10 Best True Crime Podcasts
One of the things I love most is true crime stories. It’s odd, because I hate all fictional scary things. I refuse to watch horror movies, could not be paid to go through a haunted house, and would be scared for weeks after watching a scary movie back in high school.
I find comfort in true crime and for most of these podcasts, I feel like I am listening to friends talk about one of my favorite subjects.
Because I talk about true crime so often, I’ve been asked quite a few times about what podcasts I recommend. Somehow I never thought to do a blog post about it until now!
There are a TON of other true crime podcasts out there and if they aren’t included here, it’s either because I did not like them or have not listened to them. If you have suggestions of ones you love that aren’t on this list, leave them in the comments at the bottom of this post!
1. My Favorite Murder
My favorite podcast! This was one of the first true crime podcasts I started listening to in 2016. Within a week, I had binged a couple dozen episodes and felt like the hosts, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, were my good friends.
I highly recommend starting at episode one so you get to know them properly and are in on all the inside jokes, but just know they were totally new to podcasting back then so it isn’t super high production.
They typically spend the first 20-40 minutes chatting and catching up on their week, which is what makes it feel so comforting and like you’re listening to your best friends. I love it!! But I know that it isn’t for everyone.
When we aren’t in a pandemic, they do live shows, which I’ve been lucky enough to attend! Karen and Georgia have become some of the most well-known podcasters out there and even started their own podcast network, Exactly Right, with a whole host (pun intended) of other incredible podcasts.
They’re great people and I love listening to them each week! Their episodes come out every Thursday, where they each tell a different true crime story, and then they have minisodes on Mondays where they read stories sent in by listeners.
2. Generation Why
This podcast is hosted by two guys who both have soft and soothing voices that are so nice to listen to. Aaron and Justin focus on one true crime story each week and take turns telling it together.
They are thoughtful, well-researched, and really try to remain unbiased as they tell the more-controversial true crime stories so listeners can form their own opinion. Most of the stories they tell are unsolved, controversial, or focus on possible wrongful convictions.
Each episode is fascinating and follows a different case from start to finish. I appreciate that I can listen to a single episode and get the full story, as opposed to multi-part episodes.
I look forward to their episodes every week! They technically come out Sundays, but usually late at night so I listen to them on Mondays.
3. True Crime Garage
The two hosts of True Crime Garage, Nick and The Captain, are actually brothers! I’ve listened to them for 3-4 years now and only just discovered they were brothers as I was researching for this blog post!
They each tell one story together, with Nick typically leading the narrative and The Captain chiming in with jokes or thoughts on the case. This podcast is well-researched and they often play devils advocate to think through the cases from multiple perspectives.
Every once in a while they cover cases that are broken into a two or three-parter, but you don’t have to wait a full week for part two because it typically comes out the day after part one, or even the same day!
While they don’t chitchat at the beginning, they do review a different beer at the top of each episode and give shoutouts to the people who donated to their “beer fund.”
Episodes come out every Tuesday, but the time it is released ranges from morning to night.
4. Casefile
This podcast is unique because the host is completely anonymous. He has an incredible Australian accent and great speaking voice as he reads from a script that was written and researched by someone on his team.
It is a scripted, highly-produced podcast with a single host with background music to add tension and interest. There are occasional audio clips of 911 calls and interviews as well.
Casefile is definitely more solemn than some of the other true crime podcasts out there, but it is incredibly detailed and in-depth with possibly the best research of any podcast in my regular rotation. Some stories are broken out into two, three, and sometimes even four or five-parters.
Each episode comes out Saturday and tends to be released in the early early morning (3 or 4am PT) for U.S. people.
5. Crime Junkie
Hosted by Ashley Flowers and her bff, Britt, this podcast is incredibly engaging and a great listen! They’ve had some bad press for plagiarizing from small true crime podcasts, so that could be why the podcast is so great… haha.
Ashley tells a story so well it completely captivates listeners. She makes every small detail sound thrilling and makes me excited to listen. Britt, her bff and co-host, chimes in with questions every once in awhile that seem scripted, but they’re always questions I’ve been asking in my head!
Despite the possible plagarism, Crime Junkie is one of the podcasts out there and I look forward to it each week. It seems to be well-researched and I like that Ashley and Britt insert their own thoughts and opinions into it. They keep the stories conversational while staying on track.
Tune in every Monday for a new episode!
6. The Murder Squad
One of the first podcasts to join the Exactly Right network, which was created by Karen and Georgia of My Favorite Murder, The Murder Squad investigates new murders each week and asks the audience to help solve them.
It is hosted by Paul Holes, the famous former detective who worked on the Golden State Killer case, and Billy Jensen, an incredible investigative journalist who has used the power of social media to help solve cases and identify victims.
The hosts have a unique perspective on the cases they cover because of their experience working in the real world of true crime and solving cases in real life.
Paul Holes brings his experience with analyzing crime scenes, criminal profiling, and hours sitting through court to provide insight we don’t usually have in other true crime podcasts. Billy, on the other hand, brings his knowledge of solving cases through news and social media to the cases they cover on the podcast.
For each case covered, they ask their audience to use the power of social media and word-of-mouth to solve aspects of these real-life cases: unidentified victims, possible living victims who have not come forward, the identity of unknown murderers, etc.
I appreciate having hosts who are experts in their fields and bring education to their audience. There have even been some cases that were solved or moved forward because of their listeners!
New episodes come out each Wednesday.
7. Your Own Backyard
This is a series podcast that covers a single case in an investigative-journalist style. It is hosted by freelance journalist Chris Lambert and covers the unsolved disappearance of Kristen Smart.
Kristen Smart was a Cal Poly student who disappeared in May 1996 after a night out in her college town of San Luis Obispo. This podcast is fascinating to me because both of my parents attended Cal Poly about a decade before Kristen Smart’s disappearance.
Chris is determined to find the truth about what happened to Kristen Smart and he will go to any length to get answers. He believes that Paul Flores abducted and murdered Smart and Flores’s father helped cover it up.
Your Own Backyard has sparked a new interest in the case and there were even new developments in April 2020 thanks to Chris’s heroic efforts.
There are seven total episodes, with the most recent one coming out in January 2020. Until there is more movement in the case, I’m not sure there will be any further episodes, but it is absolutely worth a listen!
8. Serial
From the creators of This American Life, Serial is a multi-season podcast that covers a different case each season and is hosted by Sarah Koenig.
Adnan Syed’s case in season one is the one that initially drew me in. The case, if you aren’t familiar, is a possible wrongful conviction of Adnan Syed for the murder of his girlfriend in high school.
Season two covers Bowe Bergdahl who was a U.S. soldier living as a prisoner of the Taliban for five years…but there’s more to the story than just that. I skipped this season because it didn’t interest me, but it might be a good road trip listen.
Season three covers something I am incredibly passionate about – the criminal justice system. Koenig uncovers shocking information about how the justice system works and interviews all sorts of people within the court system from judges to defendants.
Serial has won many broadcasting awards for a reason, the research and effort put into each season is nothing short of amazing. For both season one and three, I binged the whole thing during a long road trip.
9. Someone Knows Something
Someone Knows Something is another investigative journalist podcast written, hosted, and produced by David Ridgen. Each season focuses on a single case that David is actively investigating on his own.
In season one he covers the disappearance of five-year-old Adrien McNaughton. Ridgen interviews witnesses and people involved in the initial searches, works with a forensic artist to create an age-progression sketch, and even hires cadaver dogs to search the area the missing child was last seen.
There are a total of six seasons, each one focusing on a different case that Ridgen is working to solve. He follows the believe that “someone knows something” and it’s just a matter of the right people speaking up to solve these cases.
Each episode is beautifully produced and fascinating to follow. I myself have only listened to the first two seasons, but I would imagine the other four are just as great.
10. Atlanta Monster
Season one of this podcasts focuses on the over 25 Atlanta Child Murders which took place during a two year time span from 1979-81. It is hosted by investigative journalist Payne Lindsey, who also hosts Up and Vanished.
Payne Lindsey looks at more than just the murders themselves. He interviews people who lived in the area during the time the murders took place, explores racial tensions in Atlanta in the 70s and 80s, and leaves you questioning whether they truly got the right guy, Wayne Williams.
He looks at it from all angles and really digs into the climate in Atlanta. Multiple other suspects are explored, including the KKK. In a bonus episode, Payne interviews John Douglass, the famous criminal profiler who the Netflix’s series Mindhunter is based on.
According to their website, this podcast “aims to find the truth and open dialogue around a tragedy that can no longer be ignored.”
