CRIMINAL CHATTER: TWO PUBLIC RADIO VETERANS BUILD A POPULAR PODCAST AROUND TALES OF TRUE CRIME.

• Author: Wanbauch, Taylor
• Position: FIRST TAKE

In a recording studio at the WUNC studios in Chapel Hill, producer Lauren Spohrer sits surrounded by a swath of papers, scripts and schedules like some sort of grand conductor, typing furiously on her laptop. Phoebe Judge is perched in front of a massive microphone in the adjacent sound booth, separated by a pane of clear glass. Today, she is interviewing a Texas emergency-room doctor who was a first responder at the Sutherland Springs church shooting that killed 26 in November.

It's a sensitive topic, but Spohrer and Judge navigate the difficult questions with a solemn grace, sending signals through the glass window with silent nods of the head and exchanged glances. The doctor provides great detail, giving pause to emotional moments while Spohrer sends Judge the next question. It's just another day of recording their hit podcast, Criminal, which has covered everything from body farms to professional streakers to a support group for mothers of murder victims.

The podcast has about 4 million downloads per month, according to Judge. Beyond its core U.S. audience, Criminal is heard by people in China, Ireland, New Zealand and other nations.

More than 112 million Americans listened to at least one podcast in 2017, up 11% from 2016, according to Forbes. People can listen to chatter about virtually any topic without staring at a screen, often for no cost because Criminal and most other podcasts are free. Widely available internet access underlies the rapid growth.

Judge describes Criminal as a "show about people who've done wrong, been wronged or gotten caught somewhere in between." It's more about the human experience than true crime, she notes.

"A lot of times, we find topics that you might not even know would fit under that banner. It's fun and interesting to do a show that isn't always sad."

Judge and Spohrer are public-radio veterans. I Judge was a Gulf Coast reporter for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, where her BP oil spill coverage won journalism industry awards. Spohrer worked as a producer at National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday and Bryant Park Project, and also taught writing at Duke and Columbia universities. The two met while working on The Story With Dick Gordon, a story-telling show produced at WUNC. When the radio show ended in 2013, they decided to start their own podcast.

"We thought it was the right time to build a show where no one was going to tell us what to do," Judge says. "We were interested in doing a show...