Why Do We Love True Crime?
Adnan Syed, center, leaves the Cummings Courthouse, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore. A judge has ordered the release of Syed after overturning his conviction for a 1999 murder that was chronicled in the hit podcast "Serial." (AP Photo/Brian Witte) Brian Witte/AP hide caption
Adnan Syed, center, leaves the Cummings Courthouse, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore. A judge has ordered the release of Syed after overturning his conviction for a 1999 murder that was chronicled in the hit podcast "Serial." (AP Photo/Brian Witte)
Brian Witte/AP If you think about Jack the Ripper or In Cold Blood, true crime stories have always fascinated us. But the groundbreaking success of the 2014 podcast Serial sparked a new interest in these sordid stories. Hundreds of true crime podcasts followed in Serial's footsteps, telling tales of the murdered and the missing and the unresolved.
Today true crime podcasts dominate weekly podcast charts. But what makes them so popular? And is that popularity problematic?
We hear from Ashley Flowers, host of the award-winning podcast Crime Junkie, who has a new work of crime fiction out, called All Good People Here, and Jane Coaston, host of the New York Times opinion podcast The Argument.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Marc Rivers. It was edited by Jeanette Woods. Our executive producer is Natalie Winston.