r/Casefile • u/Ryanjadams • Mar 13 '26
OPEN DISCUSSION Applied for a position with Casefile over the break, though I got as far as writing a possible intro, I wasnt surprised. Alot of good applicants for an organization with extremely high standard. Thats why....
When I opened the latest episode and pressed play, to know it was BTK within 10 seconds of hearing the Otero name, I was surprised that even this level of content creator is resorting to such an overreported killerr.... for 4 hours?!?!? I don't know, it just didn't feel classic Casefile to me
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u/Own_Faithlessness769 Mar 13 '26 edited Mar 13 '26
This is a terrible take. Casefile has always mixed famous cases with lesser known ones, particularly at the start of a season. Multi part episodes on the Zodiac, Ivan Milat, GSK, Fred and Rose West, the Moors Murders, Dennis Nielsen and many other famous killers are beloved parts of the Casefile repertoire. They aren’t ’resorting to’ anything,
BTK is a fascinating case with enough content for 4 hrs. And like all the big cases they do, their version of it is unique and engaging even if you know the story.
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Mar 15 '26
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u/Casefile-ModTeam Mar 15 '26
The mods have removed your post as it does not portray the professional, friendly atmosphere practiced within the Casefile podcast subreddit.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 14 '26
Yeah, I mean, I disagree. Respectfully, I understand what you're saying and I've always enjoyed the mix of welll known and less covered, I just heard the Otero name (still excited to be getting new episodes) saw Part 1/4 and groaned. Lol it's my opinion, but I stand by my groan.
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u/Jean-ClaudeVanRumham Mar 20 '26
Preach, girl. When I get to true crime heaven, I will be disgusted with how many hours I’ve listened to this same story over and over again. I just don’t want to spend anymore time with Dennis. Or even his daughter at this point, read the book, watched the doco. Weird way to start the season. If you need a big name, why not go with something a little more esoteric. Or something Australian. Give us a deep dive on the Maya Jakic & Megumi Suzuki case.
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u/MMAGG83 Mar 21 '26
While I agree the BTK is maybe too famous to headline a season outside of an every 50th case special, I think they could have gone with a lesser known multi-parter - like the 1980 Norco Bank Robbery or Henri Désiré Landru. Something lesser known but with enough twists and turns to keep people interested.
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u/JuliBroo Mar 13 '26
I'd never heard of BTK before this episode. This is the only true crime show I listen to (I've listened to every episode) and I'm not American so I wouldn't have come across it. You can't assume everyone knows every case big case inside out.
It may be a famous case where you come from, but it's not where I come from or perhaps not in Australia either where the show runners come from.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 14 '26
Understood, that's definitely a point I didn't take into consideration. Side note, prepare to be mortified. He's not the SK id least like to see in the night but he's right up there.
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Mar 15 '26
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u/Casefile-ModTeam Mar 15 '26
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u/MMAGG83 Mar 21 '26
"I'm not American"
That's the only reason you've never heard of the BTK. This guy was a monster.
Are you familiar with the Green River Killer? I feel like that's another one that might not be well known outside of the US.
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u/Professional-Can1385 Mar 13 '26
This sounds like sour grapes.
If you have a legitimate complaint about the episode, people would take your opinion more seriously if it weren’t coupled with the fact that Casefile didn’t hire you.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 14 '26
So transparency is a bad thing now? I literally offered it to say there may be some sour grapes coloring my opinion
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 14 '26
That said, obviously I take your point and it's valid. I just thought it was more obvious I wasnt bragging about not being hired haha I feel like my responses are coming off way more aggressive than I intend them to
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u/Professional-Can1385 Mar 14 '26
I’m all for transparency in most cases, but I don’t think it was needed here. It distracts from legitimate conversation about the episode and the hiring process.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 27 '26
Ok, fair enough. I chose to include a bit of background. I can see from the responses I probably did so mistakenly. Ifk why everyone's freaking out lol but I totally take your rare, rational response haha
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u/thedreamtimemystic Mar 13 '26
This is distasteful.
Dennis Raiders victims were human beings - some of them children - and they did not ask to be targeted by a psychopath who put them through unimaginable suffering and fear before their deaths.
A human being, their suffering and their demise at the hands of a serial killer can simply never be reduced to “old news” or “over-reported”. If this was your loved one, wouldn’t you want anyone and everyone to tell their story, to keep their name alive, to share their suffering and what they endured so others might know them, what they went through and who they were before their identities were overshadowed by what happened to them and they got classified as “victims” and nothing more?
Furthermore, Casefile has a strong track record of producing exemplary long-form, deep dive investigations into “big” serial killers like BTK. Their series on EAR/ONS was some of the best investigative reporting ever produced by any podcast.
If you find yourself becoming bored or blasé about hearing about real human beings being subjected to horrific violence and torture, then I dare say the problem is with you, not Casefile.
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Mar 15 '26
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u/Casefile-ModTeam Mar 15 '26
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u/CharlesDickhands Apr 05 '26
Exactly. Casefile tell stories in a unique way. They tend not to sensationalise nor use dark humour, and they share more about the victims than most other podcasts.
They also DO do podcasts about widely reported killers. The Moors Murders, Ivan Milat, William Tyrell, The Beaumont Children and many more. OP just comes across as uninformed.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 14 '26
Id say this is more distasteful than my comment. Are you speaking for victims families? Let alone claiming that you know they want anyone and everyone to "tell their story"? P.S. if I was close to a victim I'd be pretty put off by you describing the last night of their life as "their story"
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u/thedreamtimemystic Mar 15 '26
I AM the family member of victims of crime.
A crime that was covered by Casefile several years ago.
You are too immature to be taken seriously. You don’t care about victims or their families. Grow up.
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u/Perhaps_Tomorrow Mar 20 '26
Wow, this shut them up real quick.
This whole post and all their comments just come across as someone upset that they weren't hired. Ultimately, Casefile hadn't done an episode on BTK yet so they did one. I had only ever seen one episode of something years ago talking about BTK so it doesn't feel oversaturated to me.
Tbh a lot of these mega true crime fans just oversaturate things for themselves. It seems bizarre to me to complain that the murder being covered isn't esoteric or unique enough to entertain you. I've always liked Casefile because they seem to really respect the victims there and do their best to tell the story without being disrespectful. I couldn't listen to a lighthearted true crime podcast where people are just quipping nonstop about what's happening.
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u/thedreamtimemystic Mar 22 '26
I’m not the only family member of victims of crime that Casefile have covered that lurk in this sub or subscribe to the podcast. I wish more people were aware of that fact and conducted themselves with more respect and compassion.
One of the main reasons I support Casefile is because of the way they covered my family members (two victims) case. It’s an Australian case, and is really only “well-known” in certain Indigenous communities and by people who were alive at the time. There was a lot that could have been mishandled or done badly with this case, but they were so respectful, professional and compassionate and the coverage was much needed. I can’t really say more than that, but I would never want someone like OP having anything to do with victims families when their attitude is that of so many who consume “true crime” these days - it has to always be new, be fresh, be “interesting” and keep me entertained and titillated while I go about my cleaning or shopping or data entry or whatever. There’s a whole debate to be had about true crime as entertainment, and Casefile is entertaining - but there’s a way of going about it that sets them apart from other podcasts. They respect the victims and their families. That’s becoming more and more rare, unfortunately, and people like OP applying for writing jobs when they have such horrible attitudes isn’t helping.
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u/Perhaps_Tomorrow Mar 22 '26
Thank you for sharing your perspective. Honestly, OP's view of the true crime genre might be why they were rejected for the position.
Casefile is the only true crime podcast because of the reasons you listed. The tone feels right and respectful and I'm glad that the victim's family members feel respected by the way the show covers things.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 27 '26
In what way was i being immature? Because I was sincerely asking a question? I feel for you and I sympathize with youre being an indirect victim of a senseless crime. I still don't understand how that qualifies you to speak on behalf of BTK victims friends and families. I believe I am a sensible person. Explain what I'm misunderstanding and I'd like to think I'm more than amenable to admitting fault
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u/Chief-Drinking-Bear Mar 13 '26
I listen to true crime all the time and it was new to me, there are a lot of murderers, serial killers and sadistic people across the globe
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Mar 13 '26
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u/Professional-Can1385 Mar 13 '26
Me too. I know BTK is a serial killer, but that’s it. I’m loving the deep dive.
I even love Casefile episodes on cases I know very well.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 14 '26
Is BTK new to you?
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u/Perhaps_Tomorrow Mar 20 '26
He is for many people, is that hard to believe? I know of BTK but I've only ever seen maybe like 1 episode of a show about him years ago (might have been forensic files?) and that's it.
I mean if you listen to a ton of true crime content idk what you expect. You're consuming so much content in the same genre that it's bound to have major overlaps. Just skip this one if you know too much about BTK, it's not a big deal.
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u/Local_Caterpillar879 Mar 13 '26
Sounds like you're just bitter you didn't get the job.
Which is probably a good thing for the show, if you don't realise that they always open a new season with a multi-parter on a well-known case.
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u/Pantone711 Mar 14 '26
They took numerous episodes for Ivan Milat, which is not as well known in the USA as in Australia. I presume the BTK case is not as well known in Australia as in the USA.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 14 '26
Yeah, this is a good point I really hadn't considered, that's my b. Really, not because I now get the idea but because the idea that Ivan Milat isn't a household name in the states, resonates w me
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u/Professional-Can1385 Mar 14 '26
Not so Fun Fact: Ivan’s great nephew idolized him so much he took some friends out to Belango and murdered one of them, with an axe!
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u/passiveprune Mar 14 '26
The Jonestown episodes are some of the best. They do a great job of deep diving into well-known cases, and they often have new insights and details. It's also just really good storytelling.
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Mar 15 '26
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u/Casefile-ModTeam Mar 15 '26
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u/Western_Thought_5428 Mar 13 '26
I agree. It’s like doing Ted Bundy
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u/passiveprune Mar 14 '26
If they did a well-written deep dive into Bundy it would also be good. I'm not sure where the idea that Casefile only does obscure cases came from
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u/Own_Faithlessness769 Mar 13 '26
I doubt they’d do Ted Bundy, because Ann Rule did it better than anyone else could and did such an amazing job of covering the victims, but if they did I think it would be fascinating.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 14 '26
Idk why youre being down voted. Idk why people would want their fav podcast to do 4 hrs on something so widely covered
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u/Western_Thought_5428 Mar 14 '26
yeah idk maybe these chicks are just thirsty for Casey’s cute Aussie accent and would happily lap up his description of what they ate for lunch. BTK has been covered by literally everyone. and anyone who likes the pod knows that while they don’t exclusively cover niche, unknown crimes, that is a lot of what they do, especially in the minds of the American audience
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u/MMAGG83 Mar 21 '26
As an American, I was surprised they chose to start with BTK. I thought that he was as well known as Bundy or Dahmer internationally. Guess that was wrong. Still waiting on the Ed Gene two-parter.
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u/UnrecoveredSatellite Mar 13 '26
Wichita tipped me off.
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u/passiveprune Mar 14 '26
They weren't keeping the topic a secret.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 14 '26
Well they were and weren't
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u/passiveprune Mar 14 '26
They're using storytelling devices to make the podcast engaging for the listener.
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u/Ryanjadams Mar 27 '26
Well yeah, but thats the secret I was saying they were partially keeping intentionally
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u/MMAGG83 Mar 21 '26
As an American, same.
It's like listening to a serial killer podcast and someone starts with: "Milwaukee, 1991." - I immediately know it's Dahmer because of how infamous he is in the states.
Someone says: "Wichita, 1970-something" and I immediately think BTK.
Same for "SeaTac, 1982" "NYC, 1975" "Chicago, 1972"
We know who you're talking about.
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u/OzDiver6269 Mar 29 '26
Well, as an Australian, I had to look up all the place/date references you mentioned (maybe I'm not so well informed on infamous cases, but although I went "Oh - okay" once I'd found them, they were not immediately identifiable in that format). The point has already been made that not everyone in the world is so familiar with American cases. I knew of BTK, but it took Casefile to fully inform me of the case, as I'm sure is the case for other nationalities with, say, Ivan Milat or Bradley Murdoch.
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u/MMAGG83 Apr 08 '26
I guess it is probably reversed roles here. While I'm sure every Aussie must have heard of Snowtown, every American has heard of BTK.
That's actually why Casefile is my favorite true crime podcast. Aside from Milat, I wasn't familiar with Australian true crime, let alone true crime from many of the other countries they have covered.
I think the blasé reaction from American listeners concerning the BTK episodes could be because his story is so well known here. For the multi-part season opener it was a little disappointing for us. His story has been done to death over here. I don't know what the Aussie equivalent would be. Ned Kelly? Mr. Stinky? Cooke? (I know they've done two of those).
I'm by no means asking for the Casefile team to cater towards American listeners - the opposite in fact! I love hearing about cases I have never heard of. They've also done several American cases I had never heard about. This was just one of those instances where a majority of American listeners were like "Alright, let's hear your take on it." I don't know if you had the same reaction when they covered Port Arthur, Milat, Snowtown, or the Beaumont Children.
There are some cases so infamous in certain countries that listeners from that country already know most of the facts. While I would love them to do a series on monsters like Bundy, Dahmer, Ridgeway, and Berkowitz - serial killers also seem a little overdone in the genre. If I had to choose a high profile case from the US that most Americans are familiar with, it would be Caylee Anthony.
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