🎧 How the Murdaugh Murders Podcast Chose “Best” Over “First"...and Won

Presented by Acast

💭 The Previsualization Process

Before a story is recorded, it’s rehearsed in the mind. This is previsualization: the phase where imagination runs ahead of execution and asks, “What could this become?”

This is where the open mindset gets to dream freely, while the closed mindset starts asking the necessary questions: Who is this for? How long can it be? What does it cost? What does it need to do?

So take time here, let the fun and the function sit at the same table. When imagination and intention shake hands early, the story knows where it’s going and how to get there.

🎙️ Signal Flow: Mandy Matney and David Moses

Industry game changers and valiant minds share their wisdom, adversities, and paths to innovation.

Mandy Matney and David Moses are the co-founders of LUNASHARK® Productions and LUNASHARK® Media, driven by a shared commitment to truth, accountability, and independent journalism. Mandy Matney is a #1 podcaster, best-selling author, and investigative journalist whose work on Murdaugh Murders (now True Sunlight) led to Hulu’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family, where she serves as an Executive Producer. David Matney brings a background in marketing and business development, producing Luna Shark’s podcasts and helping scale their impact through strategic storytelling.

In a hurry? Here are key takeaways from Mandy and David’s interview:

• Choose trust over speed. Being first is tempting, but credibility compounds. Audiences will wait if they believe you’re telling the story responsibly.

• Build the infrastructure early. Growth isn’t just creative, it’s operational. Monetization, logistics, and production support matter if you want sustainability.

• Let the format serve the moment. Breaking news demands flexibility. Structure is important, but rigidity will break when the story keeps moving.

• Say no until it feels right. Not every partnership deserves a yes. Alignment, especially ethical alignment, matters more than exposure.

Editor’s note: The following interview has been edited for flow and clarity.

Mandy:
When I started reporting on the Murdaugh family, I never imagined it would become a podcast. I’d been covering this story locally for years, long before it blew up nationally. But once things started unraveling publicly, it was clear print alone wasn’t enough. The story was moving too fast. People needed context, and they needed it now.

David:
She’d been talking about doing a podcast for a long time. When the moment finally came, I handed her a microphone and said, “You’ve been living with this story for years. It’s time.” I figured out audio engineering as we went. She figured out how to translate investigative reporting into audio. We were learning in real time.

Mandy:
I loved long-form narrative podcasts — Serial, Dirty John — but this wasn’t something you could map out in advance. It was breaking news layered on top of years of corruption. Every time we thought we knew where the story was going, something shifted underneath us.

David:
From the beginning, my role was making sure the foundation was there. Production, business, monetization, logistics. We both came from newspapers, and I had a background in advertising and marketing. When we saw 5,000 downloads on day one, I immediately understood what that meant. Not just creatively, but also practically.

Mandy:
What surprised me most was how listeners described the show. People would say it felt like sitting next to a friend at a kitchen table, listening to her explain something unbelievable that just happened at work. It wasn’t slick. It wasn’t overproduced. It felt human. That became our compass.

David:
Sponsors started reaching out early, but what mattered most were the local businesses who said, “We’re sick of the corruption, too. We want to support this.” That support told us we weren’t alone, that people understood why this work mattered.

Mandy:
As the show grew, the pressure grew with it. There were weeks when entire episodes were written and mostly recorded, only to have indictments drop hours before release. Everything had to be rewritten. Early on, I was obsessed with being first.

David:
And eventually we realized that wasn’t sustainable.

Mandy:
Exactly. My co-host Liz Farrell and I started telling each other the same thing: either be first or be best. Most of the time, we chose to be best.

David:
The audience made that possible. When episodes were delayed, listeners didn’t complain. They told us to take the time we needed. That level of trust is rare.

(continued below)

……………………..

You’ve built a solid show. We help you get paid what it’s worth. Acast connects creators to the best brands and better returns.

👉 Start earning more

……………………..

(continued from above)

Mandy:
When Hollywood came calling, we said no a lot. Many people wanted access without understanding the responsibility that comes with telling this story. Then we met Erin Lee Carr. I already admired her work, but more importantly, she understood victim-focused storytelling. She was thoughtful. She was kind.

David:
Once we committed to that partnership, we put all our eggs in that basket. We signed the option deal, and then…nothing happened for a long time. Strikes. Delays. Waiting.

Mandy:
It didn’t feel real until Patricia Arquette signed on. And even then, it didn’t feel real until we were on set.

David:
Being there changed things.

Mandy:
After years of covering such a dark story, years of harassment, threats, and losing faith in people, watching artists and crew members take pride in doing things the right way was healing. Seeing scenes I’d reported on recreated in front of me was overwhelming in the best way.

David:
The companion podcast came later. I’d suggested it years earlier, but the timing finally aligned. When the green light came, we moved fast, producing eight audio episodes and what became a full companion video series in just weeks.

Mandy:
We joked that it was like building the plane while flying it.

David:
We learned lighting, sets, wardrobe, props. The same way we always have: by saying yes, then figuring it out.

Mandy:
What mattered most was being responsible. These are real people, real victims, real communities. We didn’t want sensationalism. We wanted accountability.

David:
That’s why we started LUNASHARK Media in the first place, to build something independent, ethical, and sustainable.

Mandy:
This story took a lot from us. It cost us peace and safety for a long time. But it restored my faith in the work, and in humanity.

David:
And there’s still more to do. So we keep going.

🎧 Podcast of the Week: Naked Beauty

If you’re interested in conversations that go deeper than trends, Naked Beauty is a standout. Host Brooke DeVard explores beauty, wellness, and self-care through culturally sharp interviews, including last week’s episode featuring Jameela Jamil. It’s a great example of how honest conversation builds a real connection with an audience.

🥾 Further Exploration: Welcome to the Era of Liquid Content

This forward-looking piece from Steven Goldstein reframes podcasting as something more fluid than a single feed or format. It explores how audio, video, and social clips are blending into “liquid content,” and what that means for creators who want their stories to travel across platforms. A smart read if you’re thinking about how your podcast lives beyond the episode itself.

ICYMI:

🎧 The YouTube Trap Most Podcasters Fall Into (And How to Avoid It)

🎉 Celebrating 2 years of The Noise Gate!

🤬 What brands misunderstand about podcast creators (and vice versa)

💡 The Quiet Spark

A weekly question to ignite fresh thinking, stir self-reflection, and fuel your creative process behind the mic.

When the pressure is on, do you choose speed or integrity?