This article examines the recent surge in true crime media as a cultural phenomenon shaped by gender, trust, and modern forms of digital storytelling. Drawing on anthropological theories of ritual, narrative, and social anxiety, the paper explores how true crime podcasts, especially those produced and hosted by women, function as contemporary “campfire communities” that negotiate fear, morality, and institutional distrust. Through analysis of popular podcasts such as RedHanded, True Crime Campfire, and Park Predators, I argue that true crime operates as a form of participatory storytelling in which listeners reclaim authority over narratives of violence while constructing shared meaning in spaces where formal systems of justice often fall short. The article maps insider/outsider dynamics within true crime fandom, showing how empathy, education, and online interaction reframe crime stories as mechanisms of empowerment and community ritual. Viewed anthropologically, the true crime craze reflects a broader cultural shift in how people navigate uncertainty, emotion, and vulnerability in contemporary society.

The research examines digital spaces centering around girls in Scouting America. Using content analysis, the research will elucidate how involvement in Scouting influences personal development, leadership skills, social bonds, physical fitness, and potential challenges faced by female Scouts. The study will specifically examine Facebook communities that range from a general community of Scouting America Girls Units to individual Scouting America Girls Troops. By finding themes, this project will contribute to the larger questions of discourse on gender inclusion in youth development programs, lifelong physical activity engagement, and the role of space, place, and location in shaping these experiences.

This research project analyzes how digital echo chambers function as tightly knit moral

communities within modern spaces online. The project argues that these groups recreate a form of mechanical solidarity by unifying members through a number of factors such as shared beliefs, moral language/terms, and a strong distinction between insider and outsider groups. By utilizing the public Facebook group “Flat Earth Friends” as a case study, the research intends to observe how this shared worldview creates a sense of belonging and unity internally. While often times, online polarization is associated to algorithms and “filter bubbles,” this study suggests that

technology by itself does not explain the durability of these online communities.

Using Durkheim’s distinction between the sacred and the profane, as well as works

by Benkler and Anderson, the paper explains how flat earth theories, and

conspiracy theories generally, become treated as sacred knowledge within the in group. And in this way, leading to criticism being interpreted as a moral threat to the community rather than a simple ordinary disagreement. To understand this phenomenon, observational analysis of publicly accessible posts is will be undertaken to study how digital belief-based communities preserve unity while reinforcing in and out group distinctions in online spaces.

While once considered a hobby, 3D scanning, modelling and printing is quickly becoming a highly useful skill in anthropological research. The Museum of Anthropology at Rowan University, MARU, has begun incorporating these tools into its growing repertoire of practices and research methods. In the past three years, MARU has begun a digital record of objects within its collections, used for student research, experimental archaeology projects, and public presentation as well as taking this expertise for use in field projects abroad.

This project provides an overview of MARU’s use of 3D technologies, the ways that it is integrated into the museum, the field, and the classroom, and how the program plans to evolve in future.