As the English 10 students transition their way out of William Shakespeare’s literature unit, another story sharing Shakespeare’s attributes begins: murder, mystery and demise.
The unit in question is the popular murder mystery podcast “Bear Brook” hosted by Jason Moon, a reporter and producer linked with the New Hampshire Public Radio, the same state in which the infamous Bear Brook murders took place.
The podcast dives into the mystery of the bodies that were found inside of a barrel, laying the foundation for a grim and grotesque story for the listeners of the podcast. The story takes twists and turns into places no one would have imagined when first beginning the podcast and shows the brutality and cruelty of the human species.
With an increase in podcast listeners over the past two decades, true crime podcasts such as “Bear Brook” have also become more popular, even holding a place in the top five genres in the United States and United Kingdom. Because of said increase, more research has been done on the consumption of podcasts and documentaries with said genre.
Chivonna Childs, a psychologist with Cleveland Clinic, explained in an article for the clinic’s newsroom that an overconsumption of said media could experience paranoia, wariness of others, heightened isolation and overall heightened anxiety.
With the grisly topics and images discussed on the podcast and experts concluding negative effects of consuming said content, some might ask the question, “Why are 15 and 16-year-olds listening to this?”
English 10 teacher Bailey Ensminger expressed that she herself is not too fond of said media, but that the Bear Brook podcast had a more “professional” feel, rather than focusing on the gruesome nature of the murders.
“I think it depends on how dark and negative the content is, along with when you watch it definitely going to make you feel more paranoia. I think it is important to regulate how much you consume,” explained Ensminger.
Ensminger’s perceptions coincide with that of Child’s when addressing the amount of true crime media consumed. He expressed that regulating one’s consumption of said media and maintaining healthy boundaries was key for enjoyment.
As for the English 10 students, Ensminger explained, their regulation comes from breaks between episodes for analysis and tying said episodes into their learning objectives for the units.
Overall, it seems that students are enjoying the unit and continue to follow along attentively to the story, Ensminger even added they are “trying to solve the mystery as they go.”
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