I don't know what shocked me more: The fact that two minors were arrested by police officers on their high school campus, them not showing a single second of remorse or a tiny bit of self-reflection in the police car but instead spending the entire way giggling and joking around, or the fact that two adolescents had planned to murder one classmate brutally at their school. The case I am referring to in this critique is the one with 15-year-old Isabelle Valdez and 14-year-old Lois Lippert. Both of them got arrested on their high school campus after an anonymous tip from a schoolmate, revealing that the two students had planned to stab another classmate to death as part of a ritual with the intention to resurrect a mass murderer, Adam Lanza, from his death. Fortunately, the teenagers were arrested by the police before they could carry out their horrific plan. This case received a lot of attention, particularly after a clip went viral on social media showing the two laughing and chatting in handcuffs on the back seat of the police car, as if they were on their way to a party rather than a police station. In the 30-minute clip, you can hear Isabelle giggling as she asks her friend: “Oh, are you trying to look good for your mugshot?”, to which Lois chuckles and replies: “Oh shit, am I going to get a mugshot?... This is such a bonding experience, I love it.” I remember seeing this clip first on social media and immediately felt bad for the two girls. My first thoughts after seeing that was that two young teens have messed up their lives and are not even aware of that.
However, when I recently saw that one of my favorite true crime hosts, Rotten Mango, had covered this case at first on Spotify in form of a podcast and after one week on YouTube as a video podcast, I could not resist clicking on it directly. The American-Korean content creator is known for covering both national (American) and international cases on both platforms. The reason for her being one of my favorite content creators in the true crime scene is that her narration style is so detailed, trustworthy, lively and easy to understand, that if you listen to her you immediately feel like being at that setting where the crime happens. At first, when I saw the clip on social media I felt sorry for the girls, but after listening to the podcast episode in which Soo described the case in more detail, my empathy turned more into annoyance, disappointment and confusion. Confusion, because I just could not understand how these teens could be so biased and idolize horrible monsters who killed innocent people and children. Disappointment, because seeing young people, who are the hope for a better future, to attempt for ending the life of a classmate and trying to resurrect a psychopath from death. And lastly, annoyance, because of their stupidity and really being convinced to be able to bring someone back to life and furthermore their ignorant and unnecessarily calm attitudes in the police car. How can having a mugshot be a bonding experience between two friends? Sharing meaningful moments together or overcoming difficult times can be a bonding experience but not sitting together in a police car and getting excited about having mugshots. But these feelings could not be evoked without the amazing talent (and hard work) of Soo's storytelling and her narrative style.
The reason I consider Rotten Mango as my favorite podcast host is her simplified presentation of cases and the clarity of her narrative style. When I look at the sources the true crime hosts use for their content such as autopsy reports, court documents or news articles, I feel overwhelmed and most of the time don't understand one single word. But she manages to organize this huge mess of information in a logical order with relevant explanations, which makes it much easier and more fun to follow and understand the case. While listening to her podcast, I mostly do other activities at the same time such as tidying and cleaning my room or getting ready, doing my make-up or my hair. Or if I get tired of listening to my music playlist when I am on my way to go somewhere, I turn on her podcast. Especially when I am doing other things at the same time, it is beneficial for me to listen to something I can easily follow and understand. Furthermore, the brief interventions from her partner, who contributes to the narrative through comments or questions, also help Soo to adapt her storytelling, add some details, or express herself more clearly. From time to time, I catch myself asking the same questions as him when there is a complex part in her podcast. This makes me feel like I am the person she is telling this story directly in her studio, as if she is my bestie I am gossiping with, and her responding to my thoughts and reactions. That feeling of connectedness and other emotions she evokes in me while listening to her stories makes her my favorite podcast host.
What I also really enjoy while listening to her content is that she is involving all perspectives. In the stories she tells, there is not only the victim and the murder, but also many other characters whose emotions and thoughts are all playing an important role in the narration. I still remember how sad I was after hearing the victim's mother say in one interview, how the anonymous classmate, who made the tip, is now the hero of her life. What made it even worse for me was finding out that she is working at that high school as a teacher. She works at the same place where maybe two of her students (I am not sure if she also was their teacher) have planned to kill her son. What a nightmare for a mother. This leads to the fact that Soo does a diverse and in-depth research for the cases she covers, which in my opinion makes her a professional and trustworthy podcast host.
These are the reasons why you should definitely give Rotten Mango a chance and start listening to her podcasts on Spotify. Through her detailed research into the cases, the connection she builds with her listeners through her lively storytelling and the emotions she evokes in her listeners only through storytelling alone, she has become a successful and popular true crime podcast host. I feel like Spotify is known by users only for listening to music, whereas podcasts remain underrated, you definitely should start listening to them as well. As it is here the case for me, she changed my whole perception on that clip I first saw on social media. Once I felt sad and sorry for the two girls, I now am glad that they are sentenced as adults for their crime. Maybe she will have the same effect on you, too?
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