The Karen & Ellen Letters

Mar 06 2024 435
The Karen & Ellen Letters Podcast artwork

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?

RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


The Karen & Ellen Letters (Season One Trailer)

Aug 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 cognitiv

1. Dear Mark

Sep 07 2023 26 mins  
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

2. Jurisdiction is Irreverent

Sep 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

Conversations with Charlie Worroll

Sep 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.

3. You Know What That Means

Sep 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.T

Conversations with Stephanie Sabin

Sep 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. S

4. It Could Have Happened to Anyone

Sep 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 Chri

5. Dear Josh

Oct 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 BraatenThis is a Studio BOTH/AND production: truecrimebullshit.com / bothand.fyiFor an ad-free experience: patreon.com/studiobothandMusic by:IdokayLee RosevereEverythingDigital Battle

Check out my newest show: Unsafe Spaces

Oct 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 wit

6. A Sober Dog

Oct 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 correspondenceNarrated and produced by: Josh HallmarkStarring: Sara Stapleton, Sara Kitcher, Jeff Powell, and Matt PeelenThis is a Studio BOTH/AND production: bothand.fyiFor an ad-free experience: patreon.com/studiobothandMusic