大象传媒

Laurie Taylor explores the fascination for true crime stories. He's joined by Jennifer Fleetwood, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Goldsmiths, London, whose latest work considers the remarkable rise in the number of people who speak publicly about their experience of crime. Baby Reindeer, the Netflix series, is now the subject of a lawsuit being brought by the woman who inspired the story about stalking Richard Gadd, which the comedian had turned into a play before it was dramatised for TV as a "true story". Personal accounts used to be confined to the police station and the courtroom, but today bookshops heave with autobiographies by prisoners, criminals, police and barristers while streaming platforms host hours of interviews so how easy is it for the 'truth' to come out?

Louise Wattis, Assistant Professor in the Department: Social Sciences 路at Northumbria University, Newcastle looks at the skyrocketing interest in true crime as a form of popular entertainment. What do we know about the appeal of 'Hardman' biographies of violent criminals, a hugely popular subgenre, particularly for male readers?

Producer: Jayne Egerton