue Crime Plus subscription, which is available exclusively
on Apple podcasts. So Carol, please listeners, spread the word.
Let's make the Girlfriend's Club bigger than ever.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You Well, wait, are we done? Yeah? So Vince really
wants to go to Burning Man.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
That's so venous.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Oh my god, it's so fucking Vince. So then I
start watching videos.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Last night, I'm burning man, and I don't know if
you know much about it now.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I'm from Las Vegas, Desert
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