www.silverguide.site –

There’s a mistake that’s often made in documentaries. A well-meaning director has secured fantastic access and shot full-frame footage for an almost unbelievably true story. The film unravels with pacing that maximises suspense set to an arresting soundtrack. But then, amid all this actual footage, a disembodied actor or celebrity appears as the narrator. They technically do a good job but what are they doing in this story?

Here’s the key difference with true crime audio; the person telling you the story, who you will spend upwards of five hours with, is someone intimately connected to the story. They have a reason to be there, and within the first couple of episodes, they explain why.

Take Charlie Webster, the host and journalist behind SPLBERG, an upcoming series from Audible. Webster found herself in a pitch meeting with a man who legally changed his name to Jonathan Taylor Spielberg. He wanted Webster to tell his story so he could return to “the limelight”, but she flipped the script and told his story – as a journalist. That’s when we learn that Webster has a personal connection to issues raised in the series, which is why she wanted to tell the story of a man in his 20s who posed as a 14-year-old boy at a Catholic high school under a fake name.

In Foul Play, another new podcast from Audible, the series is co-hosted by investigative journalist Gabriel Gatehouse with Ed Jervis, grandson of legendary English goalkeeper Gordon Banks. Banks was the goalkeeper who brought home England’s only football World Cup victory in 1966. Their defence of the title was set for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Suddenly, just before the quarter-final match, Banks fell extremely ill and couldn’t play. Was it food poisoning, the CIA, or something else that kept Banks out of the match? Jervis’s grief throughout the series is palpable, and Gatehouse is there to make sure the mystery is solved.

1 Proximity
In true crime, the host has a proximity both to the story and to the listener. Most people listen through headphones or earbuds, and new surround sound optimises sound design for noise-cancelling headphones to fully immerse the listener in the investigation, the analysis and the resolution.

2 Physiology
I listened to Foul Play while planting my veggie garden. I actually jumped when there was a sound of someone loudly knocking on a window. I looked around before realising that the binaural sound design had made me think there was a real window knock about 20 feet to my right.

That physiology, and the dual task of listening to a story while doing something else, is typical among so-called “super listeners” (the same type who will stick around for five hours of a true crime series).

3 Psychology
In great podcasting, the use of true-to-life sound effects combine with the listener’s emotional connection to the subject to create a strong psychological connection to the story. The host draws you into their thoughts, which are shared with you in a personal tone, making you feel the things you’re listening to.

Influenced, a new Audible series that investigates digital misinformation, opens with journalist Nicky Woolf saying: “The cliche here would be to say something like: ‘Today, Lauren Southern’s life is about to change forever’ … but it also doesn’t capture the full picture.” And with that, Woolf draws you into his inner circle, the way he really feels about the investigation of a US media startup bent on cultural and political disruption that allegedly received funding that was covertly provided by a Russian state broadcaster. With those words, Woolf promises that this series will go beyond the headlines, and the audience will be rewarded for their time spent listening. Trust is built; authenticity follows.

4 Pace
The story design of true crime audio has a careful pacing to it. Some might say the pace is very slow; Influenced is about 4.5 hours, Foul Play is more than 5.5 hours. While it may seem long, you need these hours to build the world. Foul Play goes back to the exact hotel room in Mexico City that Gordon Banks stayed in; Influenced walks along the ocean’s edge to spot whales in Canada; SPLBERG travels from LA to Fairfax, Virginia. Investigative podcasts don’t tell you about these places, they take you there. The complicated story is meticulously built. With your help, the host solves the mystery.

5 Proxy
And last, crime isn’t always the purpose of true crime. As a listener, you’ve been in the courtroom, the archives, in the middle of a tell-all conversation. You’re invested, which brings me to the final point: proxy. Quite often a series interrogates memory, as in Foul Play, or tackles a larger social issue, like Influenced. By the end, you’re more informed about the issue, and this might make you sign a petition, volunteer for a cause or donate some money. True crime here serves as a proxy for wider participation in world events. Yes, we invest in the intricacies of the crime, but really we’re fascinated by how we – and society – respond.

Samantha Hodder writes Bingeworthy, a newsletter about the art and the craft of narrative podcast storytelling.

Discover Audible’s True Crime and Investigations at audible.co.uk