Our series “How I became a …” digs into the stories of accomplished and influential people, finding out how they got to where they are in their careers. 

Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Payne Lindsey likes to tell stories, whether through filmmaking, directing or podcasting.

The Georgia native created and produced the investigative podcast Up & Vanished — about the disappearance of Tara Grinstead — with his company Tenderfoot TV, which is now in development with Oxygen as a TV series. Lately, his podcast Atlanta Monster, about the Atlanta child murders of the late seventies and early…