Crystal Clear, RN: Host of More Morgellons—investigative variety show mixing journalism, comedy, original music & guest stories

I’m a registered nurse with 11 years of clinical leadership experience specializing in behavioral health and a Georgia Tech-certified full-stack software developer. I’m the solo host, producer, and composer for More Morgellons—handling all research, writing, music, character voices, interviewing and editing.

More Morgellons is investigative journalism exploring what happens when thousands report the same unexplained phenomenon (visible fibers in skin) and medicine dismisses it as delusion without investigation. I combine rigorous research—epidemiological analysis, patient testimony documentation, institutional critique—with variety show elements: original songs, sketch comedy, improv, and guest interviews. It’s immersive investigative journalism across 380+ episodes and 17 seasons.

My listeners: Many of my listeners are isolated individuals experiencing this phenomenon with no one in their lives who believes them—the podcast provides community and validation. Many are in geographic clusters, often high-functioning professionals (nurses, engineers, business owners, professional artists) invested in citizen science and challenging institutional consensus. Top 10% globally, charting in dozens of countries from Kazakhstan to Thailand with strong international reach.
 

I’m a voracious podcast listener—true crime, investigative journalism, and storytelling. I grew up on NPR, loved This American Life, Snapped, and RadioLab. I’m drawn to long-form narrative and hosts who aren’t afraid to get weird with format.

I started More Morgellons in 2020 after experiencing this phenomenon myself. In 2015, my best friend Tom who occasionally appears on the show and who developed symptoms I dismissed based on CDC conclusions calling it delusional. Then in 2020, I experienced it. The shock of dismissing someone I loved, then experiencing the same dismissal myself, was the catalyst. My initial goal was witness-bearing—creating a space where isolated people could hear their experience validated and documented.

I wanted to scale what a good friend does: “I believe you, I see it too.”

I launched in August 2020 and released 53 episodes in the first two months, which became season one. I had no podcasting experience but had technical skills, a USB mic, and urgency. The first episode was rough and ridiculous—just me talking and singing and playing piano with no script—but I hit publish because I felt like people needed it immediately.

Over 380 episodes, the show evolved into something bigger: rigorous citizen science, epidemiological analysis, institutional critique, historical archive with community building events, all wrapped in comedy, music and entertainment that makes difficult topics accessible.
 

I release episodes weekly, sometimes more frequently for listener stories or breaking developments. Production time is surprisingly fast—most episodes take 4 hours total from record to publish. I’ve developed a minimalist workflow: minimal editing, one-take improvisational recording style, and I lean into the raw, conversational format rather than obsessing over production polish.

I’ve been working full-time as a nursing director- at psychiatric hospitals, clinical research sites, drug rehabs- throughout the entire podcast run—managing teams of up to 150 staff while producing 380+ episodes. I record at night, early mornings, in the car, or whenever I can carve out a few hours. The podcast happens in the margins of an already demanding career, which honestly keeps it energized and urgent rather than overthought.

I’ve spent essentially nothing on this podcast. Zero marketing budget, no paid promotion, no ads, no Patreon. I use a basic USB mic when I am feeling fancy but usually just my iPhone, free editing software, and free hosting platforms. The show is completely self-produced through my own labor—I’m a one-woman operation handling all research, writing, recording, editing, music composition, singing, character voices, website maintenance, and community management.

My philosophy: if the work is valuable, people will find it. And they have—top 10% globally, charting in dozens of countries, built entirely through organic search in the context of algorithmic suppression of the topic and term.
 

I do have ad sponsors through my hosting platform (once Anchor until purchased by Spotify) and I have made enough money over the past six years to pay for approximately two new tires or four used tires. I have made a deliberate decision to not ask my listeners for any money because of all the other people who scam desperate people who have been abandoned by the medical community. However, my life has been incredibly enriched through this show. I have made friends all over the world, visited their homes, met their families and visa versa. The most rewarding part is getting messages from people saying, I found your show somehow during my darkest days with this disease, and it saved my life because I finally did not feel so alone.
 

In the beginning, I recorded directly into the platform DAW. Later, I started using bandlab, a platform I was already familiar with as a musician. I still use the bandlab app for a lot of production but recently started using Audacity for longer episodes.

Some episodes I have done research for hours or days before production. I never scripted anything for the first several years. Now, I write scripts for about 50% of episodes and improv the rest. I never prepare for interviews because I like the exciting energy it brings to the conversation when I have no idea where it will go. For interviews, I just call them on my phone, put it on speaker and record the conversation with another phone.
 

I don’t market my show at all.

I have no social media presence (shadow-banned or outright banned from most platforms), no email list, no paid ads, no cross-promotion with other podcasts. I’ve never run a marketing campaign. My show is essentially invisible on Google—searching “morgellons” buries me under CDC dismissals and medical institution pages.

The only discovery mechanism that works: people experiencing this phenomenon search “morgellons” directly within Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and my show appears at the top of those platform-specific results. That’s it. That’s the entire funnel.

I estimate listener acquisition breaks down roughly:

• 70-80% from direct podcast platform search (Spotify, Apple)
• 10-15% from word-of-mouth in the 20% of listeners who are in geographic/social clusters
• 5-10% from private sharing (direct links via text, email, encrypted messaging)
• ~0% from social media or web search

Attempts to share the show on Reddit get auto-deleted—even posts mentioning it without links. I’m systematically excluded from organic discovery channels. The show’s growth is entirely dependent on: (1) people thinking to search podcast platforms directly, and (2) the quality of the work keeping listeners engaged enough to share privately.

It’s built on utility and word-of-mouth in a deliberately suppressed information environment.
 

You have to hook the listener in the first twenty seconds, or you will never get any traction. I always try to start every episode with a skit, a joke, a parody song, a direct address to the listener or something extremely ridiculous or provocative. Make a podcast about something you really care about and create authentic, original content that people are actively searching for because the topic isn’t already oversaturated. Bottom line, no matter what you make a show about, people will listen if you keep making it and don’t give up during the long period during which no one is listening yet.
 

I have several websites www.moremorgellons.com
www.morgellonscience.com
www.pandorasmatchbox.org
r/morgswithcrystalclear