Phoebe Judge is on the lam, hightailing it to a place where even the savviest investigator would not find her.
“I’m going somewhere with no running water or electricity,” she says while steering her car toward the Canadian border. “It’s just going to be me and the lobster men.”
Her escape sounds like an episode of “Criminal,” the acclaimed true crime podcast that she created in 2013 with WUNC radio colleagues Lauren Spohrer and Eric Mennel. In fact, it was her long-awaited vacation to northernmost Maine, a place
Phoebe annually visits for two weeks of Internet-free peace and quiet.
“As much as I love North Carolina, I’ll never get used to warm ocean water,” says the Chicago native, 31, who moved here to serve as a producer and on-air contributor for “The Story with Dick Gordon,” which ended in October 2013. “North Carolina beaches will never be cold enough for me.”
The trip also served as a transition from her daily routine at WUNC, where she anchored the local broadcast of “Here & Now,” to a reduced role of filling in as needed on various shifts. It’s a change she welcomes as “Criminal” has doubled its production schedule and now airs every other week.
What was the inspiration for “Criminal”?
Lauren and I were sitting on my back porch one day, trying to come up with the idea for a show that maybe I could host. She observed that people who listen to public radio also like shows like “Law and Order,” but there was no public radio show about crime. She said, “Why don’t we try to make one?” I thought that was the smartest thing. She was absolutely right, and we’ll never run out of stories. When “The Story” went off the air, it was the push we needed to start doing this.
“Criminal” earned praise from The New York Times, Huffington Post – which hailed it as “the best new radio show in America” – and other media outlets while it was being recorded on the cheap in Lauren’s bedroom closet. How will moving production to WUNC affect the show’s future?
Well, we won’t have to make it on nights and weekends anymore. Before, we kept this completely separate from our work at WUNC. I’m happy that I can now do this full time and use the studios of North Carolina Public Radio. I’ll still be in a radio station, close to a microphone and still have the opportunity to get live on the air now and then. I love being on the radio, so I’m very happy to keep the relationship going.
Most national podcasts originate from major broadcast hubs like New York or LA. Will “Criminal” remain in Durham?
It feels like everyone is moving to Durham, which seems like a sign that we should stick around. I’m in a field where, for so long, I went where the job was. Now I’m my own boss and can live wherever I want. People are always surprised that we’re based here, but it’s great to work with so many local people. Frankly, I never thought I would be in North Carolina for as long as I have, which is three years. The community has been incredibly supportive, and it’s an affordable place to live. We did our first live show last January at Motorco, which is within walking distance of my house. We’ll return to Motorco on October 28 to launch a West Coast tour. [This show has sold out, but a second show Thurs. October 29 at 8pm has been added. Get your tickets here.]
You never set foot in North Carolina before moving to a farm outside of Chapel Hill. What led you to relocate to Durham last year?
I knew nothing about North Carolina when I moved here, but I loved it right away. I’m at my happiest when I’m surrounded by green places and away from concrete. I love being so close to both the mountains and the coast. I enjoyed that beautiful drive home from the studio, where I felt like I left everything behind me when I went home. But increasingly, I found that I was spending most of my time in Durham. There’s always something going on here, and there are so many smart, creative people. And so many great places to eat, like Saigon Grill, a Vietnamese restaurant on Roxboro. I love Nanataco. I think they have the best lunch special around. For drinks, I really like The Federal and Surf Club. Every day, Durham proves to me that it’s got everything I need.
When you’re not busy researching stories to examine
on “Criminal,” what do you do for fun?
I love to take really long walks, like Hillsborough to Durham, which is one of my famous ones. I run around the Duke campus loop. I love cooking big dinners. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I’m at the farmers’ market on Saturday mornings to see what they have, and I’m at Whole Foods nearly every day. I have a house in Trinity Park with a backyard where I like to sit and a sunny front yard with a vegetable garden and a porch swing. I feel lucky every day when I come home.
