Obscura: A True Crime Podcast

I’ve listened to just a couple episodes so far (Tina Brown). The narrator (Justin Drown) has a great voice with varying intonation and inflection and doesn’t come off as contrived. I was surprised to hear writing in this genre that was insightful and literary in this way — at least what I heard so far. I was concerned at first that it would be perceived as too “sympathetic” to the killer, but he makes clear that the killing was monstrous and a choice. That is *true* crime to me — telling the whole story. People who think any mention of a killer’s backstory is wrong won’t like this, but that *is* the “true” in true crime. (Also, don’t listen to Killer Psyche if you feel that way.) I like the inclusion of 911 calls, body cam audio, and especially the interviews when you can actually hear them because again, it’s the “true” part. I enjoyed the structure of the story as well as the actual writing. Anyone can just read off the facts of the story. This was actual storytelling. I had to laugh at a reviewer that chastised the podcaster for being a “glorified corpse paparazzo,” profiting from the murders of others. (I suppose it’s better than being a member of that non-glorified paparazzi? 🤪) To be morally indignant about creators of true-crime content whilst seeking and consuming said content is a special kind of hypocrisy. 🤣

I know that in this case the person that was misgendered was the criminal and committed some horrible acts, however purposefully calling the perpetrator a girl when they identify as male is dismissive of the gender identity of all who are living in a body that feels foreign to them, unsubscribed

My newest obsession! I eventually bought black label as well because I love the host.

This podcast in the early years used to be really great. It was well-written and well-researched. Lately it’s consisted of: 20 minute episodes, multi-part episodes of about 20 minutes each, entire episodes of just 911 calls/bodycam audio with little narration, tons of mispronunciations (the word “firewood” was pronounced “feery-woad”), and the same case being released multiple times (the Moroccan hitchhikers case was released at least three different times as of writing this). It seems very lazy and phoned in at this point and not worth paying extra for premium.