Interest in the true crime genre has grown immensely over the last few years. Nothing faster than true crime podcasts are engaging Americans already faced with an increase of real-life crime in cities and towns across the USA.
Between documentaries about the most notorious serial killers and the countless TV cop dramas out there, people just can’t seem to get enough.
What is a podcast?
It is an audio platform similar to talk radio that is typically released in a series of episodes and can be received by subscribers automatically.
It’s all spoken word and is typically focused on a specific topic, such as crime, dating advice, or celebrity gossip. Once you subscribe to a specific podcast, you will be alerted when new episodes are released, and you can listen to them whenever you want.
Many popular radio stations have even started publishing their radio shows on podcast platforms so that people can tune in whenever they want rather than having to listen to the radio at a specific time every day. However, most podcasts discuss original content and are not just repurposed radio shows.
Plus, there is no extra cost (yet) for listening to a podcast, whether you are a subscriber to the show or not. Most podcasts have sponsored ads throughout their episodes which helps them fund the production, so you don’t have to sign up for any kind of subscriber plan to listen. So what are the 10 best ones you can listen to right now?
MORE: THE RIGHT WAY TO LISTEN TO A PODCAST
1. What About Holly? A True Crime Podcast
‘What About Holly?’ is a true crime podcast hosted by Cristina Corbin and follows the mysterious death of a young couple, 21-year-old Harold Dean Clouse and 17-year-old Tina Gail Clouse, and the disappearance of their daughter Holly, who was a baby at the time the Clouse’s bodies were discovered back in 1981. Corbin is the first reporter to obtain the entire police case file, and she travels across the country to unlock the facts behind this bewildering case. At the time of publishing, this podcast had over 600 global reviews and a 4.5-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
2. Nightmare in Chowchilla: The School Bus Kidnapping
Another great Fox News Radio true crime podcast is ‘Nightmare in Chowchilla: The School Bus Kidnapping.’ This one follows one of the largest kidnappings in U.S. history from back in 1976, when 26 schoolchildren between the ages of 5 and 14 and their bus driver disappeared from Chowchilla, California. Claudia Cowan hosts and tries to uncover who the real hero was when all 27 people were somehow found safely through interviewing multiple people, including several survivors. At the time of publishing, this podcast had a 4.7-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
Listen to Nightmare in Chowchilla
3. Grim Tide: Hunting the Long Island Serial Killer
Host Laura Ingle of Fox News follows the case of 10 people, many of whom were sex workers, that were brutally murdered along Gilgo Beach, Long Island over a decade ago. Police still have not been able to figure out who is responsible for these murders and not a single suspect has been named in the case. This podcast follows what law enforcement is doing today to try to crack the case with new and improved technology. At the time of publishing, this podcast had a 4.4-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
4. Alchemy of Violence: Narcos, Reapers, and Survival
Host and Marine Staff Sgt. Johnny Joey Jones takes listeners through tons of interviews with Ed Calderon, a former paramilitary law enforcement officer from Mexico who fought the country’s most ruthless drug cartels, especially from the years 2006 and beyond. Calderon shares intimate details from his life growing up to his most dangerous and terrifying experiences on the job, as well as how he’s dealing with the trauma of those experiences post-career. At the time of publishing, this podcast had a 4.0-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
5. House of Broken Dreams: The Jennifer Jesse Story
Cristina Corbin once again hosts another hit podcast from Fox News Radio. This one covers the sudden disappearance of Jennifer Kesse, a young finance manager who vanished on January 24, 2006. Corbin travels to Florida herself to try to uncover more information on a case that has left police dumbfounded for over a decade. At the time of publishing, this podcast had over 1,600 global reviews and a 3.8-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
Listen to House of Broken Dreams
6. Casefile
Casefile is an award-winning true-crime podcast that dives deep into unsolved cases from all over the world. They’ve covered all kinds of topics from serial killer cases to abductions and even dark web cases. They’ve received rave reviews from Rolling Stone and Time Magazine. At the time of publishing, this podcast had over 30,000 global reviews and a 4.7-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
7. My Favorite Murder
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark and has a massive “Murderino” fanbase. Karen and Georgia covered all kinds of murder cases and each episode offers something different. They even do special “Fan Cult” episodes that only those loyal fans with memberships can listen to. At the time of publishing, this podcast had over 157,000 global reviews and a 4.6-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
8. Deep Cover
Deep Cover is a 3-season podcast hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Halpern and every season tells the story of people who lived double lives. The current third season, Never Seen Again, follows the story of two women who lived on opposite sides of the country and both went missing back in 1999. At the time of publishing, it had over 3,000 global reviews and a 4.2-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
9. Paper Ghosts
Another season 3, highly-rated podcast is Paper Ghosts, hosted by true crime author M. William Phelps. Each season offers a close examination of true crime cases, the most recent season focusing on the unsolved murder of college student Tammy Jo Zywicki back in 1992. The first season looks at the disappearance of four young girls in 1970s New England, while the second season is about the murder of the Stevenson family in Bethel, Ohio. At the time of publishing, the podcast had over 5,100 global reviews and a 4.4-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
10. Something Was Wrong
Something Was Wrong is an Iris Award-winning podcast that follows various life events and abusive relationships. Hosted by Tiffany Reese, who is an abuse survivor herself, she aims to give a voice to those who have survived abusive relationships and also educate the public on emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, coercive control, and gaslighting. At the time of publishing, this podcast had over 19,000 global reviews and a 4.3-star rating on Apple Podcasts.
All of these podcasts are available on every major podcasting platform, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, and more.
What are some other great true crime podcasts that you’re listening to? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
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