Case 3: The Rise of True Crime Podcasts

With a rise in interest in true crime, there has also been a rise in content creators who base their entire platforms around the true crime genre. With platforms like Youtube, there are countless amounts of videos on all different types of cases. While doing research into what different true crime media people consume, I found that many of the survey respondents listened to podcasts, aside from the usual documentaries and TV shows. Popular podcasts like My Favourite Murder and Crime Junkie were among the few that were suggested, raking in dozens of listeners. 

Locally, among the North East, a new face has appeared on the true crime podcast scene - Becky Courtney, a customer sales advisor by day, and a newly turned podcaster by night! Becky created “Serial Podcaster” in February 2020, publishing it on Youtube. The first episode centers around the mysterious Cecil Hotel in LA where countless murders and suicides took place. I managed to ask Becky some questions about her podcast to get some insight into the world of true crime creators.

Q1: What made you want to make a podcast about true crime?

A: I loved watching true crime stories growing up which sounds a bit odd but reading about unsolved murders, cults really interested me! And now as an adult, watching forensic files and cold case files etc, it introduces me to new cases and then listening to my favourite podcast, Cult Liter with Spencer Henry, all these things definitely influenced me to start my own!

Q2: What are you planning on doing in regards to the future of your podcast?

A: I want to be able to push it and hopefully be able to get it out on more platforms other than YouTube! I also want to collaborate with people I know who are just as interested in cults etc!

Q3: I’ve noticed a rise in true crime podcasts and content on the internet, why do you think that is?

A: I think as people, we love things that we don’t quite understand or things we think are impossible to solve! I love reading and listening to things about unsolved murders because it’s the questions that surround it, why wasn’t it solved? Did they have the ability to solve it but didn’t put the effort in? Could we solve it now? I think it’s the psychology behind it, if we think about Charles Manson, he’s become one of the most famous cult leaders and there wasn’t anything particularly special about him but we love hearing interviews with him and reading about the Manson Family!

Q4: Do you have any favourite creators of true crime?

A: My favourite of all time is Cult Liter with Spencer Henry! I found him after watching Glam and Gore and honestly, his episodes are fantastic!

Q5: Why do you think true crime is so popular:

A: I think again it goes back to what we don’t understand! We also like to think we could solve it don’t we? ‘I would do this different’ or ‘I would have known it was that person from the start’ it’s such a different world from ours that we get ourselves so invested!

Q6: What is your all-time favourite case?

A: My favourite case is the Black Dahlia case! It was one of the first cases I heard about and I feel really fuelled how I feel about it all today.

If you would like to check out the amazing “Serial Podcaster”, click here! Let me know what you think and go show her your support. A big thank you to Becky for letting me interview her.