How Gabby Petito brought attention to our fascination with true crime, and to specific stories

The Gabby Petito homicide and the investigation into who is responsible for her death is the latest example of a tragic crime story that has captured the attention of the country. We wanted to talk about America’s fascination with the true crime genre, from news coverage, to endless TV shows and documentaries, to some people becoming amateur digital sleuths and working the internet to try and bring attention to, if not outright try and solve a murder or missing person case. But what are the dangers of that? And why do certain cases get wall to wall coverage and attention while other similar once toil quietly in obscurity? Dr. Bess Rowen, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre and Gender and Women Studies at Villanova University teaches a fascinating course that dives into all of this so we caught up with her to talk about it.