On this week’s episode of The Waves, show producer and true crime author Cheyna Roth sits down with Rebecca Lavoie, co-host of the Crime Writers On podcast and fellow true crime author. The pair start by talking about the current state of true crime and beg Hollywood to stop making sexy serial killer movies. After the break, Rebecca and Cheyna dissect how the genre treats victims and whether criticisms of true crime are sexist.

Recommendations:

Cheyna: The pyramid scheme podcast series The Dream and the 2018 episode of Decoder Ring, Clown Panic.

Rebecca: True crime documentary Murder on Middle Beach on HBO; Season 1 of The Staircase on Netflix; and the podcast Canary from the Washington Post.

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Susan Matthews and June Thomas. 

Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices