Well, I have received several emails asking why I haven’t posted anything on this site in over three months. There are a few reasons, mostly I was disillusioned with the whole prospect of writing for free, as I would put a palpable amount of effort into a lot of these articles, checking the spelling and doing the research and everything, and never get paid. Then
I would read something in The New Yorker which wasn’t very good and I would get angry about it. Who are these gatekeepers, I would ask myself. People who do not like you, I would answer myself.
Certainly I’m not blaming anybody but myself, I suck at marketing. Also, it’s tough to get a good writing gig being cis-gendered.
On the plus side, I am totally healthy, so I don’t have much to worry about, although people drop dead for no apparent reason all the time.
Also I have been working on this podcast, doing the writing, research, producing, and voice narration. It took up a lot of the time I would have usually dedicated to writing other stuff, and, as I was spending this time on this podcast project, I began wondering why I continue writing essays and such, because people don’t read anymore.
And when they do read, they usually prefer simplistic drivel. Also, I noticed people like stories about murder.
So, given that people don’t read, and like listening to things because it’s less work, and, due to the fact that our society is totally rotten to the core, they love watching and listening to morbid stories involving murder.
So, I made a podcast. It’s called Murder On Ice. Thanks, I know, it’s a great title.
It’s the story of the murder of John Hartman, which happened in my hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1997. John Hartman was fifteen years old when he was stomped to death on the streets.
Pretty quickly, four young men (technically three young men and a seventeen year old), were charged with his murder. Three of them were Native Alaskans. Their names are George Frese, Eugene Vent, Kevin Pease, and Marvin Roberts.
Collectively they’d come to be known as the Fairbanks Four.
A lot of people thought the Fairbanks Four were innocent of John Hartman’s murder. There wasn’t much evidence tying them to it. But, two of them confessed to the murder, as their detractors would point out.
The podcast chronicles various theories about who could have killed John Hartman, and chronicles the Fairbanks Four’s quest to be released from prison.
You can listen to it anywhere you get podcasts – APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, SPOTIFY, STITCHER, AMAZON, IHEARTMEDIA, whatever. Just type in:
MURDER ON ICE
And, it will come up. Here’s a link to the Spotify page, if typing something in is too difficult for you.
Given that most of you never bought any of my crappy T-Shirts I have given you a lot of free content and received zero reimbursement, so, now you can repay me by Subscribing to Murder On Ice – and by Rating and Reviewing it on whatever platform you listen to podcasts.
You can also check out the social media pages. My Instagram handle is @TheMattRalston and you can follow the show at @MurderOnIce and on Facebook @FairbanksPodcast.
I hope you enjoy the show, and please know that, as always, your death threats are not appreciated nor taken seriously.
I’ll Be Back,
Matt
P.S. Donald Trump is a Nazi loser and so is anyone who voted for him.