When Podcast Met True Crime

This MA thesis examines the connection between the rise of the podcasting medium and the rise of the true crime genre. The ways in which true crime and podcasting have influenced each other reflect the dynamic relationship between media, genre, technology, and audience behavior, which is ultimately useful in better understanding contemporary American popular culture. The true crime genre helped popularize the podcasting medium, and today, true crime podcasts hold a significant place within popular culture. Together, they went from niche to mainstream, and we might refer to this process as genre-medium coevolution. Throughout this thesis, it will become evident that neither genre nor medium is static, and whereas the two might have benefitted from each other at an early stage of development, they might not continue to.