Adjunct professor's podcast explores psychology of true crime

When a boom in true crime podcasts exploded across streaming platforms a few years ago, Jessica Micono was already living and breathing criminal justice.

Micono, a Regis adjunct professor, works as a forensic psychologist for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and her workday is like something out of a movie. Most days, she conducts evaluations to determine a defendant’s competency to stand trial and serves as an expert witness across the U.S.

When she’s not at work, Micono spends her free time watching true crime series and listening to podcasts with transpersonal psychologist and prison treatment specialist David Morelos.

But Micono and Morelos noticed that something was missing from the podcasts they found themselves bingeing: psychology. And since the expert psychologists were already talking about high-profile crimes and psychological phenomena, why not set up a mic and hit record?

The end result was Psychology After Dark, a podcast that explores the dark side of the human condition. During the course of the show’s three seasons, the duo has analyzed high-profile crimes, cults, alien abductions and psychological experiments.

The couple’s intuition that listeners might want more analysis out of podcasts proved to be correct. Five-star reviews in podcast streaming apps praise the team for adding an academic tone to well-known stories, from the 17th century Salem witch trials to the 1978 Jonestown massacre. Since they launched the podcast in 2019, Micono and Morelos have heard from listeners from around the world, from Canada to Australia.

At Regis, the platform also has become a way for Micono to stay in touch with previous students, who often share ideas to cover.

For listeners who are getting started, Micono recommends starting with any topic that looks interesting. Since the podcast isn’t in chronological order, listeners don’t have to start with the first episode, which covers the true story of an attempted exorcism that ended in death.

“Demonic possession is not everyone’s cup of tea,” Micono said. “But maybe you’re into serial killers and you want to listen to Ed Gein or you’re into the supernatural and you want to start with Amityville. I think there’s probably a little something there for everybody.”

To listen to the podcast, visit psychologyafterdark.com.