Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Cummings.
Hi Adam, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We met in 2008, married in 2012, and started the Mysteries and Mimosas Podcast in 2023. Max is a detective, and Aria specializes in victim services. We wanted to start a podcast implementing our knowledge and experience into our show. We also wanted to implement our love for each other. One of our favorite things to do, as a married couple, is travel.
When we travel, we like to start our vacations off with a champagne toast, which gave us the idea to start the brand, Mysteries and Mimosas. Our show is semi-structured. When we present a case, Max will start the episode off with some fun trivia questions for Aria, from the year of the crime. We hope this short segment will help our listeners, remember where they were and what they were doing the year the crime happened. It’s fun, and it’s an opportunity for us to lighten the mood and be ourselves. It also provides our listeners with a small glimpse into our lives, and the way we interact with each other. Before we get into the case, we present a mimosa recipe, in case you feel like toasting to the victim with us at the end of the show.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting our podcast was harder than we thought. We thought it would simply include a few microphones, some software, and a little bit of alcohol for fun before we would see listeners rolling in. The truth is, we spend an extraordinary amount of time researching cases, developing outlines, recording, editing, producing, and promoting, while we both work full time jobs, and while Aria attends school full time. In addition, there is a cost associated with starting and maintaining a podcast. From our equipment, to our monthly software subscriptions, we sometimes think we’re spinning our wheels. Despite the learning curve and the cost associated with producing a podcast, we are still having fun. We are blessed beyond belief to have each other, and recording episodes gives us an opportunity to spend time together, and it doesn’t get any better than that. As with any new podcast, if you listen to our earlier episodes, you’ll find a noticeable difference in our audio quality and our episode presentation. We’re learning as we go, and we’ll keep going until it feels like a full time job, rather than a fun hobby.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We met while working in law enforcement together, in 2008 After falling in love and getting married, we began our life together, and continued working in public service.
As the years passed, Max turned his focus to investigations, and Aria decided to leave Law Enforcement to focus on her health, ultimately turning her attention to restorative justice. Quickly, Aria became an expert in the field, working with both victims and offenders. Aria focuses her efforts on giving victims an opportunity to find a path forward, while helping offenders understand the impact of their actions.
Today, Max is still a special victims unit detective, specifically trained to investigate crimes against children and sexual assaults. Like Aria, Max developed a passion to help the most vulnerable population, and the special victims in his community.
For years, Aria talked about starting a true crime podcast, to offer their perspective into some of the most intriguing cold cases. After listening to several different podcasts, Max and Aria found a common theme. Some hosts are quick to cast blame on family members of the victims, either directly or indirectly, for the crime. Some hosts are also quick to blame the police for botched investigations or failures in police work. Because we know criminal acts impact more than just the victim involved, and because we understand some of the intricacies and limitations involved in investigations, we decided to start a podcast that remains victim centered, with an investigatory insight. We think it is important to help our listeners think about the impact some of these crimes have on family members, the police, and even the community.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Max: What makes me happy? If you think about time, we are on this earth for less than the blink of an eye. We could have existed in any time period, past or future. We could have been born into any given region of this world, yet I was blessed to be on this earth at the exact same time as my wife, and our paths crossed. I can’t imagine living my life without her, and that will make me happy until I take my dying breath. Or until she leaves me for a younger more attractive podcast host. In all seriousness, she makes me happy, and I’m happy to do this podcast with her.
Aria: What makes me truly happy is spending time with the people I love most in this world. This podcast offers me the opportunity to spend quality time with my best friend, doing something that brings both of us joy. Max always manages to make me feel grounded in this crazy world and in dealing with some of the negativity that can come with our chosen professions. In addition to podcasting and traveling with my best friend, being home with my bulldog makes me happy, too! 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mysteriesandmimosas.net
- Instagram: mysteriesandmimosaspodcast
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551811027462
- Twitter: @maxandaria
- Youtube: @mysteriesandmimosas
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/01aJ7abDyDXeaG8aT1YtL8?si=RzpFxtFkQs6VeieE49SQJQ
