Murder mayhem: Benefits and dangers of true crime media

Podcasts have also become a popular outlet for true crime enthusiasts to get their fill. There are currently more than 200 true crime podcasts available to stream on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts or Stitcher.

“I am a true crime fan,” senior English major Presley Cowan said. “I wouldn’t put that in my Instagram bio or put a sticker of those words on my laptop, but I do like true crime podcasts. I listen most regularly to ‘Crime Junkie,’ which I think is probably the most popular of the true crime podcasts.” sionals to go back and reopen closed cases that were built on rocky foundations. lent crimes, the Cleveland Clinic explains how absorbing too much true crime content can negatively impact your mental health. Listening to true crime can elevate anxiety and paranoia: constantly feeling unsafe and/or scared, being wary of everyone around you and having trouble sleeping are all signs that listening to true crime is becoming unhealthy.

“Police officers have X amount of time in order to try to solve a crime. But true crime, podcasts or shows or whatever, don’t give up. They keep looking, and they keep digging,” Michael Martinez, photojournalist and journalism professor at UT, said.

Books, podcasts, TV shows, movies and even traditional news coverage have turned to true crime as reliable entertainment.

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Calling all true crime lovers – and haters – for this review of the fascination and toxicity of the true crime world.

From the recent Netflix “Dahmer” docuseries to the widespread Gabby Petito case, true crime is skyrocketing with popularity in the media. “Half of Americans say they enjoy the genre of true crime,” according to a poll run by YouGov.

True crime podcasts’ claim to fame started with the first season of “Serial,” in which journalist Sarah Koenig dug into the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee. She was interested in Lee’s exboyfriend, Adnan Syed, who was arrested and charged for her murder yet maintained his innocence from the beginning.

After exploring the prosecution’s case against Syed, sorting through mountains of evidence and talking through it all with Syed, Koenig was able to prove that Syed could not have committed the murder. In October of 2022, the prosecution dropped the charges against him. For the first time in 23 years, Syed was a free man.

“Serial” was monumental in challenging the judicial system and righting a decades-long wrongful conviction. True crime podcasts are powerful in that they analyze each case from a different point of view and can influence profes-

Interestingly enough, Martinez has his own true crime fun fact: as an intern at the Miami Herald in the late 1970s, Martinez photographed Ted Bundy as he arrived at a hearing, with Bundy staring right at him the whole time. He describes the encounter as “chilling.”

While podcasts like “Serial” lean into handson investigation, other true crime podcasts are largely entertainment-based. The hosts of the “My Favorite Murder” podcast, Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff, emphasize their limited research on the cases they describe and make comments such as “I loved this one” after detailing an upsetting, usually violent crime.

Even though “My Favorite Murder” falls under the entertainment umbrella, are comments like this acceptable, or do they feed into society’s unhealthy obsession with crime? How much interest in true crime is too much interest?

“If it’s aimed more toward entertainment and not following facts, if it becomes more fantasized or sensationalized, I think it could easily cross over into unethical territories,” Martinez said.

In addition to the dangers of glorifying vio-

“I have definitely felt increased anxiety since listening to true crime. It’s a hard line to walk because consuming this sort of media is helpful for me, but it also raises my guard in situations where I am actually probably safe,” Cowan said.

As Cowan notes, listening to true crime can be helpful. These stories have an educational component to them by raising awareness and teaching listeners how to detect a dangerous situation.

The educational side is also a likely reason that women listen to true crime more often than men. As women are more likely to be victims of crime, having knowledge of these crimes can help women prepare and prevent themselves from becoming a potential victim.

As far as the mental impact of true crime goes, be conscious of how often you’re listening and if you’re experiencing any lasting effects. If you catch yourself feeling high levels of anxiety, fear or danger, put it on pause. As much bad as there is in the world, there is just as much good – listen to a healthy dose of that, too.

As Karen and Georgia like to say, “Stay sexy and don’t get murdered.”