ISU Lecture Series: Our Obsession with Murder: Why True Crime is So Popular

Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

6:00 pm

Sun Room, Memorial Union

Speaker: Matt DeLisi

Description: True Crime ISU Series

“True Crime America: The Functions of Our Murder Obsession” dives into our intense public interest in crime, criminal offenders, and the criminal justice system from the perspective of a criminologist, forensic consultant, and true crime fan. Professor Matt DeLisi will provide explanations why true crime is not only one of the most successful and wide-ranging sociocultural genres in the United States, but also one that serves important intellectual, sociological, and political functions. Highlighting the extraordinary variance in human behavior, documenting the popularity of true crime among women, and leaning directly into hot-button cultural debates, Professor DeLisi will explore the reasons for our murder obsession.

Professor DeLisi is a forensic consultant and Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Iowa State University. He is the author of more than 500 scholarly publications and 35 books. Professor DeLisi has provided testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on criminal justice policy and regularly consults on capital murder and homicide cases in federal and state jurisdictions.

The University Book Store will be onsite selling “True Crime America: The Functions of Our Murder Obsession” and “Ted Bundy and the Unsolved Murder Epidemic: The Dark Figure of Crime” at the event.