I love a good true crime podcast. It’s weird, because I never thought it would be the kind of thing I’d be into? I don’t know why, but it just never seemed like my thing. It wasn’t until I listened to the first season of Serial a few years ago that I was hooked… I loved trying to solve the mystery along with the host. Since then, my favorite true crime podcasts are typically investigative podcasts that deep dive into cold cases. (Those are really my favorite!) Generally, podcasts with a great story are preferred by the audience. And honestly, those who are starting out with their podcast shows now, could consider using narrative styles. People who are interested in launching their podcast might also want to take help of podcast producers like Lowerstreet for strategizing their content and connecting with listeners.
Anyways, coming back to my preferences, I love listening to podcasts while I clean, do chores, or work online; either shopping or editing photos. I find that podcasts really make the time fly by!
I recently asked for recommendations and was floored by how many of you are into them too and answered with your favorites! I figured I’d compile the list of your recommendations as well as the ones I’ve listened to and love.
Serial is truly the podcast that started it all for me. If you’ve never listened or don’t know, the first season of Serial examined the murder of teenage Hae Min Lee in 1999 and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed for that murder. As host Sarah Koening investigated the case, I think pretty much everyone doubted his guilt… the podcast has been so truly groundbreaking that Adnan’s case is currently being re-tried…. all these years later!
Season 2 was a bit of a miss for me, following the case of Bowe Bergdahl, a soldier in the US Army who was held hostage by the Taliban for 5 years. It was interesting, but definitely wasn’t as addictive to me as season 1 was.
Season 3 just kicked off and…. so far I’m meh, but whatever, I love Sarah so will continue to listen.
I actually just listened to this one last week… Someone Knows Something tracks Canadian journalist David Ridgen as he attempts to figure out what happened to 5-year-old Adrien McNaughton. Adrien disappeared into thin air while fishing with his family in 1972 and the case has never been solved. While I was definitely intrigued by the premise, I hated that there wasn’t really any resolution at the end and we really came no closer to figuring out what happened to him.
There are four seasons of the podcast, so I’ll definitely report back on what I think about the other seasons. Season 2 sounds pretty interesting– it’s about the disappearance of a woman after she received an on-air marriage proposal from her longtime boyfriend.
In the Dark is another podcast in which the first season is about the disappearance of a child. This time, the child in question is Jacob Wetterling, but unlike Someone Knows Something, everyone sort of knew what had happened to Jacob– he was kidnapped by a strange man while riding his bike home from renting a movie with his brother and friend. The crazy thing about In the Dark is that although this was a 27-year-old case, the kidnapper/murderer was actually arrested WHILE THE PODCAST WAS BEING MADE. So, instead of examining what happened, the podcast took a different turn and instead host Madeleine Baran tackles what what wrong and why it took so long to solve the case. Pretty interesting stuff!
Season 2 is about Curtis Flowers, who has been on trial 6 times for a murder he claims he didn’t commit. I haven’t listened to this one yet, but will definitely report back after I have.
Up and Vanished is definitely my favorite podcast after Serial and my current favorite podcast out now. There have been 2 seasons and BOTH are amazing. I absolutely adore host Payne Lindsey and think he does an amazing job on the show.
Season 1 examines the 2005 disappearance of Tara Grinstead, a former beauty queen and teacher and attempted to figure out what happened to her. Payne’s investigation shook up the 10 year old cold case so much, that an arrest was made halfway through the season! So cool.
Season 2 just premiered a few weeks ago and tracks the disappearance of Kristal Reisinger, a young mom who picked up and moved to a small town in Colorado before vanishing without a trace. I’m totally hooked on this one and dying to know what happened to Kristal! Fingers crossed we find out!
So, Dirty John has actually been turned into a limited TV series on Bravo, starring Connie Britton as California interior decorator Debra Newell and Eric Bana as the titular ‘Dirty John’ Meehan. (And seriously, I could not be more excited!)
Dirty John is all about John Meehan and how he bamboozled Debra Newell into marrying him, tricking basically everyone into thinking he was a successful anesthesiologist. The story is all about abuse and manipulation and is really fascinating. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but basically the whole time, I was thinking “someone is going to die, who is it going to be’, but they were interviewing almost everyone involved so I couldn’t figure it out! The ending was pretty shocking and I LOVED IT!
This is a new one for me, I didn’t think I’d be interested in it, but when I asked for recommendations, pretty much everyone recommended Dr Death! It’s by the team that did Dirty John, and follows the story of Dr Christopher Duntsch, a Dallas-based neurosurgeon who basically maimed or killed every patient he operated on in a year long period in Dallas, TX. It’s an investigation into medical malpractice and also kind of made me terrified of ever having surgery lol. I feel like we still didn’t get a resolution to why this all happened and would love to know.
True Crime Podcasts I’m Listening to Next
Unspeakable Crime: The Killing of Jessica Chambers
The Minds of Madness – True Crime Stories
Have you listened to any of these? Did you like them, love, them, hate them? I’d love to know– what podcasts do you listen to?? I’m always looking for recommendations! Hit the comments!
xo Steph
