ONCE UPON A CRIME

Simulating primal fears, ‘exposure therapy’, an education in survival—all sorts of theories have been proffered for why true crime as a genre will never cease to have a loyal following. To the ’90s generation that grew up on and , and obsessively memed , this isn’t news. In the ’80s too, despite the extreme popularity of on Doordarshan, true crime had already amassed a following through . Unlike cartoons and hatted detectives, we have never had to import ideas of gruesome villainy for risqué story-telling. The late lamented magazine capitalised on this abundance of crime and an appetite for the lurid during its run. While Anup Soni of keeps exhorting every one of us potential victims to be “ (Alert, attention and ready)”, Indian true crime podcasts are the latest turn in the desperate search for content for a stir-crazy, pandemic-stricken country.