True Crime /tru: ‘ˈkraɪm/ A nonfiction genre of literature, film, podcasts, etc. that depicts and examines real crime cases.
True crime has always been a subject of fascination for many—a morbid curiosity for real-life scandals—but its popularity surged in the last decade. In 2024, Edison Research found that 89 percent of U.S. podcast listeners age 13 and up have binged true crime podcasts. But what is it about creepy serial killers that has gotten pop culture so thirsty for knowledge?
University of Richmond professor Dr. Stephen Brauer teaches a variety of courses in English and American Studies, including crime fiction. Crime is objectively anxiety-inducing about the dangers that lurk around us, and “true crime, like all crime stories, is a space where we can work those anxieties out and calm them,” Brauer explains. “The familiarity of these narratives, with well-established patterns of storytelling, mostly leads to a resolution—with the solving of the crime. That resolution is the very thing that allays public anxiety. The threat is now gone, and the community is now safe.”
Whether it’s a podcast or a Netflix original docuseries, true crime is where the audience can work out their complicated feelings about threats, Brauer says.
In a world that can feel unpredictable, true crime gives us a script: mystery, pursuit, and resolution. When the credits roll or the podcast ends, we exhale—safe again, for now.
True Crime from Virginia
A Far, Far Better Thing: Did a Fatal Attraction Lead to a Wrongful Conviction? by Jens Soering and Bill Sizemore (Lantern Publishing & Media, 2017): A nonfiction book covering the 1985 murders of Derek and Nancy Haysom in Bedford County, told through the lens of the accused Jens Soering and journalist Bill Sizemore’s reporting.
Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs. Haysom (Netflix docuseries, 2023): A true-crime documentary series revisiting the same case, exploring conflicting evidence and decades of appeals.
Blue Ridge True Crime: A true crime podcast hosted by Alfred Dockery that explores historical and lesser-known crimes from the Appalachian Mountains and surrounding areas. BlueRidgeTrueCrime.com
Southern Mysteries Podcast: A long-running history and mystery podcast hosted by Shannon Ballard that covers folklore, unsolved mysteries, and true crime throughout the American South. SouthernMysteries.com
This article originally appeared in the February 2026 issue.
