‘Mind of a Monster’: a compelling true crime podcast

Courtesy of Mind of a Monster

 The podcast covers serial killers that terrorized American society in the late 1900s. 

“How do you begin to make sense of such a blatant disregard for human life, let alone catch those responsible?” I felt chills down my spine as the voice of criminal psychologist Michelle Ward filled my ears. As Warddescribed the crimes of killers like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, it was almost like I could see the gruesome scenes playing out in front of me. 

I’ve recently entered the world of podcasts with “Mind of a Monster,” a podcast that recounts the crimes of various serial killers, hosted by Ward. Some of my favorite shows are true crime documentaries, so when I came across “Mind of a Monster” when browsing through podcasts on Spotify, it seemed right up my alley.

The podcast consists of six seasons, each containing six episodes that  focus on the lives and victims of one to two serial killers who went on killing sprees from the 1970s to the 1990s. 

The stories themselves are extremely compelling, but it’s the way that the aspects of the podcast come together that conveys the ideas brilliantly. Ward narrates events in chronological order, describing the events herself but also incorporating expert interviews to help tell different parts of the stories. 

Each season first focuses on the setting of the murders, making it easier to understand the context and how the murders affected the community. Take Season 1 for example, which takes place in Santa Cruz where Ed Kemper — the “Coed Killer” — and Herbert Mullin committed a total of 21 murders from 1972 to 1973. Santa Cruz was very much a college town, with UC Santa Cruz and other colleges attracting many young people to the area and making them easy hitchhiking targets for Kemper and Mullin. 

Since a key purpose of the podcast is to analyze the psychology behind the murderers’ actions, Ward describes the environment they grew up in and the years leading up to their crimes. She notes that Mullin grew up in a stable home and did well in school, but grew mentally unstable as he got older and experienced unhealthy relationships. On the other hand, Kemper grew up with an abusive mother and showed unhealthy signs like killing his pets, eventually ending up in a mental institute before his release at 21. 

My favorite aspect of the podcast is the interviews. Ward includes snippets from her interviews with various people involved in the case or who lived in the area at the time. In Season 1, she speaks with detective Terry Medina who worked on the case, and with author Emerson Murray to gain insight into the killers’ childhoods, along with countless other people. These interviews provide the details needed to understand the context of the murders. For example, Murray explains how California’s mental health systems experienced large funding cuts in the 1960s; these cuts meant thousands of mentally ill citizens, including Kemper and Mullin, failed to get the treatment they needed. 

For me, the most compelling interviews are those with the victims’ loved ones. One of Kemper’s first victims was 15-year-old Aiko Koo, who hitched a ride with Kemper and was murdered. Ward interviews her close friend Hazel, who described the type of person Koo was and the impact of her death. 

The podcast sometimes includes exclusive audio tapes from the killers themselves. Season 3 includes an interview between Gary Ridgeway, a.k.a., the Green River Killer in Washington state, and the lead investigator of the case, former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert. They talk about how the sheriff stood on the banks of the Green River just hours after Ridgeway threw a body into it, and the way that Ridgeway talks so casually about how he got away with it sent shivers down my spine. Simply just hearing what his voice sounds like is chilling and so immersive. 

In Season 4, a voice actor portrays the notorious killer Jeffrey Dahmer. He easily and openly describes shocking details of how he killed and dismembered his victims, as if he thinks it’s normal behavior. Hearing the killers talk about what they did shows just how psychologically disturbed they were.

Another aspect of the podcast is the music, which helps set the stage of the murders and convey the emotions of interviewees. Sinister music accompanies Ward as she speaks, while suspenseful orchestral music plays as interviewees describe the harrowing details of their experiences. 

After finishing the podcast, I decided that I enjoyed it more than watching serial killer TV shows. Somehow, simply listening to these stories and hearing the voices of the many who were affected by the actions of one person is more immersive and real than any documentary could be.