A New Approach to True Crime
Elizabeth Smart, a prominent advocate for survivors of violent crime and child safety, has launched a new weekly podcast titled “The Survivor Files.” The 48-episode series, which debuted on iHeartPodcasts, moves away from traditional true-crime tropes to focus exclusively on the lived experiences of survivors. By pairing documentary-style storytelling with candid, intimate conversations, Smart aims to highlight the “magnitude of resilience” required to rebuild after trauma.
Smart, who was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 at age 14 and held captive for nine months, has spent two decades channeling her own experiences into advocacy. Produced by Marwar Junction Productions—a long-time collaborator of Smart—the show features guests such as Kara Robinson Chamberlain, who escaped a serial killer at age 15. The series seeks to dismantle the voyeuristic nature of the true-crime genre by centering the narrative on the survivor’s perspective rather than the perpetrator’s actions.
Prioritizing the Survivor’s Narrative
During the series, Smart emphasizes that the format is designed to be “survivor-led.” She noted in recent interviews that her primary concern is the comfort of her guests. “If I ask you a question and you don’t want to answer it, you don’t want to talk about it, just tell me. That is fine. This is your story,” she explained. This approach aims to avoid the common, often harmful questions survivors face, such as why they did not escape sooner or why they did not scream, by providing a controlled environment for them to narrate their own “beat-by-beat” experiences.
The podcast also serves as a platform for discussing the long-term nature of healing. Smart emphasized that there is no “magic formula” or fixed timeline for recovery. Through her interviews, she has reaffirmed that even decades after a traumatic event, survivors continue to work through their experiences, highlighting the necessity of empathy and patience in the recovery process.
Addressing Systemic Gaps
Smart also addressed the industry’s “missing white woman syndrome,” acknowledging that her own case received disproportionate media attention due to her demographic and socioeconomic background. She expressed a desire for the podcast to amplify stories from diverse backgrounds, noting that the current landscape for missing persons cases is “not fair” and that significant systemic change is required. While she remains grateful for the attention her own case received, she views the podcast as a step toward addressing these broader inequities in how violent crimes are reported and perceived.