Death Becomes Us: The Week In True Crime ⋆ BYT

There’s nothing we love more than true crime. We talk about it, we read about it, hell, we built the Death Becomes Us true crime festival. So we decided to take our daily true crime chats (it’s a fun office environment!) and condense them into an easy to read column jam packed with all the crime news you crave. From our favorite podcasts, to some classic #TBTs, we’ve got all the talking points you need to scare your friends and family.

DISPATCHES FROM THE DEAD: PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS

Aussie true crime podcasts are definitely blowing up right now. While you might know about The Teacher’s Pet (which we’ve talked about in past editions of this column), we recommend you also check out The Lady Vanishes, which has a similar and story (mom gone missing) but seems even more bizarre.
Parcast continues to dominate the true crime podcast SEO game with their latest show, Not Guilty. It’s about (you guessed it!) people who might not be guilty. Their strategy is wild.
The folks behind Missing Richard Simmons is back with a podcast called Running From COPS, which chronicles one of our most problematic TV shows, COPS!

NEWLY UNEARTHED: TRUE CRIME NEWS

Your true crime long read of the week dives into a small cult that ruined the lives of a few Sarah Lawrence students. This is very long and so weird and incredibly sad and deeply buckwild. If you only read one true crime story this week, make it this one.
In more cult news, this is what it’s like to grow up in a cult.
And here is some background on America’s earliest cults, which were largely anti-capitalist, celibate and pro women’s rights.
In the last piece of cult info, here are the most disturbing facts from the NXIVM case.
A writer talks about the weird grief of finding out a childhood friend is dead.
We don’t want to toot our own horns… But Popular Mechanics wrote a really lovely piece about Death Becomes Us, our true crime festival.
The high tech doorbell company Ring is taking a stab at the world of true crime.
Having relationship problems? Gypsy Rose Blanchard can’t relate because she just got engaged in prison!
This isn’t a true crime, but here’s how to tell if someone is drowning. Summer is coming! Watch out for your friends! I’m your mom now!