True crime has come under the spotlight of popularity as the recently released Monster: The Jeffery Dahmer Story gained instant success on Netflix and even earned a place as the #2 watched series on the platform in less than a month.
Even before then the format of true-crime podcasts has been very successful in the past decade, becoming the only thing from the age of television to transition into this new era and gain even more support. Through this love of the genre, talented individuals have put it upon themselves to tell these stories, and sometimes they’d even enhance further than what could have been simply retelling it.
The Clearing (Spotify)
The Clearing is a podcast that can be listened to on Spotify, with 8 episodes, each ~40 minutes long, it could be entirely viewed within a day. It tells the story of April Balascio who went on to suspect her father of being a murderer, and at the age of 40, she called the police and turned him in. Though the podcast goes into much more detail than that.
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Unlike most true-crime podcasts, The Clearing presents evidence in the form of personalized recordings left behind by the killer, Edward Wayne. Some recordings even go on to confess his crimes. Eloquently told by Josh Dean, the host, this podcast also presents a view from April Balascio herself as she tells her story.
Serial (Spotify)
Serial delivers the podcast in the form of an anthology, covering a different story each season on a per-week basis, which helps it to stand out in the crowded true crime podcast market. Each story revolves around a different case or list of events, but most of the time revolves around a tragedy concerning a murder. Each episode is narrated flawlessly with fitting music to either raise the tension or get listeners into a thinking mood.
Serial tells true crime stories accurately and their first season, following the case of Hae Min Lee, was adapted into an HBO documentary series after being brought to global attention. Ever since the podcast’s first season in 2013, the Serial podcast has become a staple in the true-crime podcast community.
The Shrink Next Door (Apple Podcasts)
The general formula for true-crime podcasts is usually to reiterate a story with faint background music with multiple pauses for added tension. However, The Shrink Next Door series focuses solely on telling the story. Host Joe Nocera brings on actual folks who were a part of it for their commentary as well, even calling the “culprit” himself.
The Shrink Next Door podcast is about a manipulative psychotherapist named “Ike” whose customers are usually society’s elite. The main focus of the podcast is Ike’s relationship with one such client, Marty Markowitz, and basically how Ike had managed to isolate Marty from the rest of the world but himself.
My Favorite Murder (Spotify)
This podcast is more for listeners who want something casual rather than hardcore or heart palpitating. The reason for that is because it’s hosted by two comedians, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. That aspect happens to be one of the most appealing things to its fans.
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The juxtaposition between a grim topic such as the crime experienced in everyday life like murder and the two comedians cracking jokes all the while leaves for an interesting blend unheard of in the true-crime community. The formula for this podcast usually relies on one person telling the story and the other interjecting when they see fit.
Morning Cup Of Murder (Spotify)
Morning Cup Of Murder distinguishes itself solely from its content and its focus. Unlike most true-crime podcasts which delve into cases with long existing history enough for tens of hours of listening, the Morning Cup Of Murder podcast provides short-form podcasts every single day, recounting a case from that date in history.
Despite the podcast’s name, it doesn’t only focus on murders, it also focuses on cults, abductions, heat-of-the-moment crimes, and more. In that sense, the podcast presents the best true-crime stories not about murder. The best part is that each episode is standalone, meaning listeners learn and finish a case in a single ~10 episodes without having to wait for a continuation.
Dr. Death (Spotify)
It’s hard to liken the listening experience of a podcast to the viewing experience of a documentary on television, but the Dr. Death series equals that experience and sometimes even surpasses it. The case it features is so spine-tingling that it delivers more scares than the true-crime shows that cause most viewers to nope out.
With descriptive audio, simply closing their eyes can give a listener a very immersive experience, for better or worse. Each season of Dr. Death tells the story of a different medical professional with one thing in common: they’re accused of hurting the very people they’re supposed to help. This podcast takes a person’s natural trust and makes them rethink who they trust their health to.
Criminal (Spotify)
When the Criminal podcast first aired in 2014, it captivated the community with its in-depth analysis not only criminal’s actions but their sociological and psychological aspects as well. In that way, it one-upped the competition by giving a closer look than most listeners ever received before.
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Each episode in the series tends to be its own-isolated case, with the range of each episode spanning from about 20 minutes to 1 hour. The episodes even feature audio relevant to each case, interjecting as the narrator retells the story.
Up And Vanished (Spotify)
Most true-crime podcasts tend to just revisit old cases and merely retell their stories, the Up And Vanished podcast takes that formula but inserts a more analytical aspect to it. Thanks to that it even helped to break a true crime case when two suspects were arrested for the murder of Tara Grinstead, the subject of the podcast’s first season.
As can be inferred from the name of the broadcast, Up and Vanished focuses on missing persons cases as the host searches through the database often looking to resolve them in hopes of coming to a conclusion. A far cry from the traditional true-crime podcasts as the motive of the host this time is clear.
Hollywood Crime Scene (Spotify)
Hollywood is no stranger to controversy. As the internet becomes a bigger place, more scandals, controversies, crimes, and horrors are coming to light than every before – and the Hollywood Crime Scene podcast is here to point it all out. In each episode, Desi Jedeikin and Rachel Fisher discuss a scandalous story involving a celebrity.
As the podcast tends to cover lesser-known celebrities, there’s often a mask of mystery around them. Because, unlike big shots, their names are unheard of, it means their stories (and scandals) are unknown to even the most avid celebrity fans. At that point, it becomes a sort of game for the listener to piece things together.
Park Predators (Spotify)
This podcast takes a person’s natural trust toward a place that seems safe, like a national park, and opens their eyes to the terror that if a criminal really wanted to do something, a park isn’t so sacred to them. The Park Predators podcast focuses on stories revolving around national parks and sometimes just in the woods.
With a theme like that the podcast surely hits a chord with listeners who desire a focus on the subject, rather than other creators who seem to go for whichever crime seems interesting to them. As such they fulfill a unique niche not found in any other true crime podcasts.
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