October Podcast Club Discussion: Ethics in True Crime

True crime has become a massive cultural phenomenon—but what happens when real people’s trauma, loss, and suffering become entertainment?

How It Works:

We often follow the Podcast Brunch Club listening lists covering a different topic each month. Members can also make suggestions for future topics. Be sure to check the monthly Meetup event to see what we're listening to!
Listening lists are composed of episode selections related to the month's theme and are pulled from a variety of shows. And we love to include some recommendations too!
Finishing the recommended listening list is not a requirement to attend. Listen to as many or few of the suggested episodes as you would like.
We will have an unstructured, informal discussion of the selections and the month's theme.

This Month's Topic:
This playlist explores the ethics of true crime from the perspectives of storytellers, journalists, victims, survivors, and listeners. We’ll consider questions about empathy, exploitation, sensationalism, privacy, and the responsibilities of both creators and consumers. As you listen, think about where you draw the line between telling an important story and turning someone else’s tragedy into entertainment.

Here's a link to the Spotify playlist:
https://bit.ly/spotify-ethicstruecrime

The Playlist - Suggested Episodes:

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos: “How to Feel More Empathy (With the Host of Bad Women: The Ripper Retold)” (November 2021, 38 min)
What does it actually mean to have empathy for the people at the center of true crime stories? This conversation explores how we relate to victims and perpetrators—and whether the way we consume true crime can help us become more empathetic or actually make us more detached from the human beings behind the stories.
Mind Over Murder: “BONUS: 8 Simple Rules for Being an Ethical True Crime Consumer” (August 2024, 48 min)
True crime isn’t just something other people make—we’re all participants when we listen, watch, share, and discuss these stories. This episode offers practical guidelines for consuming true crime more thoughtfully and raises the question of what responsibilities we have as an audience.
Cup of Justice: “COJ 107 – Amanda Knox On Trauma, True Crime Storytelling and Ethical Reporting” (November 2024, 57 min)
Amanda Knox knows what it means to have your own life become a global true crime story. She discusses trauma, media coverage, and the ways that storytelling can distort or exploit the experiences of the people who actually lived them.
On the Media: “What’s Wrong with True Crime?” (October 2025, 24 min)
Why are we so fascinated by stories of murder and violence—and what does that fascination cost? This episode takes a critical look at the true crime industry and examines the consequences of turning real-world tragedy into a form of entertainment.
Hidden Brain: “Murder Mystery” (December 2025, 52 min)
Our attraction to murder mysteries may reveal something fundamental about how the human mind makes sense of uncertainty, danger, and other people. This episode provides a psychological lens for thinking about why we’re drawn to true crime—and what that fascination might say about us as listeners.

Bonus podcast episodes:

Shameless: “The true crime conundrum” (November 2024, 45 min)
True crime is everywhere, but our fascination with it comes with complicated ethical questions. This episode examines the tension between our appetite for real-life crime stories and the potential harm caused when tragedy becomes entertainment.
The Excerpt: “Victims retraumatized and perpetrators glorified: The ethical reckoning of true crime” (June 2025, 14 min)
What happens when true crime storytelling causes additional harm to the people who have already suffered? This episode looks at the ways victims can be retraumatized while perpetrators receive disproportionate attention, and asks what more ethical true crime storytelling might look like.
True Crime University: “Lesson: Why We Love True Crime and the Ethics of True Crime” (February 2023, 43 min)
Why are so many of us fascinated by murder, mystery, and the darker side of human behavior? This episode explores the psychology behind our interest in true crime while considering the ethical responsibilities that come with consuming stories about real people and real suffering.
The Afternoon Special: “Armchair Detective: An Exploration into True Crime Media” (September 2022, 52 min)
True crime listeners don’t just consume stories—we often speculate, investigate, debate, and try to solve the cases ourselves. This episode explores the “armchair detective” phenomenon and the ethical implications of treating real-world crimes as puzzles for an audience to solve.
There Are No Girls on the Internet: “Gabby Petito and the search for ethical true crime” (September 2021, 46 min)
The Gabby Petito case became a massive media phenomenon, raising difficult questions about why some victims receive extraordinary attention while others remain largely invisible. This episode considers what the case can teach us about media coverage, victimhood, race and gender, and the search for a more ethical approach to true crime.