The crime we consume and the victims we forget

The useful part

Forensic scientist Ruben Miller shares a reminder of the families still living those stories. Apparently, stories about murder are now considered soothing enough to help people drift off at night. Somewhere, presumably, somebody decided there was a market for calming narrations of homicide, and somebody else agreed.

How it works

• Netflix has become remarkably confident that it understands me – I watched one documentary about an old murder case, it now seems convinced homicide is my primary hobby.
• I've watched clips about cases I'd never encountered professionally.
• "What should we call it?" "True Crime for Sleep." "Perfect." It is ridiculous.
• I don't think many of us would describe ourselves as people who find crime entertaining.
• Yet somewhere along the way, crime stopped being something we simply heard about on the news.

What to take from it

We tell people not to spoil the ending because we haven't reached the final episode yet. Like most people, I'm curious about crime because it asks some big questions: We have favourite documentaries, recommend podcasts to friends, and binge an entire series over a rainy weekend.

Details worth keeping

The true crime genre of entertainment is hugely popular and lucrative. The other day I came across a playlist called "True Crime for Sleep". I had to read it twice to make sure I hadn't misunderstood.