What You Missed This Week
A recap of The Art of Explaining Crime Season 2, Episode 8
This is The Art of Explaining Crime, an independent newsletter that helps you think and write about crime.
Hello from the Canadian city of Guelph, which is built on land in the Between the Lakes Purchase, a treaty and territory of the Mississaguas of the Credit. I have the privilege of living and doing the work of this newsletter there.1
Last week, which I refer to collectively as “Episode 7”, we saw research about harm reduction, human trafficking, and so much more.
In case you missed any of “Episode 8” (this week’s posts) I’ve collected links below. However, you couldn’t have missed much because I got sick Wednesday and couldn’t do anything for the newsletter until yesterday.
The Art of Explaining Crime
What I Do
The popular What I Do series used to be weekly, but will now appear on Wednesdays when I have someone to feature. Can you think of someone in the crime content space who you’d like me to feature? They could be a journalist, academic, advocate, author, or anyone else who routinely participates in creating content about crime. Let me know in a comment or direct message.
Five Studies About
Due to the illness I’ve mentioned, I didn’t publish Five Studies About tip sheets this week
Crime Research Updates
This week’s paid Crime Research Update tip sheets included the following posts. Remember that each post’s headline highlights a carefully selected study, the link to which appears before the paywall. Remember also that each will unlock three weeks after publication.
What are “consent decrees” in policing and how do they stop “harmful practices”?
What the war in Ukraine teaches us about public support for vigilantism
The Explaining Crime season so far
Back to today’s post. Did you miss any earlier episodes? I’ve got you covered:
If you’ve lost track (I had!), we’re eight episodes into a 12-week season.
Some of what I’m reading, watching, listening to…
On Substack
I’m currently reading
’s long, thought-provoking piece on “macro-criminology” and crime policy:I’ve also read a number of other things worth reading, some aren’t all about crime.
on conspiracy theorists: on potential judicial misconduct: on her process preparing a conference presentation on true crime creators in fiction: on the ongoing collapse of journalism: on true crime must reads from February 2025:
On Kanopy
I discovered this week that I have access to Kanopy, a streaming service I had never heard of, through my local library. I’m beyond thrilled that I was able to watch Slow News, a documentary about the movement to slow down journalism and focus on quality over quantity. If you’re able to watch it, there’s a segment at 18 minutes in where they discuss school shootings in the context of “fast news” and slow news. Interesting stuff.
That’s it for this week
Hope you’ll join me for next week!
I’m still working on text to acknowledge the history of this land, which has a long, rich history that I hesitate to sum up in a few sentences. This is a work in progress, and it may not change much from week to week. Or at all. As I do that work, I’m also reflecting on what I can do to contribute to reconciliation in my country, particularly Call to Action #86 (PDF). I do this as a white, cisgender, heterosexual man who has benefited immeasurably from the historical and current state of affairs. While I consider this work important for all of us to do, I think it’s particularly relevant to a newsletter about crime. I’ll come back to why I think that in future newsletters.
Hope you’re feeling better!