The crime is only the beginning of the story.
Through immersive storytelling and psychological analysis, Pretty Evil explores what these cases reveal about power, vulnerability, identity, persuasion, and the darker parts of human nature.
“What we find most unsettling is not the exceptional cruelty of the predator, but the predictable complicity of the crowd.”
Critical Inquiry
We look past sensational details to chart systemic vulnerabilities and diagnostic frameworks.
Human Mechanisms
A research-backed lens on social proof, moral panic, and high-control dynamics.
Meet Jess & Matt
We’ve been together for 11 years, married for nine, and at some point decided that sharing a house and six animals wasn’t enough of a joint project and thought, “Let’s start a podcast!”
In all seriousness, Pretty Evil was Jessica’s idea, but Matt’s been interested in podcasting and production for years. Since Jess holds a bachelor’s degree in behavioral psychology and Matt studied criminal justice, working on the show together just made sense.
Jess researches, writes, and produces the main episodes. Matt’s our quality control: he listens to every episode, catches mistakes, flags anything that needs clarification, and occasionally suggests that an entire section might work better somewhere else. He is, annoyingly, often right.
We also both have full-time jobs outside the podcast. Jess is the Director of Marketing for a consulting agency that works exclusively with veterinary hospitals (a career she genuinely loves) and Matt is a learning coach for an online school. Pretty Evil is the project we build around all of that in our spare time.
We should also let you know that we share our home—and therefore our recording space—with two dogs, four cats, and what can only be described as an industrial quantity of fur. (Our animal friends are not official members of the production team, although there is a very real chance they’ll make unscheduled appearances in Pretty Evil After Dark.)
Jessica Strohm
Creator, Writer, Producer & Host
Hi! I'm Jess, the creator and host of Pretty Evil.
I've always been fascinated by human behavior—especially the moments when ordinary people, extraordinary circumstances, and deeply human needs collide in ways that lead to devastating outcomes.
With a degree in and passion for psychology, I approach true crime as more than a collection of shocking events. Every episode is an opportunity to ask bigger questions about why people think, behave, and make decisions the way they do. Sometimes that means examining the psychology of a charismatic predator. Other times it means exploring a moral panic, a failed institution, a controversial psychological experiment, or a moment in history that exposed something uncomfortable about all of us.
Rather than focusing on sensationalism, Pretty Evil explores true crime through the lens of psychological, emotional, social, and cultural forces that shape destructive human behavior. Together we'll look at topics like manipulation, identity, belonging, fear, social influence, power, loneliness, institutional failure, and the countless ways human psychology can both protect us and leave us vulnerable.
If there's one idea at the heart of this show, it's that these stories are rarely just about the people at the center of them. They're about all of us. The same emotions and psychological mechanisms that drive history's most infamous cases are often the ones quietly shaping our own lives, relationships, and decisions every day.
My hope is that you'll leave each episode not only with a fascinating story, but with a deeper understanding of yourself, the people around you, and the hidden forces that influence human behavior.
Welcome to Pretty Evil. I'm glad you're here.
Matt Strohm
Co-Host, Pretty Evil After Dark
I'm Matt, the co-host of our aftershow, Pretty Evil After Dark.
I have an associate's degree in criminal psychology, which mostly means I came into Pretty Evil already interested in criminal behavior, motive, and the psychology behind why people do terrible things.
As Jess's co-host, my job is a little different. She does the obsessive research and builds the case; I get to show up, hear a lot of it for the first time, ask the questions a normal person would probably ask, and occasionally point out when something is completely insane. I'm also, by most accounts, a bit of a smartass, so expect some dark humor along the way.
I'm here for the crime, the psychology, the free beer I was promised, and the opportunity to derail my beautiful wife's carefully researched analysis with one extremely important question she somehow did not anticipate.