Kayla van de Bunt & Maggie Stabile | Podcasters & Independent Filmmakers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kayla van de Bunt & Maggie Stabile and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kayla and Maggie, what inspires you?
We’re inspired by big questions! The unknown. We’re fascinated by our human inability to sit with unanswered or unanswerable questions, so we decided to force ourselves to do it every week. It hasn’t gotten easier, but that’s what’s fun and exciting about it. We’ve learned to find humor and joy in unfinished stories. We’ve learned to let go of the need for tidy resolutions. We’ve learned how to ask questions knowing we won’t get answers. That’s what inspires us. And the money. Just kidding, there’s no money.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We love true crime podcasts, but so many of them hinge on the satisfaction of solving the whodunnit. We went in a different direction; we decided to challenge ourselves to explore unsolved mysteries. Because we decided to exclusively cover unsolved mysteries, that opened us up to topics like Blackbeard’s Treasure, Stonehenge, and the Science Behind Dreams. It also affords us the luxury of telling stories of urban legends, disappearing islands, ufo encounters and the question of what the Girl Scouts do with all that cookie money.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For karaoke and a dive bar that follows the health code, The Oaks Tavern in Sherman Oaks is the place to go. For something a little more low key and intimate, we love Edendale Bar & Grill in Silverlake. Our takeout go-to for eclectic vegan thai food is a restaurant called Green Leaves Vegan in Los Feliz. We recently saw our first show at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica and it was incredible. For a fun day out, check out the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We want to give a big shoutout to Sarah Phillips and Laetitia Leon, two female filmmakers who are putting more women behind the camera and telling stories about complex female characters. Being a part of their projects has been formative for us as artists. We’d also like to shoutout the listeners, especially those who have taken the time to reach out and connect with us. We keep in contact with them and it’s wonderful to have a community of people who aren’t afraid to ask big questions with us. Lastly, our parents, who listen to (almost) every episode.