Society has always had something of a morbid curiosity with true crime. From Jack the Ripper and In Cold Blood to the near-constant stream of new Netflix docuseries on the killer of the week, it’s clear that we really love learning about and delighting in the grisly details of murder. Since the 2014 release of Serial, podcasts have been feeding the flames of that obsession. Just take a look at the most downloaded podcasts on Apple or Spotify, and you’ll see titles like Crime Junkie, My Favorite Murder, and Morbid: A True Crime Podcast — and that’s just in the top ten. This surge in popularity has in turn triggered multiple studies into how the constant barrage of true crime content affects our psyches. Some blame the 24-hour news cycle, while others claim its consumption actually has an evolutionary benefit. All of this to say, it doesn’t matter much what your personal interest level is in hearing about Alex Murdaugh or watching the latest Making a Murderer rip-off — true crime is inescapable.
Published as part of InRO Weekly — Volume 1, Issue 11.
