Center for the Humanities Presents: The Making of True Crime
True Crime has become a ubiquitous cultural phenomenon, drawing huge audiences to podcasts, TV series and books. Fans are hooked on the drama, the twists and turns, the peek into the unspeakable. But critics are raising questions: What about victims' privacy? Are these series exploitative?
With all that buzz in the air, what is it actually like to make a true-crime podcast or write a book that dives into the dark and mysterious? Join us for an on-stage conversation featuring Ryan Haas and Leah Sottile, makers of the hit OPB true crime podcast Hush, together with OSU professor Justin St. Germain, author and creator of a hugely popular class on true crime. Moderated by Megan Ward, Director of the Center for the Humanities, guests will share a behind-the-scenes look at the clues and the quandaries unearthed in the making of true crime.
Ryan Haas is an award-winning investigative reporter and editor. His work has focused on criminal justice, political extremism, federal overreach and government accountability. That work has helped lock up murderers, free the wrongly accused, and change laws. His podcast work includes reporting and producing for the hit shows Bundyville, The Fault Line: Dying for a Fight and two seasons of Hush.
Leah Sottile is a freelance journalist, essayist and author of the books Blazing Eye Sees All — praised as an "exposé of derangement" by The Wall Street Journal — and When the Moon Turns to Blood, a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. Her journalism has appeared in High Country News, where she is an editor and correspondent, The New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Rolling Stone and The Atlantic. She is the host of several podcasts, including Bundyville, Hush and Burn Wild.
Justin St. Germain is the author of two books: the internationally acclaimed memoir Son of a Gun and Bookmarked: Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, about the foundational true crime text. His crime-related writing has appeared in The Best True Crime Stories 2025, the Pushcart Prize anthology, The New York Times, The Guardian, and many other publications. He is a nationally recognized expert on true crime and has created and taught multiple courses on the subject.
Grass Roots Books will be on hand with copies of the guests' titles. Join us for a book sale following the event.