Calhoun County Storytellers: Kayla Davis
By Lucy Hough / For Black Squirrel News
BATTLE CREEK — When Kayla Davis couldn’t find a true crime podcast about the Battle Creek area, she started thinking about making one herself.
“Well, could I do that? I could research the stories and I could make it a hometown podcast so that people in Battle Creek would have stories that they’re familiar with,” Davis said.
Cereal City Chronicles is a bimonthly podcast with give-or-take 30 minute episodes covering a story — or sometimes two — about a murder in Battle Creek and the surrounding region. Each episode, Davis shares context about the time period when the crime occurred, background about the victim, and what happened to find the suspect. She ends with a palate cleanser, sharing information about a local business.
“I want to end the episode on a happy note. I need to reset my mind,” Davis said. “People can skip over it, but it’s a way to take their minds away from all the darkness.”
How Davis creates each episode
Now in its second season, the podcast has been a labor of love for Davis. She spends 30-40 hours researching, writing and editing each episode. For now, she scripts each installment to stay disciplined and present the story accurately — a contrast to podcasts that rely on unscripted discussion.
“I struggle with that because I’m a talker,” Davis said. “I can go off on tangents, I can go off topic really fast. For me, the script works better.” But this is an aspect of the podcast she’s continuing to practice. “That’s what I’m really working toward–is to not script.”
The learning curve for creating a podcast was steep; after deciding to make her own, Davis had a crash course in audio equipment and software. She jokes about how she purchased over 17 different cords at one point. After completing editing on her first episode, a week from release, “it actually didn’t work.” She had to completely start over with $500 of additional equipment.
It’s a process she enjoys, though. The lessons she learned from four years of film production class in high school have come back to her easily. Once she found the right editing software, “it clicked,” she said. Her favorite part of the process is wrapping up editing on an episode.
“After I’ve done it all, it’s the end of the process — I’ve done the research, I recorded, and I’m sitting there editing and listening back to it, I feel a sense of ‘Wow. You did it. You made another one happen,’” Davis said.
Being herself in each episode
Something that makes Cereal City Chronicles different from other true crime podcasts is how Davis shares empathy for the victims’ families. In addition to intentionally providing as much information as she can find about the person who died, she shares compassion for the victim’s family and says she’s sorry about what happened. For Davis, this is a conscious choice.
“Most of the time, when a podcaster does a story, they’re never going to run into those people. I do on a weekly basis,” she said. “I think about that every time I do a podcast, the family is going to listen to this episode, so I’m always highlighting the good things about the victim and giving us a picture before the tragedy happens.”
Being present with people as they experience challenging emotions is nothing new for Davis. Her full-time job is as a hospice educator. She guides families through the hospice process from signing up for services for their loved one through being there with them when the person passes. It’s a service to others that she finds purpose in — “Keeping it together so they can fall apart.”
Ultimately, she hopes the podcast can be a service to her community by advocating for victims and keeping their names alive. Additionally, she finds it important to share stories about true violence that is happening around us and what we can do to prevent it. Crime prevention is central to Davis’ mission even beyond the podcast — she’s given presentations to local community groups about crime statistics and how to keep oneself safe, and she’s working on a kid-friendly presentation.
“I’m community based and active in the community. I want people to not be afraid to reach out to me at any time, if it’s help or a comment, I want to hear it all,” she said. She hopes to hear from family members of victims. “If I got something wrong, I want to know. I don’t want to be spreading misinformation. I’m here to tell the facts and the truth only. Please don’t feel any type of way about reaching out and let me know.”
The Cereal City Chronicles is now on YouTube, where video versions of the podcast can be seen. Audio versions can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Davis is also active on Facebook and TikTok.
How we reported this: This story is based on an interview with Kayla Davis and listening through the episodes of Cereal City Chronicles.
Photos by Nick J. Buckley
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.