Transcript of An Important Announcement from Ashley Flowers

4 and a half years ago, I gave birth to my daughter, and then 5 days later, I put out the first episode of The Deck, a second weekly show that I now host and executive produce. I sometimes call The Deck my second baby because since day one, I have been deeply involved in every case that I bring you. The creation of this show was a wild idea with ridiculous timing, but I felt really called to bring this show to life after discovering a deck of cold case cards during my volunteer days with Crime Stoppers. Many of the cases that I saw on those cards were ones that I had never heard of, underrepresented cases with little to no reporting, and I wanted to change that. And over the last 4 and a half years, every team member who has worked on the deck accomplished an incredible feat.

We traveled the country, we worked with dozens of agencies and hundreds of families. We've helped fund the creation of new decks. We've spurred agencies to pick up cold case files that they haven't looked at in decades, which has resulted in real movement. And above all, we have played a meaningful part in giving families and loved ones something that in many cases they hadn't had in years: new information and hope. I am grateful for every second of it.

However, the time has come for me to fold my hand. Cheeky pun fully intended. Every episode of Crime Junkie and The Deck involves deep research, rigorous reporting, countless hours of storyboarding, asset collection, fact-checking, and review. I mean, a single episode of our weekly shows— I don't know if you realize this— takes months to produce. And with every episode, I want to make sure that we're giving it our all and raising the bar of expectation for ourselves, for what families can expect from us, and what listeners can expect from us.

Anyone who's been with Audiochuck since the beginning knows how we have grown and evolved the true crime investigative nature of every episode, which I am deeply ingrained in. I need to focus my attention where I can make the biggest impact— with Crime Junkie, with my philanthropic work, and importantly, with my family. I can't freeze time, and that little girl that I gave birth to when I launched the deck is growing up faster than I ever could have imagined possible. And as her little world and life gets bigger, I wanna make sure I have the space to be there to witness it. I am so proud of the work that we have done.

Dozens of team members at Audiochuck have had a hand in building this show over the past 4 and a half years. And the fact that these stories are reaching millions of listeners a week is a testament to the incredible work that they've done. And I'm so grateful to every one of you listening who have hit play every Wednesday since February 2nd, 2022. It is because of you that we were able to make a difference. Now, we're not quite done yet.

The Deck is still going to have new episodes through the end of the summer, and I of course will still be in your feeds every week on Crime Junkie for a long, long time to come to continue to bring you rigorously reported stories that drive real change. So thank you. I'll see you here on Wednesday, and I'll see you over on Crime Junkie every Monday after that.