We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bridget Baker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bridget, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

We had the opportunity to work with several families that felt as if their story was misrepresented. One of which being Tracy Fortson’s story, from Olgethorpe county, Georgia. Tracy was the first female deputy in the OCSO, and ended up filing a sexual harassment claim against the office. One month later her boyfriend was found murdered and she was arrested. Tracy has maintained her innocence to this day, and has an army behind her. Including her boyfriend’s own mother claims she’s been wrongfully accused. We were able to get in touch with Tracy, via a close friend of hers had a niece that I went to school with. Just being able to be so hands on with her story and actually have her case file in my house to go through every single page was such an interesting experience. It’s a case that meant so much to me, because I am of the same opinion regarding her innocence. We will be holding a live show in August where we cover her case again and allow a closer look at her case file.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We started our podcast in March of 2022. My husband and I were trying to find something to do, so we could spend more time with each other. I’ve always been a huge true crime fan, specifically podcasts. I would listen to them all day and then at the end of the day I would tell Andy about all the cases I had heard, and get his opinion. His reactions were hilarious and were too good to keep to my self.

My dad is a pastor and a counselor, so I grew up in a home where it was very common to have in depth conversations about psychological illnesses, and such. For example, I remember watching a criminal minds episode with my dad once and we had this hours long talk about Nature vs Nurture and that hard question of WHY? That question is one that I go back to over and over, and that fascinates me!

Andy, my husband, is a realist. He is someone who says the things that people are thinking, and plays the devil’s advocate more often than not. He is also someone who as soon as that thought enters his brain, it’s already out of his mouth. Which is why our listeners love him! They like to hear him let his opinions fly and watch me die a little inside because it was so bold.

We started doing Tiktok videos around the end of 2022, and it blew up! We had a few viral videos that have sky rocketed our numbers. Lake Lanier, Mount Everest, and Mel’s Hole have been our biggest three videos. We’re even going to an event in July to discuss the Lake Lanier story! This has been an amazing tool in gaining listeners and growing our brand.

We are a lot different than any other true crime podcast out there. We are christians and we dont hide that. We do not shy away from God in a topic, and we do not compromise on our beliefs in order to gain more. followers. For this reason, we’ve had a very loyal fan base grow into an amazing community. We started a patreon account where we offer bonus episodes through a subscription as well as deep dive content. In this we also offer a weekly bible study tier for those who enjoy that.

Booked Bagged and Tagged has been such an amazing experience. The connections we’ve made through this podcast has became some of the most meaningful ones around us. They held me together during my moms passing and cheered us on in our low moments. We are forever grateful to our fans,

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My main goal is to make this podcast a full time income for my self. One that is just as sustainable as a normal 9-5 job.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Personally, its the friendships I have built. This podcast has brought me closer to some people I’ve known for years. Its allowed me to make friends across the nation and even the world. The way our listeners have lifted us up in some very dark times is amazing. My mom passed away very unexpectedly and I could not have asked for a better support group. I really truly love these people, and it’s the highlight of my week when we get to sit down and interact with them.    

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bookedbaggedtagged.com
• Instagram: @BookedBaggedandTagged
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/293537479516378/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@bookedbaggedandtagged
• TikTok: @BookedBaggedandTagged