This is a composition of information derived from the research conducted to produce each episode of Nefarious. As part of my final thesis project for my undergraduate degrees in criminal justice and forensic psychology, I created a podcast on the topic of true crime with an academic approach titled Nefarious. Each episode of Nefarious examines a particular case in relation to some academic theme learned throughout my educational career at Arizona State University. Episode one examines the life and crimes of Richard Ramirez and different criminological theories that could be used to explain his behavior. Episode two looks at the case of Brock Turner and Chanel Miller and focuses on the larger problem of rape culture in America and sexual assault on college campuses. In episode three the case of the Central Park Five is detailed in relation to false confessions and wrongful convictions within the legal system. Episode four is centered around Kyle Rittenhouse and the use of self-defense as a legal defense in the justice system as well as the political atmosphere surrounding this case. The fifth episode explores three cases of police brutality against racial minorities and the history of police in America. The final episode of Nefarious covers the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer and analyzes such actions from a forensic psychology approach.

A handbook consisting of scholarship and social media included to frame the six experiences around which this handbook is organized: getting in the zone, a thought process in overdrive; impulsivity; a distinct relationship to creativity; difficulties with transitions, especially the transition to and from sleep; and a complex relationship to medication. Following the initial framing, I then describe what each of these experiences feel like to me. To render these experiences for the purpose of a shared inquiry, I followed the critical-incident interview method that Flower describes in Community Literacy and the Rhetoric of Public Engagement. I first learned to use this interview technique in ENG 205: Introduction to Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies and practiced it further in ENG 390: Methods of Inquiry. The crux of my project is the insights of research participants as they read and responded to the six critical incidents and respective follow-up questions I designed for this study. The full interview protocol–approved by ASU’s Internal Review Board in December of 2022–is included in the appendix. Following IRB approval, I recruited four participants for a critical-incident interview, the results of which enliven this handbook’s portrait of thriving with ADHD.

This project is designed to be a plug-and-play resource for the Phoenix Police Department and/or other police departments to create a website or other resource that helps educate commercial property and business owners on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). The created content includes an overview of CPTED and specific recommendations for eight common business types seen in the Phoenix area on how to best design their business or property to decrease the potential opportunities for crime to occur.