Phil Chalmers reveals who he’s dying to interview and finds out ‘Where the Bodies Are Buried’ in convos with serial killers

October 22, 2021

This episode of Podsauce took the train to creepy town when Dax and Alesha chatted with Phil Chalmers, “friend” and interviewer of serial killers in his podcast, “Where the Bodies Are Buried.” Phil’s conversations with incarcerated killers lead to new details of gruesome crimes and often track to where the bodies are buried, as the podcast’s title suggests.

Before interviewing Phil, the hosts shared their podcast picks. This week’s Odd Pod is “All Fantasy Everything,” where hosts take the concept of fantasy drafting and apply it to a topic du jour. They’ll draft things they like with things they don’t including music, movies, sandwiches, world records, food from gas stations, and more. Dax listened to the episode about singers you don’t like but the songs you do, such as the hosts’ example of the song “Picture,” but not by artist Kid Rock. Alesha and Dax love this concept and discuss their snack drafting possibilities. In terms of old school video games, Alesha would draft Nintendo’s “Contra” and Dax went with “Super Mario Brothers.”

Alesha’s pick for this week included “Off Camera with Sam Jones.” If you like “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, then Podsauce thinks you’ll like “Beautiful Anonymous.”

Alesha was apprehensive for the interview with serial killer expert Phil, and things got dicey when Phil jokingly said that whenever someone interviews him, “something bad happens within the next few weeks.” Alesha almost walked away from the interview.

Both Alesha and Dax listened to “Where the Bodies are Buried.” Alesha commented on Phil’s interview with Garland Milam who killed two people over two days, got “high” from killing souls, and is known as “The Soul Sucker.” Dax listened to the episode with killer John Robert Williams who murdered, tortured, raped, and mutilated his victims.

Phil is a seasoned interviewer who has been speaking with serial killers behind bars since the 1990s. He discussed how he convinces killers to appear on his podcast. The younger killers, like school shooters, have no problem being interviewed, but it’s the older killers he has to cut deals with because they want something in return. For example, a pair of shoes.

With the podcast, Phil’s goal is to help people, solve crimes, and find leads for cold cases. Serial killers have revealed new, important information when speaking to Phil that has helped authorities. Alesha and Dax wondered if Phil has received any backlash from victims’ families, and he emphasizes he is not a fan of true crime. Rather it is an area of interest, that is why he started the podcast while learning more about serial killers from killers themselves.

Phil’s dream guests would include Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and John Wayne Gacy, who are all deceased. Edmund Kemper and Gary Ridgway have not replied to any interview requests. Ridgway killed over 40 people, dropped their bodies in the Green River, and was the deadliest confirmed killer until Sam Little’s record numbers jumped. Edmund killed and decapitated college co-eds and his mother. His story was adapted by a character on Netflix’s Mindhunter.

Lastly, Phil shared his podcast picks including “Dateline” and “Crime Junkie.”

Here’s to hoping y’all stay safe! Tune in for more from Phil on Podsauce. Season 2 of “Where the Bodies Are Buried” dropped this October, with new episodes weekly.