True crime is no longer a single genre or confined to one medium—it’s an ecosystem. Today, cases live across podcasts, books, documentaries, social media, and live events, shaped by storytellers with wildly different backgrounds and skills. This panel brings together three distinct voices in that ecosystem: Beth Karas, former prosecutor and longtime legal analyst; Payne Lindsay, creator of Up and Vanished and co-founder of Tenderfoot TV; and Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author whose work has helped expose wrongful convictions. Moderated by Jonathan Hirsch (VP, Global Podcasting at Sony and creative lead behind The Binge), the conversation will celebrate the many ways we approach crime storytelling now—from courtroom analysis and long-form investigation to serialized audio narratives with massive fan communities.

This panel focuses on shared craft: how legal expertise, investigative reporting, and narrative podcasting each shape story, structure, tone, and character; how different formats invite different relationships with audiences; and how these approaches can complement one another. The goal is to highlight true crime as a dynamic, collaborative ecosystem—one where diverse voices and methods can coexist, cross-pollinate, and deepen our understanding of both the cases themselves and the people at the center of them.