Chasing the Truth: How Stories We Tell Spark Cultural Change
Summary
What does it take to transform a true story into a compelling podcast? Short answer, dedication. In the form of spoken words, podcasts can bring to light hidden truths, scandals and injustices...rallying audiences behind a cause and sparking outrage. And this, in the best instances, leads to change. Join veteran podcast hosts from the true crime and non-fiction podcast space as they reveal the behind the scenes of bringing these stories to life. They’ll share everything from the realities of tracking down reluctant or dangerous sources and navigating legal challenges, to structuring serialize
- Format: Panel
- Category: Panel
- Event Type: panel
- Presented By: Audible
Contributors
- Nicole Cobler
- Paul Holes
- Leon Neyfakh
- Laura Beil
Raw Event JSON
Large nested arrays are compacted for page readability. Full payload remains in dataset files.
Open JSON payload
{
"id": "PP1162900",
"track": "Culture",
"focus_area": null,
"category": "Panel",
"event_id": "PP1162900",
"event_type": "panel",
"format": "Panel",
"genre": null,
"subgenre": null,
"name": "Chasing the Truth: How Stories We Tell Spark Cultural Change",
"presented_by": "Audible",
"publish_at": "2026-01-29T11:25:00.000-06:00",
"reservable": true,
"reservable_id": "PP1162900",
"reserved": false,
"date": "2026-03-13",
"end_time": "2026-03-13T15:30:00.000-05:00",
"start_time": "2026-03-13T14:30:00.000-05:00",
"message": null,
"image": null,
"credentials": [
{
"name": "Music Badge",
"type": "music"
},
{
"name": "Platinum Badge",
"type": "platinum"
},
{
"name": "Innovation Badge",
"type": "innovation"
},
{
"name": "Film & TV Badge",
"type": "filmtv"
}
],
"contributors": [
{
"id": 60768,
"company": "Axios.com",
"credential_types": [
"filmtv",
"innovation",
"music"
],
"entity_id": 2218580,
"name": "Nicole Cobler",
"speaker_types": [],
"title": "Austin Reporter",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Nicole Cobler",
"credit": null,
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/1-0qMA_JrStKk5Yh7y1f6s_Y1Fo=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/675a55d2-e69c-0e48-432d-04b8326d8c1e/pcid-774592"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Nicole is a local reporter with Axios, where she helped co-launch the organization's Austin newsletter in 2021. She's also a lecturer at her alma mater, the University of Texas, where she teaches a course on newsletter writing. She's lived in Austin for more than a decade, and her work has appeared in various news outlets, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Dallas Morning News, Texas Tribune, and Houston Chronicle.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
},
{
"id": 82275,
"company": "Audible",
"credential_types": [
"filmtv",
"innovation",
"music"
],
"entity_id": 2243955,
"name": "Paul Holes",
"speaker_types": [],
"title": "Producer",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Paul Holes",
"credit": null,
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/zXdfkqgSa1jw1ODoddgxJuKS95w=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/b7b2e04a-206c-7cbc-727f-cec3633cf1e3/pcid-1632385"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Paul Holes is a Cold Case Investigator who spent 27 years at the Contra Costa County Sheriff and District Attorney's Offices in\rthe Bay Area. He has vast experience in forensics and investigations and specializes in serial predator crimes. Paul has\rworked on notable cases such as the Golden State Killer, Zodiac, Jaycee Dugard, and Laci Peterson, and played a part in\rmany serial predator and serial killer investigations, including of Joseph Naso, Darryl Kemp, Phil Hughes, Charles Jackson,\rJoseph Cordova Jr., and Roy Waller. Paul teamed up with the FBI and Sacramento County DA to use an innovative forensic\rtechnique involving genealogy that identified Joseph D'Angelo as the Golden State Killer. This breakthrough method, called\rforensic investigative genealogy , is now used worldwide. Since then, Paul has spoken and written extensively about his work\ron cold cases. He's the author of two New Y ork Times bestsellers about his career, including Unmasked (with Robin Gaby\rFisher) and the Audible Original Evil Has a Name (with Peter McDonnell). He's been a host and guest on numerous true crime\rpodcasts and documentaries, and collaborated on and narrated several popular limited series podcasts about his cases,\rincluding Hunting the Bogeyman (Sony), the Audible Originals A Devil in the V alley and The Riddle of Emmon Bodfish.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
},
{
"id": 82274,
"company": "Audible",
"credential_types": [
"filmtv",
"innovation",
"music"
],
"entity_id": 2243954,
"name": "Leon Neyfakh",
"speaker_types": [],
"title": "N/A",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Leon Neyfakh",
"credit": null,
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/c_RT7KYebFu4Ml60Q_8LQpNgqvQ=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/ff26cf7a-ec92-113c-0868-f86f1bb2a2fd/pcid-1632384"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Leon Neyfakh is a journalist best known as the co-creator of Slow Burn, the host of Fiasco, and the co-host of Think Twice: Michael Jackson. Before starting Prologue Projects, a podcast production company based in New York, he was a reporter for Slate, The Boston Globe, and The New York Observer. He is the author of the book The Next Next Level.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
},
{
"id": 82273,
"company": "Audible",
"credential_types": [
"filmtv",
"innovation",
"music"
],
"entity_id": 2243953,
"name": "Laura Beil",
"speaker_types": [],
"title": "N/A",
"image": {
"alt_text": "Laura Beil",
"credit": null,
"url": "https://images.sxsw.com/Bo5XUyi25hMt3hkOFp_fLzxhyl4=/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/c69c4bad-b84b-4071-92d8-0122f49c156a/pcid-1632383"
},
"speaker_type": "Speaker",
"details": "Laura Beil is a journalist in Dallas. A recipient of the Victor Cohn Prize for Medical Science Reporting, she has reported and\rhosted the podcasts Dr. Death, Exposed, Bad Batch and others that examine systemic failures in US health care. A veteran\rhealth journalist and former staff writer at the Dallas Morning News, her work has also appeared in ProPublica, the New Y ork\rTimes, Texas Monthly , Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health and Science News. She has received two Edward R. Murrow awards, three\rGracies, and is a two-time finalist for a National Magazine Award. Her podcast Exposed was an audio award finalist from the\rInvestigative Reporters and Editors.",
"links": {},
"type": "person"
}
],
"venue": {
"accessible": false,
"age_policy": null,
"floor": null,
"id": "V2130",
"indoor_outdoor": null,
"name": "Waller Ballroom F",
"parent_id": "V2024",
"parent_venue_name": "Austin Marriott Downtown",
"venue_entry_info": null,
"formats": null,
"location": {
"address": "304 E Cesar Chavez St.",
"lat_lon": [
30.2628298,
-97.74157
],
"city": "Austin",
"postal_code": "78701",
"state": "TX",
"name": "Austin Marriott Downtown"
},
"root": {
"accessible": null,
"age_policy": null,
"floor": null,
"id": "V2024",
"indoor_outdoor": null,
"name": "Austin Marriott Downtown",
"parent_id": null,
"parent_venue_name": null,
"venue_entry_info": null,
"formats": null
},
"events": "[omitted 4 venue events]"
},
"description": "What does it take to transform a true story into a compelling podcast? Short answer, dedication. In the form of spoken words, podcasts can bring to light hidden truths, scandals and injustices...rallying audiences behind a cause and sparking outrage. And this, in the best instances, leads to change. Join veteran podcast hosts from the true crime and non-fiction podcast space as they reveal the behind the scenes of bringing these stories to life. They’ll share everything from the realities of tracking down reluctant or dangerous sources and navigating legal challenges, to structuring serialize",
"experience_level": "Advanced",
"accessibility": [],
"accessible_venue": false,
"add_bcl_url": false,
"add_slido": false,
"age_policy": null,
"american_sign_language": false,
"apple_url": null,
"audio_description": false,
"caption_url": null,
"closed_captioned": false,
"cpe_credit": false,
"has_subtitles": false,
"hash_tags": [],
"high_sensory_experience": false,
"live": false,
"long_description": "What does it take to transform a true story into a compelling podcast? Short answer, dedication. In the form of spoken words, podcasts can bring to light hidden truths, scandals and injustices...rallying audiences behind a cause and sparking outrage. And this, in the best instances, leads to change. Join veteran podcast hosts from the true crime and non-fiction podcast space as they reveal the behind the scenes of bringing these stories to life. They’ll share everything from the realities of tracking down reluctant or dangerous sources and navigating legal challenges, to structuring serialize",
"meeting_url": null,
"meeting_url_live": false,
"mentorly_url": null,
"mobile_audio_url": null,
"open_captioned": false,
"playlist_tag": null,
"rebroadcast": false,
"recommended_ids": [],
"search_conversions": null,
"short_program": false,
"slido_url": null,
"sort": "CHASING THE TRUTH: HOW STORIES WE TELL SPARK CULTURAL CHANGE",
"source": "Official",
"squad_up_url": null,
"stream_embed": null,
"stream_id": null,
"stream_url": null,
"strobe_warning": false,
"subdiscipline": null,
"summit": null,
"summit_display_name": null,
"tags": [],
"talent_attending": null,
"title_only": false,
"track_display_name": "Culture",
"trailer_id": null,
"trailer_url": null,
"video_on_demand": null,
"vimeo_id": null,
"vod": false,
"xr_project_type": null,
"youtube_id": null,
"related_sales_client": {
"id": 2249949,
"type": "brand",
"name": "Audible",
"company_headline": "There's more to imagine when you listen",
"company_bio": "Audible continues to give audiences more to imagine at SXSW. From inventive storytelling to hilarious stand-up to shocking true-crime, Audible produces listening experiences that fascinate, entertain and inspire people all over the world.",
"location": "Newark, NJ",
"logo_url": "https://images.sxsw.com/7mG07PteG9XCVsaM3P5xKFEHhhw=/634x3:2134x1503/950x950/images.sxsw.com/192/ea0fc593-6efa-4e7c-80aa-2e4756ce4d56/SalesClient-8692",
"events": "[omitted 2 related events]"
}
}