Part 1: Exploring a Podcast 

● Description:​ “Solve,” ​hosted by Courtney Falsey and Mike McNeal 

● Genre & audience:​ “Solve” is a murder-mystery podcast that let’s listeners be 
the detectives. The podcast allows the audience to solve crimes based on 
real cases with interrogations and real evidence. This podcast is for people 
who love learning about real crimes and enjoy solving mysteries.  
● Show frequency and history: T ​ his podcast is fairly new. “Solve” was founded 
in 2018, but only started airing in December of 2019. They now have 10 
episodes that range from 30 to 40 minutes long. They post about once a 
week, but have been posting less frequently due to COVID-19.  
● Hosts Biographies:​ Courtney Falsey is an actress and a writer. Mike McNeal 
is the lead writer and specializes in the interactive aspect of the show. Both 
are based in Los Angeles and are continuing to act.  
● Topics & episodes:​ “Solve” covers a wide range of crimes to keep the show 
interesting and unpredictable. Each show is between 30 and 40 minutes and 
follows the same timeline- introduce the crime, interviews suspects, analyzes 
facts and works on the case. This is helpful because it lays out all the 
information the listener needs in a neat and understandable way. 
● Revenue model: I​ t seems like the show is just self produced by two people 
who are into acting and writing. I have never seen podcasts advertisements, 
mostly because I don't listen to podcasts, but I assume they do advertise 
somehow. 
● Future outlook:​ I think this podcast is and will be successful because it is well 
put together with a strong foundation. “Solve,” if they wanted, I think has the 
opportunity to be bigger and reach out to a larger audience because it is fun 
and really lets the listener be a part of the episode. I think some challenges 
may be that they both have careers outside of the podcast. If either of the 
writers got a different job or landed a role, they would probably quit the 
podcast or at least put it on hold. 
● Closing remarks​: “Solve” allows people who like and who don’t like podcasts 
to find common ground. While it still has the aspects of a typical podcast, it 
also has the interactive qualities that keeps people, who don’t necessarily like 
to listen, engaged. 

 
Part 2: Dissecting an Episode 
 

What is the structure of the podcast?  

The podcast starts with a couple different advertisements then goes into their 
theme song and the story. “Solve” starts with a crime occurring and the sentence 
the killer received. The podcast is told in a story telling way as well with lots of 
interesting music and sounds effects.  

What is the relationship between the host and guest? 

The guest is the person who is on trial for the murder of a person. I think the 
listener is more of a host than the real host because we are supposed to listen 
to the “guest” and hear their side to figure out the clues and solve the murder. 

What asides, digressions, personal information does the host share? 

The host doesn’t really share personal information because they aren’t very 
involved during the podcast, except as actors for the stories. However, the actors 
are very involved and share as many details as possible. 

How does the host invite the audience to participate? 

The host allows the audience to participate by letting us solve the crime. 

What is the host hoping to accomplish through the interview? 

I think the host is trying to get listeners to think about real crimes and the people 
who get locked up for them. It forces us to really analyze the facts. 

What is the tone of the podcast? How about the audio (sound, special effects) aspects? 

The tone is fairly serious because it is based on a real crime and we are actually 
supposed to try and solve it throughout the length of the episode. There are lots 
of sound effects and music that help the listener understand what is happening 
without actually having to see it. 

What could be educational about this podcast? 

I think the fact that this deals with real crimes and the judicial system, it can 
teach listeners about how crimes are handled and what happens after the fact.