Around a year ago, I was talking about my love for real crime / mysteries with one of my friends (did you check my last week’s post about my top 10 true crime TV series > it’s here!) and she was recommending a few podcasts to me. I have to be honest, I had NEVER even thought about listening to a podcast before / didn’t know HOW to listen to a podcast / thought they may be exclusively for old farts doing their gardening as an alternative to listening to Radio 4 / and or couldn’t be bothered with the process.
HOWEVER. It’s very easy to do, FREE and if you have an iPhone like me, you can access them immediately and start listening right away. On an iPhone there is already an installed podcast ‘app’, it looks like this little purple symbol and you simply go in, start perusing and listening straight away. You don’t have to subscribe or pay to listen, just search keywords/genres or just look in the charts and you will find some shows / series you will like the sound of.
Here are the top 10 I have listened to over the last year, most are ongoing, a few of them are mini series / stories so have a definite end (namely S-Town, Serial & Daniel Morgan).
Serial – Season 1
My first ever podcast that I listened to and started my slightly anti-social pastime. This podcast revolves around the murder of Hae Min Lee, of which her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed was found guilty. It takes you through the story, we hear from Adnan, who continues to plead his innocence, and hearing everything makes you start to question whether in fact, he is guilty. It’s told in a really easy format and is a perfect one for first time podcasters! I am yet to listen to series 2 but have heard it’s not as good as season 1.
Generation Why
A newer one in my subscription box. There’s something I find about the hosts really endearing and personable. They touch on many different topics that crossover so many of these crime/ murder podcasts : satanic panic, the enfield haunting, the Dyatlov pass incident : all the usuals, and a lot of new ones I hadn’t heard about. An ongoing series.
Sword & Scale
Possibly one of the ghastliest and hardest to listen to. It covers all kind of topics from serial killers, to murders, child sex offenders, cults, Not for the faint-hearted. Some of these stories still stick with me today and are often very graphic, traumatic and hard-hitting, absolutely not for the faint-hearted. This is an ongoing series, and they’ve just released episode 100.
Casefile : True Crime
I love Casefile and this is on of my favourites podcasts. I think they cover lots of very interesting cases but it’s also done in a respectful manner. The host is Australian and lots of the cases are based over that side of the world, which I like, as there are lots of new crime stories I have never heard of. I have listened to every single one, and I’m currently waiting for them to come out so I can listen to the latest one, which is about once a week-ish at the moment.
UK True Crime
This is a podcast all focused around UK crime. A little light-hearted than some of the others and the host is truly British, a little bumbly and I love the references to songs that were in the charts when he refers to the year in which that episode is referring. More often than not, I can place myself and it brings back some serious nostalgia. The episodes are quite short too, around 30 mins, so perfect if you are on a short journey, or want to start of with something not too gruesome or intense. Weekly episodes.
Real Crime Profile
A must-listen for any real crime buff. This is hosted by a panel of experts including Jim Clemente (former FBI profiler), Laura Richards (criminal behavioural analyst, former New Scotland Yard) and host Lisa Zambetti (casting director).
The difference about this, is that the hosts are actually experts / working within crime so their knowledge and insights are unquestionable. They talk about criminal cases and personality profiling. They de-bunk a lot of real crime documentaries (such as Making a Murderer) to give you an unbiased view of the case. I find they really focus on the justice for the victims as opposed to glorifying the killers / offenders, which unfortunately is what happens in a lot of these crime podcasts. An ongoing series.
Up & Vanished
An ongoing podcast about a murder of a teacher in America called Tara Grinstead. It follows the leads / suspects and the story in real life is literally unravelling as this podcast is being recorded. This podcast has also been attributed to bringing this case back into the limelight after being unsolved for some years. Due to the nature of the story , this is an ongoing podcast at the moment, and they often upload episodes/ update after they have been in the courtroom or at police press conferences etc.
S-Town
An intriguing tale of a bizarre man called John B McLemore who is a horologist (you’ll soon know) who lives in what he calls ‘Shit Town’ (hence…S-town). It isn’t about crime as such, it’s simply a story, which as the podcast is being recorded, unfolds into something a little sinister. It’s quite sad, but I think true crime fans will love this as much as I did as it’s told in such an interesting way and involves some fascinating characters. It touches on various subjects such as the middle-class America mentality, poverty, racism, mental health & homophobia, and the host tells the story in such a respectful and admirable way. A 6-episode story.
Untold : The Daniel Morgan Murder
This is a British podcast that revolved around Daniel Morgan, a private investigator, who was murdered in South East London in 1987. He was involved with almost exposing a huge case about Met police corruption, so obviously many fingers are pointing and everything seems a little underhand. This story touches on gangsters / South London criminals and grimy police corruption so if this is your thing, give it a listen. 10-part series.
Last Podcast on The Left.
This podcast is hard to explain but I’m going to try miserably : 3 comedy hosts with a love for crime / the unexplained / murder / serial killers / cults etc……discuss different cases, but somehow…..with humour. It’s dark humour, it’s often very close to the bone, they go off in tangents and tell talk about *THE* most random shit and it somehow manages to be hilarious. If you are easily offended, skip this one.
Have you listened to any of these podcasts? Please do share your favourites below!
