Women Behind True Crime Series

Our true crime podcast inventory is massive, but our true crime hosts are way more impressive—as in, former members of law enforcement, crime writers, investigative journalists, and more.

We've recently welcomed audiochuck, a female-focused podcast network, home to both scripted and unscripted podcasts in the true crime space, to our SXM Media podcast network. Now, we’re taking you behind the scenes as we dig deeper into some of our hosts’ backgrounds and the true crime genre, to answer questions like, “Why is it so important to share these stories?” and “What’s the most unforgettable story you’ve heard?” 

Hear it all from the powerful women who keep us hooked, week after week:

Some people may see telling true crime stories as being insensitive to victims and their families. Why do you believe that telling and sharing these stories can have a good, rather than negative, outcome?

“I think sharing true crime stories is important because they’re more than stories. Every week we discuss the lives of real people, often who need the help of the millions of people who we have listening. And listen, being a victim of a crime, or a victim of a broken justice system, can feel like screaming into a void. But, we’ve been able to harness the power of millions of caring followers who want to do more than listen. They want to create change in the true crime community by supporting victims, by solving real cases. And I’ve seen first hand the power of our listeners, the power that they have, and I feel honored to be able to bridge the gap between those who are seeking help and those who are willing to give it.”

Listen to Crime Junkie, The Deck, and more podcasts hosted by Ashley Flowers on Stitcher and explore her podcast network, audiochuck, now a part of SXM Media's podcast network.

How has your background as a prosecutor inspired your transition into podcasting?

“My background as a New York City homicide prosecutor shapes and inspires every career move that I make, and that includes my transition to podcasting. I loved being a prosecutor, the challenge of putting the pieces together, being in front of the jury, the people I got to know, its meaningfulness, all of it. After two decades though I was ready for a change but still wanted to stay involved and media’s given me that opportunity. First, in television and now as a podcaster. I really see what I do now as another phase of my work in the criminal justice arena. Going through these cases is what I know and care about. So, rather than presenting them in court I get to talk them through into the mic. Podcasting gives us such incredible reach and I think it's important for people to hear about these cases because they actually happen, all around us, unfortunately every day. And it's only through insight and understanding that we can ever hope for change, less homicide, less violence. I mean, how amazing would that be.”

Listen to Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi's podcast, Anatomy of a Murder, on Stitcher and watch her true crime series, True Conviction, Discovery+ .

What's a case that you've covered on Crime Junkie that you can't get out of your head?

“If you had asked me a couple weeks ago I might have had a different answer but, a case we covered recently really changed me and I, I just can’t stop thinking about it. And that’s the murder of Erica Gene Shultz. She initially went missing and her sister Emily dropped everything to find her sister and, eventually her sister's killer, who’d been targeting women like Erica for years. Her efforts and deep love for her sister took a killer off the streets and she credits the lessons she learned from listening to Crime Junkie in helping her do that.”

Listen to Brit Prawat Co-Host Crime Junkie on Stitcher.

As an investigative journalist, what made you want to take the leap into podcasting?

“When I first jumped into podcasting I realized that there weren’t a lot of investigative journalists doing long form storytelling and investigations in podcasting. We had a lot of people that were doing sort of amateur sleuthing and coming from the documentary space but, I was really looking for the opportunity to take the skills that I had honed as an investigator and marry those with journalistic storytelling and actually looking into cases that really needed that attention, that really needed that victim advocacy, and I was able to merge the skills I had learned in broadcast television, in terms of storytelling, with the idea of “Hey, I can actually take a lot of time to tell a story, in its full context and be able to let the listener be on the journey with me”, and I think that was something that just really appealed to me. And, its obviously really appealed to a lot of listeners and that makes me just so happy for the many cases that I’ve covered throughout the many series that we’ve put out of CounterClock so far.”

Listen to Delia D’Ambra's podcasts CounterClock and Park Predators on Stitcher.

From a journalist's perspective, how do you approach creating responsible true-crime content?

“I think there are a lot of things to consider when you are creating entertainment programming out of criminal activity. As a former editor at some of the biggest magazines in the world, places like People, and Elle, and Glamour, I was trained in the rigorous process of fact checking. This podcast space is so crowded with baseless, breathless, storytelling and while I do understand the appeal of all of that, crime makes us feel stuff: fear, intrigue, disgust. The barrier for entry, as far as I'm concerned, is adhering to the facts. But, I think the most important thing I try to do is lead with my heart. I know that if something I say or write feels a little gross, it is probably very gross.”

Listen to Justine Harman's podcast O.C. Swingers on Stitcher.

Interested in learning more about how you can connect with any of the above shows? Let’s chat. Or, you can explore our entire podcast universe here.