True Crime Podcasts and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons: Analysis of their Stories

• In Event: Crime and Justice in "True Crime" Media

Abstract

The issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) has focused on women and girls, with more stories focused on men and non-binary individuals. The true crime podcast genre has taken up these stories. The focus on many of these podcasts is in Canada and certain parts of the US with larger indigenous populations such as Montana and Navajo country. Many of these cases take place in a rural setting, and with that comes certain stereotypes and myths about the rural that can distort the importance of these cases. This paper focuses on true crime podcasts that have a central focus on stories of MMIP. The inclusion criteria are a focus on MMIP, in North America, and are English speaking. There are currently 250 episodes across 10 podcasts and each episode is catalogued and a coding sheet with detailed information about each case is completed. The analysis consists of focusing on the gendered nature of the case, who presents the case, where the case is located (presenting a map) to assess concentration of cases, and a discussion of the importance of hearing their stories and how to effect change to reduce and/or limit the number of MMIP.

Author

• Candace Griffith, Augusta University