The Karen & Ellen Letters

The Karen & Ellen Letters

In 2005, I received a stack of found, hand-written letters between two (stupid?) young women and their (long-suffering?) landlord. That gift would send me on a fifteen-year search for the truth. It was a comedic investigation that demanded some pretty complex interrogation: Who owns a story? How honest is our nostalgia? What does it mean to be a difficult woman? How do we engage in sexism and patriarchal gender roles? And, of course, does gas smell like avocados? And are allegations made by alligators? This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3588207/advertisement

Episodes

August 23, 2023 5 mins
The Karen & Ellen Letters are found correspondance between two teenage girls and their landlord, over a three year period, from the 1980s. This podcast is the reading of those letters and a re-telling of the host's journey to authenticate them. The girls are demanding at best, the landlord is tired and impatient, the journey is the perfect blend of comedy, mystery, and cognitive dissonance.

The Karen & Ellen Letters arrive ...
Mark as Played
In 2005, Josh is gifted a stack of strange letters.
In 1987, Karen and Ellen move into their very first apartment and immediately begin terrorizing their landlord.
And so we begin to unravel a decade-long mystery with a single question: Can these letters actually be real?

The Karen & Ellen Letters are found correspondence.
Narrated and produced by: Josh Hallmark.
Starring: Sara Stapleton, Sara Beth Kitcher, and Jeff Powell.

Mus...
Mark as Played
September 14, 2023 26 mins
In 2005, Josh begins trying to authenticate the letters.
In 1987, Karen and Ellen struggle with math and jurisdiction; Ellen is upset by a commercial; and Karen tells Mark about her boyfriend.
Mark begins to lose his cool.

The Karen & Ellen Letters are found correspondence.
Narrated and produced by: Josh Hallmark.
Starring: Sara Stapleton, Sara Beth Kitcher, and Jeff Powell.

This is a Studio BOTH/AND production:
www.truecrimebull...
Mark as Played
September 19, 2023 50 mins
WARNING: This contains mild general spoilers about the scope of the Karen & Ellen Letters story. We talk around how the investigation ends, without giving away exact or detailed information.


Charlie Worroll (Crimelines; Crimelines and Consequences) has history with The Karen & Ellen Letters going back to its days as a blog (c. 2012). Years later, we met through podcasting. In the inaugural Karen & Ellen Conversations, w...
Mark as Played
September 21, 2023 29 mins
In 2006, Josh begins to find evidence that three of the letter-writers actually exist.
In 1988, the girls celebrate a milestone, Karen and Mark find themselves at an impasse, and Mark finds joy in an unlikely place.

The Karen & Ellen Letters are found correspondence.
Narrated and produced by: Josh Hallmark.
Starring: Sara Stapleton, Sara Kitcher, Jeff Powell, and Benjamin Watkins.

This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www.truecrimeb...
Mark as Played
September 26, 2023 67 mins
WARNING: This contains general spoilers about the scope of the Karen & Ellen Letters story. We talk around how the investigation ends, without giving away exact or detailed information.

Stephanie Sabin is a writer for WYDaily.com. More than that, she's a dear friend. And The Karen & Ellen Letters played a very significant role in both Stephanie's career and our friendship. Stephanie was a superfan of the podcast in its initi...
Mark as Played
September 28, 2023 29 mins
In 2012, the Josh struggles with the joy vs. the reality of the letters.
In 1988, Karen honeymoons, Ellen prepares to move out, and Mark sends the girls what's left of their deposit.
In 2017, people have questions about Ellen.

The Karen & Ellen Letters are found correspondence.
Narrated and produced by: Josh Hallmark.
Starring: Sara Stapleton, Sara Kitcher, Jeff Powell, and Chris Braaten

This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: www...
Mark as Played
October 12, 2023 24 mins
The train goes off the tracks.

The Karen & Ellen Letters are found correspondence.
Narrated and produced by: Josh Hallmark.
Starring: Sara Stapleton, Sara Kitcher, Jeff Powell, Matt Peelen, and Chris Braaten

This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: truecrimebullshit.com / bothand.fyi
For an ad-free experience: patreon.com/studiobothand

Music by:
  • Idokay
  • Lee Rosevere
  • Everything
  • Digital Battleground
  • Galactic Realms
  • Roi Shpigler
Featured ...
Mark as Played
October 19, 2023 11 mins
Unsafe Spaces is an investigative, serialized true crime podcast that explores the crimes that take place in the places we’re supposed to feel safest.

In Season One: Tampa’s Missing Men, I explore how two different missing persons cases, reported on the same day, opened a Pandora’s Box of unreported assaults, cold missing persons cases, ignored rapes, and unsolved murders within Florida’s gay community; and the two men who could be...
Mark as Played
October 27, 2023 25 mins
In 1989: Ellen has concerns, Karen & Rob are at their wit's end, and Mark mourns a loss.
In 2012: Things get meta.

The Karen & Ellen Letters are found correspondence
Narrated and produced by: Josh Hallmark
Starring: Sara Stapleton, Sara Kitcher, Jeff Powell, and Matt Peelen

This is a Studio BOTH/AND production: bothand.fyi
For an ad-free experience: patreon.com/studiobothand

Music by:


  • Lee Rosevere
  • Nightcrawlers
  • Fifteen
  • Retro Chill...
Mark as Played

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