Q&A with Crystal Majik
Editor’s note: Nancy Cox is the founder of Research Story Consulting and former CPG corporate researcher. Her work and play include words, sketchpads, cooking (not baking) and the occasional sock puppet.
Research colleagues share their work and play stories in this interview series by Nancy Cox.
Hello to Crystal Majik, Fieldwork Webwork/Anywhere president
What is the “play” in your life?
True crime stories have been an obsession my whole life. As a pre-teen, I got hooked watching “Dateline” with my mom. Maybe I fancied myself Nancy Drew. My mom and I would riff off each other, hypothesizing what really happened. Today, it’s definitely podcasts. If I’m commuting, I’m listening. If I’m cleaning up the house, I’m listening. But I still catch myself watching a good old episode of “Dateline.” Spoiler! It’s always the husband.
There’s an engaging formula – stories are told in a way that you’re doing the detective work along with the storytelling. You’re trying to figure out whodunnit before the show, the podcast or the book lets on. Yes, I also read true crime books, which often overlap with historical fiction. My first realization of that overlap was “The Devil in the White City.” An all-time favorite that is nonfiction, but Erik Larsen is such a phenomenal writer, so it reads like a novel telling two stories. First, you’re reading the historical story of Chicago at a pivotal point in time, the World’s Fair. Large changes are happening in the world with technology similar to our times now. In particular with architecture such as skyscrapers, the tie to the designers of Central Park which then sets up learning about Chicago as the Second City vs. New York City.
At the same time, you’re uncovering a buried pocket in a historical time – the true crime story of a serial killer haunting the World’s Fair. He owns an incredible home built by different contractors over several time periods to ensure that no single person knew the true layout. Stealthy thinking by this terrifying creature of this World’s Fair. Architecture as part of the crime.
I do have a unique way that I read true crime books – almost like a personal podcast. My husband and I read books aloud to each other. When we were first married and early in our careers, we heard that reading a book aloud can help with public speaking. So, we picked up a book to read to one another. Now it’s been nearly 20 years, and I can probably count on one hand the number of books that were NOT read aloud to one another.
We typically trade chapters. We read in the evening or when we commute together. Reading aloud is great for a road trip or even on a flight. It’s no different from having a conversation although if someone listening was paying close attention, they might be surprised to hear what we were saying.
All the public speaking benefits aside, my favorite part about reading to each other is that when you’ve read something wonderful and you just want to talk to somebody about it – you can. We’ll debrief midway as well. What do you think is going to happen? That detective work popping up again.
How has your play influenced your research work?
The reading aloud has made me aware of who I’m reading to and how to check for reactions while reading. When we first started, we had to pay immense attention to one another because we had very little inflection in our voice or didn’t keep the right pace. It has helped both of us become better speakers and be more comfortable in front of people. I think a big part of that is that you’re hearing your voice in a way that’s not conversation.
Piecing together a true crime puzzle is a lot like a work project. There’s always that project that requires moving a lot of players and pieces and rethinking procedures. You can’t just make a change and wait to see what happens. You must think 30 steps ahead for every part of the process. My true crime passion has helped me to think “If I make this change, what are all the changes?” Not only what changes immediately but how it affects each person involved or shifts their roles in the “story.”
Another work application is when a client comes to us with their “suspects” of who we should talk to. But it turns out the clients often need to hear from people who they might not have thought about. Such as people who aren’t their customers to get to the bottom of the exploration. That’s flexing the same thought muscle as when you’re placing yourself in that investigative role when listening to a true crime podcast.
I hear a lot of online chatter that true crime helps you to be educated, more aware. I’m not completely sure I buy into that reason for the popularity of true crime stories. I think the popular ones are just engagingly well-written like the podcast, “Serial,” or the book, “The Devil in the White City.” For me, it’s more escapism. I’m in the story. That feels like solving work problems. You frame it more as a puzzle to solve than a problem. You prevent something from happening because you’ve done the investigation, questioned, thought ahead. Ultimately, the result is helping people.
What would you tell readers who want to know more about your area of play?
With so many true crime podcasts out there, I still recommend “Serial,” particularly the first season, as it has some of the best storytelling. The same producers also did a shorter podcast series, “S-Town.” Only seven chapters yet more twists and turns in this story than you’d imagine. Let’s just say the end is nowhere near the beginning. We’ve listened to this as a family twice on family vacations. Fair warning – it is not for young children; our children were older. “Bear Brook” is another good one. All are binge-worthy for rainy fall days.
While listening to a podcast can be a solo escape while cleaning the house, there’s also a surprising amount of community about it. For example, when my mom and I were riffing ideas around “Dateline,” when my husband and I debriefed a true crime book or when listening to a podcast together as family. This also extends to the community of listeners. One season of “Bear Brook” ended with an unsolved situation. The community of listeners came together to do research, speaking to people and through their collective effort, the situation was solved.
You might pick and choose when and where you listen. In my work, I used to travel to isolated small towns to conduct focus groups. The kinds of places where you’d have to drive several hours away from a major city. One night, after focus groups, I was the last one out. Late at night packing up my equipment. Dark, deserted, unfamiliar. The perfect place to throw the true crime podcast on the rental van speakers. I pulled out for my long drive. Then suddenly, a large shadow moved in the back of the van. I was torn between being frozen in fear or throwing the van into park to getting out of there. Oh, wait, a piece of equipment had shifted. I had a good laugh. Called my mom, my sister and my husband. Then listened to music for the rest of the drive.