Deviants and true crime
Hello from Atlanta,
Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer. Whether or not you know what their crimes, most Americans know their names. I want to know… why?
Why is it that America loves true crime stories so much?
Perhaps people are just drawn to stories of other people who stray from the path of “normalcy.”
In this week's podcast I speak to Andrew Iden who hosts a podcast called Deviant. We chat about the crime stories we have both covered and why so many people are obsessed with the True Crime genre.
I think it's because Americans just don’t realize how safe they are in this country. Try living in South Africa, where I'm from originally, where True Crime is a daily reality.
Andrew has made a career covering true crime stories. So I wanted to know, out of all of the crazy stories — which one stayed with him? He quickly said…
BTK. The nickname given to the murderer who would Bind. Torture. Kill.
BTK.
“He was a killer in the 70s and 80s and went dark for a long time.
He came back in the early 2000s.
He taunted the media.
He taunted the victims' families.
And he was living a very normal life as a postman and a guy in the community that everybody knew…
but he was literally living two separate lives.”
What else makes True Crime such a fan favorite?
I was a correspondent in England and South Africa for many years. And I can confidently say the court system in America is unlike any other I’ve seen because of the drama that surrounds big cases.
We live in a world where a lot of stuff gets leaked.
→ National security
→ Entertainment
→ Business
You name the industry, there’s probably something big that’s been leaked at one point or another. But not in the courtroom.
Interestingly Andrew Iden says the jury decision is one of just a few processes where the result remains a mystery until the moment it’s announced.
And that’s what keeps people hooked.
Thanks for listening,
Robyn