Review: Mushroom Case Daily
It's been a while since I found a daily podcast to listen to. The news podcasts are too much to start my day with, and the other options don't have day-to-day topics that engage me. I got out of the habit of opening Pocketcasts to look for those. Until this one came along.
I stole this podcast from Wil Williams's Queuesday Queue* a few weeks ago and became fascinated. First off, from afar, I thought this was a historical true crime case. I typically don't listen to murder cases from after the 1950s. The mushroom outline, when glanced at, gave me the idea of a Gibson Girl. That, and the fact that the alleged murder weapon is mushrooms? No way did I think this was contemporary. Who murders people with mushrooms in the 21st century? Well, I was wrong. Mushroom Case Daily is following the current trial dealing with exactly that. It is a fascinating story that's being handled so well that I had to write about it before the trial comes to an end.
I marathoned the bulk of this podcast in a few days to catch up and be ready for the daily portion of this show. It was a lot, so please take care when considering this. To help, I made a Listen Notes playlist you can use to get up to speed without getting overwhelmed.
Mushroom Case Daily is from ABC Australia, and hosted by Kristian Silva and Stephen Stockwell. There has been a paternity leave sub in of Rachael Brown for Silva in the most recent episodes leading up to this review. As mentioned, this podcast is daily updates following the case against Erin Patterson, an Australian woman who is accused of killing lunch three lunch guests and attempting to murder a fourth. The murder weapon is alleged to have been death cap mushrooms cooked into a beef Wellington. The question is if the jury will think the death cap mushroom poisoning was accidental or not.
The podcast starts with outlining the case, and parts of the Australian legal system. They have background episodes on mushrooms, Australian law, jury selection, and the case itself. Our hosts inject the podcast with humor in the right places and solemnity when needed. I am constantly amazed by how well this podcast is handling real, recent proceedings. The world being fascinated by a case like this isn't particularly new, humans have always had a thing for staring at murder and subsequent trials. However, there is nuance, careful reporting, and clarity being presented every day about how this case is going. I love the explanations of the Australian court, local, and international nuance. It gives us a 20-minute or so picture of the daily court proceedings, with answers to questions written in at the end. I am excited to see how this podcast wraps up once the jury has deliberated - and how long it could go on for once a verdict is given.
The production quality is simple and, as expected from a major news organization, excellent. What I love about it is that they don't put frills on it where frills aren't needed. A podcast like this could lean into the drama, and I know Australian law is preventing some of that, however, I am sure there still could be something more injected. They don't, and I find it to be an excellent balance between intrigue, mystery, and respect.
This is true crime that doesn't give me the "ick", which is a rarity in the current climate, and I'm grateful to ABC Australia for presenting this case in this way, and continuously taking care with the subject matter and its listeners.
Listen to Mushroom Case Daily below.
Presented byRachael BrownKristian SilvaStephen Stockwell
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Keelin
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