True crime continues to be one of the most widely-consumed genres in Australia and with the influx of podcasts, music streaming service Spotify has seen over 10,000 true crime podcasts land on its platform globally.
According to the brand, Australia has seen a 52% increase in true-crime podcast consumption, with Sydney leading the charge of true crime junkies, followed by Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.
As the love for the genre continues and in partnership with Casefile, Spotify has announced, Casefile Presents: The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron with 10 episodes dropping at once on November 12.
Listeners will be thrust into the Phillip Island murder of Beth Barnard & disappearance of Vivienne Cameron in 1986, with the podcast being an extension of the 2018 Casefile episode Case 80: Beth Barnard.
Hosted by Vikki Petraitis, who is also the co-author of the book, The Phillip Island Murder, the series will highlight people she first interviewed in the early 1990s and re-examines the case that has baffled people for over three decades.
Dr Xanthe Mallett, forensic anthropologist and criminologist, says there’s a reason that Australians are drawn to true crime.
“Love, hate, and greed are the most common elements that drive people to commit a crime and, at our core, human beings are driven by emotion,” she says.
“As consumers, we are drawn to true crime because it details the extremes that these basal human emotions can push us to when crimes are committed as a result.”
However, there’s more to it.
“People are puzzle-solvers and the in-depth analysis of true crime gives us an understanding of the nuances of an investigation. Mix that with a really well-told story, that explains how all the pieces come together, and we have the chance to humanise the victims and engage with their story on an emotional level.”
Listen to all ten episodes of Spotify’s exclusive Casefile podcast series Casefile Presents The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron below.