{"id":11268,"date":"2023-12-08T18:03:24","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T18:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=11268"},"modified":"2023-12-08T19:20:16","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T19:20:16","slug":"phoebe-judge-brings-a-voice-of-calm-to-criminal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2023\/12\/08\/phoebe-judge-brings-a-voice-of-calm-to-criminal\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoebe Judge brings a voice of calm to \u2018Criminal\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
You open your podcast app, put your earbuds in, and momentarily savor the silence. You press play.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHi, it\u2019s <\/span>Phoebe.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The hushed cadence of Phoebe Judge\u2019s voice floods your head. Your surroundings have melted away. It\u2019s just you and Judge, the host of \u201cCriminal\u201d and the owner of the most amazing vocal cords in podcasting. Get ready to be soothed as she tells you about true crime. The podcast is a blend of whodunits and horror with a dose of conspiracy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Recorded in Durham, the show tells \u201cstories of people who\u2019ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle.\u201d Her voice manages to be both velvety and exceptionally hydrated. Judge says the running joke in the office is that she constantly has three drinks surrounding her while she\u2019s recording: \u201cusually two half-empty cans of seltzer and a bottle of water.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The latest episode tells the story of Nellie Brown, a young woman who showed up at a boarding house in Manhattan in 1887 seeming to remember only her name. Discomforted by her \u201cstrangeness,\u201d a police officer advised sending Brown to Blackwell\u2019s Island, \u201can insane place, where you\u2019ll never get out of.\u201d Except, she was actually an undercover newspaper reporter on an assignment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This week, The New York Times recognized \u201cCriminal\u201d<\/span> as one of the <\/span>best podcasts of 2023<\/span><\/a> for its \u201crange and humanism.\u201d The podcast launched in January 2014 with new episodes released every Friday. It is now part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fortunately for the co-creators, Judge and Lauren Spohrer, there seems to be no shortage of nearly unbelievable crime stories. The program transitioned from a bi-monthly to weekly release schedule earlier this year. Episodes cover everything from tens of thousands of missing venus flytraps (episode 5) to a bog in England that held body parts (episode 227).<\/span><\/p>\n And if that\u2019s not enough of Judge\u2019s lulling voice for you, you can listen to \u201cPhoebe Reads a Mystery,\u201d a podcast where she simply reads a chapter a day of a mystery novel. Most recently, she finished \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u201d by Oscar Wilde.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Her voice is an instrument. It envelopes listeners like a warm embrace, the dulcet tone creating a cozy sanctuary. ASMR videos are nothing compared to what she delivers. Even her pronunciation of the website\u2019s name is soothing: \u201cthisiscriminal dot <\/span>calm.<\/span><\/i>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But Judge doesn\u2019t think much about her voice\u2014 she has never taken a voice class. \u201cI think sometimes people are surprised that my voice in real life is like my voice on the podcast,\u201d she said in an interview on Friday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Even though it\u2019s a program involving murder and mayhem, \u201cthe best compliment that I ever got about \u201cCriminal\u201d was when someone said \u201cCriminal\u201d is a quiet show. Because the shows are rather quiet and calm (pronounced <\/span>collm,<\/span><\/i> as if there\u2019s enough space in her mouth to fit an orange), I\u2019m not yelling and screaming and over-exerting myself. I keep everything just pretty in control of my voice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n There are entire Reddit threads devoted to her timbre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAm I the only one who loves Phoebe Judge\u2019s intros?\u201d<\/span><\/a> posted Neat_Caterpillar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n