“It’s time to transport ourselves back to the day of the crime”: The intimacy of sound in true crime podcasts

In scholarship around podcasts, the idea of intimacy recurs. This intimacy is seemingly innate to the format and could go some way to explaining the popularity of true crime podcasts, particularly for women as listeners. How do true crime podcasts create a sense of intimacy between hosts, interviewees, and listeners? This article discusses the findings of a close analytical listening of the true crime podcasts The Retrievals (2023), The Girlfriends (2023), The Crossbow Killer (2023), and Who Shat on the Floor at My Wedding? (2020).

Findings are grouped into four categories: confessional narration, soundwork and music, liveness and voice, and physical and emotional proximity. The research uncovers how podcasters use editing strategies such as quick dense montage, follow the process of the podcaster rather than traditional narrative arcs, and the physical experience of earbuds to encourage intimate and political listening. Via these components, true crime podcasts position women to respond emotionally to narratives of gender-based violence and encourage a political and caring attitude toward changing justice outcomes.