Today, I can call myself a true crime fan, but I didn’t always. As a kid, my mom always had Forensic Files, Snapped, 20/20, 48 Hours, or some kind of crime related docuseries on in the background. These, quite frankly, used to scare me. Finally, I asked my mom why she always had these shows on one day. She told me that it made her feel safe to know what’s going on in the world. She took every true crime story she heard as a cautionary tale and a learning experience, and she lived a safer (if slightly paranoid) life.

Something about her explanation stuck with me, and I’ve enjoyed watching true crime documentaries ever since. However, I always felt afraid to discuss that enjoyment. I felt this weird shame about liking this genre, until I realized it’s a fascination the public has always had. New and old true crime documentaries climb to the top of the charts very quickly. People are nosy. It’s important to us to know what evil could be out there, hiding in plain sight.

When designing PERISCOPE, my goals were to elevate the true crime brand, further normalize the conversation by creating an open space for fans of true crime to discuss the genre and draw conclusions, and reward the brilliant investigative efforts of independent documentary journalists.