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Phoebe Judge, the host of the "Criminal" podcast, says the stories she's telling in Richmond on Friday are new and different. (Photo by Juli Leonard)
"Criminal," an award-winning true-crime podcast, is coming to Richmond for a special show with the Richmond-based "Love and Radio" podcast, featuring news stories in front of a live audience.
Based in Durham, North Carolina, and released twice a month, “Criminal” approaches true crime through a sociological, anthropological and historical lens. The podcast team performs live shows in tours across the country and has prepared a new show for the Richmond visit.
The 34-year-old co-creator and host Phoebe Judge, who manages to sound both creepy and soothing, will narrate alongside live scoring by co-creator Lauren Spohrer on Friday, April 27, at the Broadberry. Each story will be accompanied by visuals, including photographs of forensic evidence, historical court documents and original animations.
“I think it’s better as a surprise, but I will say these stories are much more risque than anything 'Criminal' usually does on the podcast,” Judge says.
"Love and Radio" host Nick van der Kolk will also perform never-before-heard stories. His award-winning show, which has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian and The Atlantic, airs in-depth interviews, usually focusing on an intimate portrait of a single person's life.
“Because it’s for the most part unhosted, I think my role is almost like a story DJ,” Kolk says. “I almost think of it as a film screening in a way, but with no film. It’s a lot of hidden gems. I use this as an opportunity to play stuff that I, for various reasons, cannot put in the podcast.”
Judge says her podcast staff has always been a fan of "Love and Radio." Since both shows are produced in the South, they thought it’d be fun to do joint shows, one in Durham last December, and one in Richmond this week.
Judge says viewers will get to see how Kolk produces an episode, as well as anecdotes behind the stories he’s telling.
Performing live is a different experience, Judge says, and she’s excited about the stories she has to tell.
“I’m so often sitting in front of a microphone in a dark studio and keeping my head down and working hard creating these stories, but we don’t know who’s listening or what the reaction is as people are listening,” Judge says. “So it’s so nice to go out and do these stories live and be able to look out into the audience and we can see how people are reacting.”
The show is open to all ages. Tickets cost $25 and the doors open at 7 p.m., for the 8 p.m. show.
