Welcome to the next in the Podcast Showcase series, where we share podcasts with you in the words of the podcasters themselves. This time, we talk to Once Upon a Crime.
1. Sum up your podcast in three sentences
Once Upon a Crime is a scripted, narrated, true crime podcast that tells “the story behind the story” of real life crime. I cover a new true crime topic each month with each episode focusing on one case.
2. Who is your ideal listener? Who loves your show?
New true crime podcast listeners love the storytelling style of the podcast. I cover a case with enough details so you will understand not only what happened, but why. Long time true crime followers will often say that they thought they knew all about a certain crime story I’ve covered on the podcast, but learned new details while listening to Once Upon a Crime.
3. What made you start this podcast?
I have been fascinated with true crime since I was in high school. Specifically, I wanted to learn all I could about the criminal mind – what motivates some to commit heinous crimes that most of us would never even consider?
I also am a big reader and have read hundreds of books about true crime cases, criminal psychology, serial killer profiles and more. I wanted to share these stories with others and, when I learned to podcast, I thought it was the perfect medium to do so.
4. What have you learned about your subject thanks to this podcast?
I knew a lot about crime and criminal psychology – I even have a degree in the subject – but I think the skills I gained after becoming a podcaster have been how to be a craft a compelling story that listeners can follow.
Since a podcast is audio only, I’ve had to become more skilled at providing case details clearly and with enough detail to provide the whole story, but not so much as to overwhelm the listener.
5. What has your experience of podcasting been? What do you love / hate about the process?
I love just about everything about podcasting! I love discovering interesting cases to share with my listeners, I love digging into the research to find the most interesting details of each case, and I love crafting the story with the listener in mind.
That said, I have to write a 10 to 15+ page script every week and, sometimes, getting started with the writing process can be a bit difficult. Once I get started, however, I enjoy the writing as well.
I also like recording and audio editing. It makes me feel very “tech-y” – LOL. Although, I’d prefer to have the editing done by another professional someday to allow me more time to create content.
6. If someone wants to start listening to your podcast, which episode would you recommend they start with? Why?
Oh, gosh. That’s a hard one. They’re all “my babies”. LOL. Because I cover a different type of crime or criminal grouped into one “topic” each month, I guess people can decide what they are most interested in.
If they like to hear about crimes linked to celebrities they might like the series “Cursed Hollywood”. If they like to learn how people survived some of the most terrifying situations imaginable they might want to listen to the series “Survivor Stories”.
One series that listeners have found really fascinating is “Killer Kids”. That series even includes the story of a pre-teen serial killer from the 1800s!
7. Which other podcasts do you love listening to?
One of the first true crime podcasts I found (or maybe the first) was The Generation Why and I still listen to it faithfully every week. Others I love are Dark Topic, Criminal and the true crime-comedy podcast Affirmative Murder.
I also love history and art and recently discovered a podcast called Art Holes that is amazing. And I just starting listening to the new audio-drama / comedy / music podcast called Halloween in Hell, which is really fun.
8. If people want to find you online, where can they do so? Drop all your links here (social media, podcast subscription, etc.)
You can find Once Upon a Crime on Twitter @uponacrime and on Facebook and Instagram @onceuponacrimepod.
We also have a Facebook fan page. Our website is truecrimepodcast.com. There you can find links to the podcast on most podcatchers.
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