Following the explosion in true crime books, TV shows and films, this series brings together the real-world experience and research expertise of academics from across Staffordshire University to cut through speculation and shed light on criminal cases.
Co-hosted by experts in criminology Professor James Treadwell and Kyla Lawton, each episode delves into fascinating real-life issues from social media stalking to conspiracy theories.
Professor James Treadwell said: “A lot of true crime podcasts deal with unsolved crimes, play off the unknown and the incomprehensible minds of the criminal, but academia has much to say on all sorts of issues around crime and social control, and that is what Crime Tapes is.
“What makes this podcast different is that it brings together unique expertise on crime that you find in a university like Staffordshire. In the school of Law, Policing and Forensics we have experts on all sorts to do with crime, prisons, policing and violence, but beyond that, we link true crime to film, computer games, psychology, history and so much more.
“Both Kyla and I are keen on popular culture, so if there is a way to talk about Game of Thrones, Star Wars or music festivals we will try and do it. This gives a different sort of true crime podcast - it’s a more honest take on criminology.”
Crime Tapes is available to stream on iTunes, Spotify and Buzzsprout with a new episode released each month. Episode one ‘Real-world violence - are video games loading the gun?’ is available now and features Craig Weightman, an expert in the video games industry.
Craig, a Lecturer in Games and Visual Effects, joins the series debut to explore the gruesome crimes of Devin Moore and Anders Breivik and find the answer to the debate of the 21st century – do violent games actually encourage real-life crime and violence?
Craig explained: "The episode talks about two famous cases of murder where computer games were claimed to be responsible. We discuss how the evidence shows that this is unlikely, and we also delve into the probable genuine causes.
“The perceptions of violence being caused by games are largely fuelled by the media who look for that shock angle that will engage the general reader. The facts against games being responsible do speak for themselves.”
Future episodes will tackle a wide array of topics from how we police protests to the glamorisation of true crime in film and media.
James added: “I fell in love with criminology because it is so broad and so fascinating - crime connects to everyday life in so many ways. While normally we lecture on those topics to students, we think that a lot of people are probably interested in what we do. Some may agree with us, others might disagree, but we should have debates and it is important we discuss and talk about crime. Crime tapes is a way to do that.”
Click hear to listen to the Crimes Tapes podcast