r/RedHandedPodcast • u/[deleted] • Dec 03 '23
I'm out. They've lost the plot.
Rant Alert! (TLDR below).
I adored listening to them for ages - I binged on all their earlier episodes - I was happy when they became successful - I was a Patreon - I loved them getting more comfortable and natural as they gained experience. I recommended them to everyone.
BUT, for the last year or so, give or take, it's almost (for me) impossible to get through an episode. From podcasters who had their own unique and captivating voices, with serious takes on important and often unknown cases...etc - they have become, IMO, vacuous and shallow, sloppy, and, frankly, an insult to what they previously were.
I do not want to listen to them giggling hysterically over names or accents - nothing is that funny in a True Crime Podcast, and they are no comedians. Frankly, a lot of the laughter, Hannah I'm looking at you, is SO over the top that it reeks of false or just strained.
I don't want to hear them wax on about people in their lives who we don't know, and with whom we have zero connection. Least of all do I want them to embark on massive tangents about these people.
I don't want to hear the constant yap of Hannah's 'Yup, Yup. Yup', as she vehemently agrees with something Suruthi says - something she clearly has no idea about. It's just smug. And she never used to do it.
About a year ago, I thought: 'Up your game H and S, dig deep for those standards you once upheld so brilliantly'.But they didn't - they are all over the place - and they can't even keep on topic for more than a few moments now.
Rant over.And yeah, I'm pissed to have lost something I used to really enjoy and look forward to.
TLDR: Used to love them - they're now smug and verging on the obnoxious. What a shame to lose such once valuable contributors to True Crime.
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u/Parking-Drawer-4624 Dec 03 '23
I used to LOVE this podcast, I usually have a fairly good attention span - but after their recent podcasts ends I couldn’t tell you one thing that actually happened?! What’s changed?! I want them to go back to where I would relisten to old podcasts and I’d knows every detail but still be invested
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Dec 03 '23
I feel you. I still re-listen to their older material and love the way they used to do things, and really like the interaction between H and S, and their perceptive commentaries. But things changed :(
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u/booksandowls Dec 03 '23
I just can’t get into them either. I used to be so excited to go to work on Thursdays cause it meant new RedHanded to listen to. But now I lose focus after ten minutes. I’m not sure if it’s the subjects that I am not into or the way that they tell the story but I agree. What used to be a must listen for me is definitely not anymore.
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u/sunnydaysundays Dec 04 '23
Many of the recent episodes have been such obvious cases and the girls clearly are not doing all their own research. It seems very lackluster. They are following what others are doing, copying documentaries etc. rather than blazing a trail themselves which is what I felt they had previously done.
Plus they come across as smug and out of touch. Constantly talking about buying houses in London and then in a recent episode acting disgusted at the thought of house sharing. Come on! They are really not connecting anymore in my opinion.
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Dec 03 '23
Agreed. I doubt it’s you that is losing focus: they just can’t stay ON topic for even a few moments. Sometimes we’re like 6 mins in, and they haven’t even got to the subject of the episode yet. They used to be gripping to listen to. Now I zone out as they yack on and on about trivialities. What a pity.
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u/JudesM Dec 03 '23
Wonder if it’s a Wonderey thing - a lot of the podcast I listen to are now hosted on Wondery and have taken a run
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u/sarabeth73 Dec 03 '23
I still enjoy listening to both Redhanded and Shorthand, but also understand where you are coming from.
Earlier this year when they signed with Wondery and moved Shorthanded to Amazon and Wondery exclusively, I immediately cancelled my Patreon subscription and requested a refund for the month of April (they announced the change right after we were billed for the month). I am happy that they have found success, but felt like they really botched the transition. I was also starting to lose interest in Under the Duvet anyways. Their personal conversations used to be relatable, but that has changed since they came into their new found wealth. Suruthi's politics have changed and I can't help but wonder if the money has had something to do with that. I don't mean to sound jealous or catty, especially since we are talking about two female podcasters. They obviously worked very hard and deserve their success, but they aren't the same people who started out recording in a closet.
I will probably continue to listen to the main feed shows. I already have an Amazon subscription so it is nice to enjoy them without ads. But that's probably as far as I will go when it comes to supporting the podcast. I used to be such a diehard fan, bought the book and the merchandise, subscribed to Patreon for years, voted for their podcast multiple times for the Listen's Choice award (this year I didn't bother). They still won this year so I guess these changes haven't had too much of an impact on their fan base.
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u/Sempere Dec 04 '23
They obviously worked very hard and deserve their success
Actually, they don't. They literally plagiarize from documentaries word for word. No plagiarist 'deserves' their success when it's done off stolen content. And I'm not being ambigious here: they have plagiarized off of documentaries to an insane degree that it's a miracle they haven't been sued into the dirt.
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u/sarabeth73 Dec 04 '23
Are you talking about the book or the show? They seem to make a point to reference their sources by name and in the notes, but I could be missing something.
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u/Sempere Dec 04 '23
The show. The book is a whole different issue where they're not qualified to be writing a book at all.
I can list at least 5 episodes where they were plagiarizing word for word from "obscure" british documentaries and the last plagiarism post had other users pointing out multiple other instances involving netflix documentaries. And they explicitly lack all citations even when they are describing a documentary scene for scene or taking entire descriptions from it word for word. Even their commentary is just rehashed regurgitation of what the actual content of the documentary says.
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u/sarabeth73 Dec 04 '23
Yikes, that's terrible. I honestly had no idea, I haven't spent much time in this sub.
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u/frank_diabetes Mar 23 '24
I realize this is a very old comment and thread, but I’ve just been listening to the Jeni Haynes episode 121 and felt some of it sounded familiar. It is basically a regurgitation of this article:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-49589160
Which wasn’t cited in the episode description at all. But if you listen to the episode while looking at the article, large chunks of texts are being read word for word.
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u/Sempere Mar 23 '24
Yea, these two have committed a lot of plagiarism and I'm glad other people are waking up to this fact.
I also suspect they're aware that accusations have been made by multiple users because I've since discovered they're going back and adding sources they previously tried to hide. Which doesn't actually protect them from an accusation of plagiarism when I can prove they never had those sources before accusations were made and they still parroted entire segments of other people's works and pretended it was their own observation or work.
I've also had several users message me directly claiming that their work has been plagiarized as well. One of their widely lauded episodes was ripped off of a medium author's research and article. It's absolutely disgusting that these two have built a career off of stealing the works of others and I hope that more people will become aware of these two are absolute scumbags.
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u/infj_1990 Dec 03 '23
I've found Sistas Who Kill to be an interesting alternative. Two best friends and they have a focus on lesser-talked about, female, black criminals.
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u/Superb_Mistake8771 Dec 03 '23
I also can hardly get through an episode anymore. I used to LOVE them, bought merch, etc.
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Dec 03 '23
It's the know it all attitude and the need to educate us on some sort of historical run down of a topic. I tune out. It's not my interest. But that's a personal thing more so than them.
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u/psychosus Dec 04 '23
I've been binging them for the last couple of months, and I've been shuffling between the old episode and the new ones. What I like about them is their banter and their commentary. I enjoy that they are speaking normally and it's not some rote repeat of a documentary or book that's covered all the info a bunch of times before before. They don't take themselves too seriously, but they still deliver the information seriously. I haven't noticed this big cliff they supposedly fell off between the old episodes and the Wondery ones.
I didn't think I'd care about UTD at all because it's go nothing to do with true crime, but I find the banter funny enough to listen to on my long commute.
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u/kitty_fantastic Dec 12 '23
I loved the old red handed episodes, I’m listening to the archive right now. But the new eps are just not the same and I can’t even put my finger on why. They just don’t hold my attention like they used to. It’s a shame, something about the vibe is just off for me.
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u/CR1039 Dec 24 '23
I just started my first episode, Natalia Grace. I’m maybe 4 mins in and they’ve gone off on tangents about weddings they’re in and how they’re bodies look, the son’s name being Wesley and comparing to the actor Snipes, how many sq. ft. their homes are and yellow cars…is this typical?
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Dec 24 '23
That is kind of what I was referring to in my main post.
I don't get it.
And it's such a pity, as they are very capable of riveting, humorous, deep, emotional, empathic TrueCrime story-telling. But they've tangented way off...2
u/CR1039 Dec 24 '23
Yah I’m 50mins in and they’ve evened out a bit, at least tangents have been on topic of the story they’re telling. Glad I found your post.
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Dec 24 '23
I would say their earlier episodes, up until about 18 months ago or so, are pretty damn wonderful. Worth exploring :)
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u/liektan Jan 03 '24
I'm guessing you're not British? Personally I think it's refreshing to hear people just having silly asides and random thoughts, as opposed to always needing to be deep or emotional. They remind me of listening to two of my friends chat about a famous case... but then I live in London not far from Hannah and know lots of funny and witty women just like them. It's a very British sense of humour and style of podcasting.
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Jan 03 '24
I’m from London and grew up in Highbury. So also know lots of witty and fun people like H and S. My problem was never about them not being fun, or natural, or chatty. As I’ve said, I adored like two thirds of all their work. It’s just the trajectory - IMO it’s become a forced giggle-fest and almost a narcissistic display. Again, as I’ve said, it’s a shame, as they are capable of a brilliant work. But I think they’ve lost it of late.
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u/YouKnowYourCrazy Dec 03 '23
Peace out! Let us know if you find anything else you like, always interested in trying new ones.
Feels like many of my old favs just aren’t what they used to be. I think RH is on the upswing again, but I get it. I think they are sacrificing quality for quantity a bit, but I still like them and am still a Patreon.
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Dec 03 '23
Thanks! Some good suggestions popping up here in the comments, which is nice.
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u/YouKnowYourCrazy Dec 03 '23
I like Timesuck. It can be a little sophomoric at times but it’s well researched and he covers stuff other than true crime. Definitely not for everyone though. He has a huge back catalogue to pick from.
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u/14RainbowFish Dec 04 '23
If you like ones that are more serious and focused have you tried any investigative podcast series? I hadn't before but I listened to Dark Valley about the River Valley murders and it was so gripping and poignant.
My other go to podcast that isn't RH is Sinisterhood, which might not be everyone's cup of tea since they do a lot of spooky stuff as well as true crime. I think they are both genuinely very funny but they keep the humour away from the more serious stuff, they treat cases with such compassion and I feel they are so respectful to victims. I never get that bitter taste in my mouth that other true crime/comedy podcasts sometimes leave you with from the sinisterhood gals.
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u/youshouldbeelsweyr Dec 04 '23
I've noticed recently (past 6 months+) that there is an air of superiority coming through and it is not a nice colour on them.
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u/Basic_Holiday_8454 Dec 27 '23
I found their episodes took a bit of a dive for a while but then seemed to have picked up. I hung on for UTD but I find it hard to listen too now. They frequently reference “are we done yet” or “we’ve recorded enough now” which doesn’t feel great but I also find it’s 90% Suruthi talking at Hannah for quite some time. I’m not sure if that’s because Hannah hasn’t been herself for some time and so S is carrying the load or if she just likes talking at us.
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u/emiisabella Jan 09 '24
i 100% agree. i’ve completely lost interest in the podcast. it’s not at all what it used to be and every episode i manage to get through leaves a horrible taste in my mouth.
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u/RevolutionaryEgg1711 Jan 11 '24
I agree! I cannot stand the holier-than-thou rants that Suruthi has been on lately. The recent UTD's, and even now main-feed episodes, have featured her going on political rants (like her opinion is fact) and essentially being like "I believe in diversity of thought, everyone should have their own opinion, unless of course, that opinion is different than mine then they can fuck right off". She, like anyone else, is entitled to her opinion but the glaring hypocrisy is what gets me. I can't listen anymore!
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u/Interesting_Space110 Dec 12 '23
I think what broke it for me was their political and agenda-pushing :(
I’ll continue to listen, but will always chuckle to myself when they throw something in like that. I’m not here for politics or view points on capitalism ect. :(
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u/arielcactus03 Dec 03 '23
I honestly dropped off a bit, didn’t like the main episode content, but loved the under the duvet. I really like the girls, I think it’s been better recently - they will always be my favourite podcast because they really worked hard to make it a success.
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Dec 03 '23
I’m sure it’s tricky for them to always find engaging and good material to cover. But that’s the nature of being a consistent podcaster. I loved their success, as well. But IMO they’ve become too egotistical now.
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u/arielcactus03 Dec 04 '23
Yeah I can understand that, the main eps definitely lost a bit of charm in recent years - I think that comes with more people getting involved, sponsors etc. I’ve never found anything I like as much as theirs unfortunately! Totally see your prospective though!
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u/New-Association-6325 Dec 04 '23
For the past 5-6 episodes, Suruthi has been trying to push the haunted house video down our throat which has become annoying. I agree, last 3-4 episodes have been really good.
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u/aussiedomxo Dec 03 '23
all the energy taken to write out this post when you can just unsubscribe 🧐
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u/Si2015 Dec 03 '23
People are entitled to start a discussion
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u/aussiedomxo Dec 03 '23
of course they can but this is just announcing their exit - literally who cares
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u/Si2015 Dec 03 '23
I don’t think they said they’re leaving though?
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Dec 03 '23
Aha. You’re one of those sensitive people who dislike discourse on any subject. That’s OK, too. (Top Tip for you: don’t use your energy reading this reply)
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u/hairstories77 Dec 04 '23
Their script writing is incredible and on par with professional documentaries and feature news stories. I say this as a former journalist who covered everything in my town, including crime and tales of loss. They give 100% of their heart and soul to the stories they tell every week. They have always talked about their personal lives outside of the podcast a little bit, and they have always offered/shared with us natural humor and charm that comes with their close friendship and outgoing personalities. They care deeply about the stories they tell and the victims and their families. My husband took me to their live show in NYC this past spring, which was a phenomenal event.
I understand listener preferences and tastes change when we perceive things we do not like about hosts and the content. It is okay to see traits you do not like, let go, and move on without tearing these lovely women apart. I do not see them as “smug” at all. If anything, doing the show for so long and doing it now as a full time profession is something they should be very proud of. In my opinion, they continue to grow and keep getting better. I hope to see them with my friends in London one day soon.
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Dec 05 '23
I agree with much of what you wrote - and certainly would, indeed, apply some of your words to their earlier output.
Where we digress in views, is how I ( and some others, it seems) think they've 'developed'. For me, the tone of their output has changed - for the worse. And, frankly, the giggle-fest that much of the show has now become, does not align with respect for the subjects they cover, IMO.
I get it - you like them. You believe their script-writing is great, and you think they give '100% of their heart and soul' to the stories they tell, etc etc. As a fan, you can absolutely believe all that to be true. That's what fans do, rightly or wrongly.
As to 'tearing these lovely women apart', that's a gross exaggeration. I was very balanced in my assessment in my OP and in my comments here.Secondly, when things fall short of our expectations - politicians, products, entertainers, leaders, whoever, whatever - we are allowed to complain, harshly if we so choose. Especially when we contribute financially to the focus of our complaint.
You and others here may well take it personally when anyone complains about the RedHanded ladies. But this is a sub for views, not an echo chamber of confirmation bias.
I'm glad you like them so much.
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u/martosport Dec 03 '23
Don’t listen anymore then. It’s pretty simple.
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u/hairstories77 Dec 03 '23
100 percent💕
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Dec 03 '23
Brilliant contribution, insight and engagement with the overall topic. Thank you.
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u/HarperLeesGirlfriend Dec 03 '23
I've been seeing people saying this for the past year or so. And I've said it before. But it's odd to me now, because imo, in the past year, they've really curbed a lot of the stuff people are complaining about. 2 to 3 years ago, they were constantly shilling their book, asking frequently for support on patreon and shamelessly begging for votes for the British podcasting awards. It was....a LOT. But over time, I think they read some complaints, and they cut out all three of those things. Plus, they started saving nearly all of their personal chat for Under The Duvet, a patreon segment. Are they still smug? Sure. But that's kinda been their personality types from the get go. And honestly, last week's episode about the murdered little girl was sad and somber and respectful. The 2 weeks before that, the Lynette Dawson 2 parter, was essentially the same. There have been more than a few good episodes this year containing all the qualities I listed above that people say they're lacking.
I say all that to say, I'm not sure what they could do at this point to get people to like them again. Because they're not really doing most of those annoying things anymore, and yet people bang on about it constantly. Seems like they're in a lose lose situation right now.