{"id":7757,"date":"2019-03-06T07:26:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T21:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ezramagazine.com\/?p=7757"},"modified":"2019-03-06T07:26:57","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T21:56:57","slug":"criminal-podcast-host-phoebe-judge-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ezramagazine.com\/?p=7757","title":{"rendered":"‘Criminal’ Podcast Host Phoebe Judge | Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the release of the second edition of Ezra Magazine, we were fortunate enough to catch up with Criminal’s<\/em> podcast host and co-creator Phoebe Judge. Here’s the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne thing that hasn\u2019t changed, is that 83 episodes in I\u2019m just as nervous as I was at episode one. That we\u2019ll lose all of our listeners – that someone is going to wake up one day and say, \u201cOh, that Criminal is really going downhill,\u201d so we\u2019re constantly grateful for (and terrified) of our audience in the sense that we never want to disappoint them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phoebe Judge is the co-creator and host of the podcast Criminal<\/em>, a show that explores the meaning of crime through interviews with people who\u2019ve either done wrong, been wronged or fallen somewhere inbetween. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s shocking for me that Criminal  has been going for four years, it kind of feels like it\u2019s been going for a year. I\u2019m kind of amazed that this whole thing worked. I think you know, when Lauren Spohrer and I created the show, we really wanted it to be successful and we told ourselves, \u2018Even if no one listens, we\u2019re going to take this really seriously\u2019<\/em>. And the fact that somehow that worked, is still shocking to me and I appreciate it all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launching in 2014 Criminal<\/em> was one of the first true crime podcasts to hit the airwaves and libraries. Its unique approach to storytelling and its exploration into the sociological, sometimes historical aspect to crime is extremely addictive. As the co-creator and host, Judge has created something for herself that she has the creative control over along with Lauren Spoher – a freedom that she thoroughly enjoys as a reporter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s so interesting is to work on something that you own, that you are in control (of). You know, there is no one above me or us that say<\/g>, \u201cReport this story,\u201d or \u201cdo it this way.\u201d And so when you\u2019re making all of the choices there\u2019s a remarkable amount of stress that comes with that, but that freedom to pursue stories that you\u2019re curious about is so wonderful. And I think that\u2019s what makes the work so enjoyable, is that we\u2019re telling stories that interest us, that our bar for a good story, is a story that we\u2019re curious about. And so, that to me and being able to work on a show that has that as the bar of what we\u2019re going to put out, is so nice.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left: Nadia Wilson, Phoebe Judge and Lauren Spohrer at WUNC studios in Chapel Hill, NC, Feb. 3, 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the time of writing this article, the Criminal podcast is 83 episodes in [Update March 2019, they’ve now reached over 100 episodes]. In its growth as a show, Criminal<\/em> has covered a range of true crime stories. Cases such as \u2018Jolly Jane\u2019 – an American serial killer who after her arrest in 1901 confessed to 31 crimes. As well as \u2018In Plain Sight\u2019 – the story of William and Ellen Craft who disguised themselves to escape the slave trade. And \u2018Pearl Bryan\u2019 – a story\u00a0 about a woman who was found decapitated after suffering from a botched abortion in the late 1800\u2019s – just to name a few. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c…it makes you want to keep making episodes. And it makes you want to work hard. And with all of that stress of being responsible for every little aspect of it – it\u2019s okay though. It\u2019s such a privilege to be able to make something that people actually want to listen to. I think about that all the time – how lucky I am, to get to do a job like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When listening to Criminal<\/em> it\u2019s almost as if you\u2019re eavesdropping on a conversation between two people. Phoebe acknowledges you\u2019re listening as you go along. As a seasoned reporter, Phoebe’s experience and attention to details ensure that Criminal<\/em> is a genuine and authentic storytelling medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve learned is that you can ask anyone pretty much anything as long as you\u2019re genuinely interested in what they have to say – in their answer. And so I spend a lot of time thinking about my job as an interviewer, and realising that the best thing that I can do as an interviewer is to shut up, and to let someone tell their story. And, if someone can sense that you\u2019re genuinely listening to their story, they\u2019ll tell it to you. And so, that to me, that challenge of trying to figure out my role as a host is something we\u2019ve been developing over a few years and I think that maybe we\u2019re finally starting to figure it out and what we\u2019ve learned is, don\u2019t talk. Let the \u2018someone else\u2019 talk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When producing something like Criminal<\/em>, or even something like Ezra Magazine – there\u2019s always an element of some type of stress. In the media world there are always deadlines and time lines reporters, journalists and producers have to work to. For the Criminal<\/em> team, they\u2019ve established that they\u2019ll release a show every other Friday and for Phoebe it just, works.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course there\u2019s stress (laughs<\/em>), but I say all the time, you know, when we have four days to find an episode and write it, record it and put it out, I just say to myself, \u201cIt\u2019s going to be okay, it\u2019s going to be okay,\u201d and it always is okay. The world will not end if Criminal<\/em> is not published at 4am<\/g> every other Friday. The world will keep going, but in our minds – in my mind – the world will end, it will end (laughs<\/em>). Everything will stop running, the subway systems will shut down. I have that in the back of my mind. And because I do believe that everything will end, it makes us able to stick to deadlines pretty well, because I feel like if we miss an episode of Criminal<\/em> everything will end, so we\u2019re able to stick to deadlines because we never want to get to a point where it\u2019s Friday at 3am<\/g> and we don\u2019t have anything to put out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Phoebe Judge at WUNC studios in Chapel Hill, NC, Feb. 3, 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two common themes across our interviews we’ve featured over the years are adaptability and self-belief. If you can adapt to your challenges you will most likely come out a better person. Furthermore, if you genuinely believe in yourself and be passionate in what you do – it\u2019ll show through in the work that you create and the people you talk to.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re adaptable – we have a really small staff. And so we all do everything, which means that it\u2019s not waiting for people to come back with scripts, you know we\u2019re all kind of sitting around with each other and if someone jumps to work on something else, someone else will jump in and it\u2019s always worked out. And it\u2019s stressful at times, but then you publish the episode and you have about two hours where you think to yourself, \u201cWhat am I going to do now?\u201d and then it starts all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In regards to the nature of Criminal<\/em> – as to why it\u2019s a show about crime – it seems as if the show really hones on the how, the who and the \u2018why\u2019 – the motivations behind why people have done the things they had done, said the things they had said and acted upon those feelings. For Phoebe, she hasn\u2019t always had a \u2018soft spot\u2019 for crime, Criminal<\/em> came about because crime stories, in essence, are captivating stories in their own right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCrime stories are good, intriguing stories to report and the reason that we started Criminal is because when<\/g> we started Criminal<\/em> there weren\u2019t really any other crime shows out there, true crime shows. Serial didn\u2019t come up for another year, so I think that they are necessarily kind of intriguing stories and, talking about crime now for four years, I\u2019m more confused about the topic than I ever was before, that\u2019s the honest truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n