In college, Sara taught seminars instructing other young women on how to not get murdered: avoid parking lots after midnight, don’t stop for strangers, carry mace. Now she’s a devoted true crime podcast listener, one of the many women who make up nearly 75% of the genre’s fan base. 

Grace and Kyleigh delve into true crime podcasting’s glaring gender divide. Why are so many women — including domestic violence survivors — seeking out this content? What does this have to do with the historical origins of true crime? Why do we get so freaked out in parking lots? Media experts Dr. Ian Punnett and Dr. Kelli Boling sit down with the hosts to try and shed some light on these mysteries. 

“Who listens to true crime podcasts in the US?” Pew Research Center, 2023

“Toward a Theory of True Crime Narratives,” Ian Punnett, 2018

“I survived domestic violence. Now I’m drawn to True Crime Podcasts.” NYT, 2017

“Domestic Violence Survivors in True Crime Podcast Audiences,” Kelli S. Boling, Journal of Mass Communications and Society, 2022

“Fundamentally Different Stories That Matter: True Crime Podcasts and the Domestic Violence Survivors in Their Audiences,” Kelli S. Boling, University of South Carolina, 2020

“‘I’m Not a Journalist…:’ Journalistic Ethics in True Crime Podcast Production,” Kelli S. Boling, 2022.

Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet, Pew Research Center, 2015 

“A Profile of the Top-Ranked Podcasts in the US,” Pew Research Center, 2023

“Top Podcasts 2023,” Forbes, 2023

artwork: alexandre p. manko