Ya’ll know I love a good true crime podcast. I actually just love podcasts in general. There is something so vintage radio show about them - hence why I’m obsessed with crime podcasts. My obsession with true crime may seem like a sick fascination, but I’m honestly just obsessed with human psychology and both respecting and remembering the stories of victims.
Not all true crime podcasts are gory and graphic - most tell a compelling story filled with raw, human emotion.
Here are all the true crime podcasts I’ve thoroughly binged and highly recommend.
★ Bad Batch ★
Bad Batch is a Wondery produced podcast (one of my all time fave networks) that details out the dangers and false promises of stem cells. Stem cells, once thought to be a miracle cure for everything from arthritis to burns, were injected in several patients in Texas resulting in near death experiences. Bad Batch is about patients that "went searching for a miracle" - and instead found a “nightmare.” Imagine a mix of true crime meets modern day science - this podcast kept me intrigued with every episode.
★ American Scandal ★
As I’ve burned through many a true crime podcast, I’ve become addicted to stories about white collar crime specifically. American Scandal focuses on several different “scandals” (and crimes), but I particularly enjoyed their Season 10 dedicated entirely to the crime and collapse of Enron.
★ Con Artists ★
Another white collar crime favorite, Con Artists (a Parcast Network podcast), tells the stories of some of the world’s most infamous con artists to date. Each story is told in two parts (one episode per week, two episodes per con artist). I just wrapped up listening to the story of Charles Ponzi, who served as inspiration for future con artists (like Madoff).
★ The Murder Squad ★
Retired cold case investigator, Paul Holes, and investigative journalist, Billy Hensen, make up the Murder Squad. Each Week the duo details out a cold case, running through the (often graphic) details with respect, dignity, and science, giving “assignments” to the listeners to help solve the case. Personally I love that the hosts have professional backgrounds in the criminal justice and journalism fields - they bring loads of credibility to each case and can give real life anecdotes, opinions, and insights.
★ Joe Exotic ★
Joe Exotic tells the story of Joe, an eclectic wild cat…well…I don’t even know how to describe him. At first you think he’s a wild cat advocate. Midway through the storyline, not so much. Joe Exotic details out the life of Joe and a running feud between two wild cat companies - ending in crime.
★ Slow Burn (Season 3) ★
I’ve given Slow Burn a shoutout in past podcast recommendation blog posts, but am especially loving their newest season, Season 3, all about the Biggie and Tupac murders. Slow Burn Season 3 takes a deep dive into this captivating story of East vs West.
★ The Mysterious Mr. Epstein ★
The story of Jeffrey Epstein is, by now, widely publicized - but for some reason I can’t get enough of it. Epstein committed horrible sexual crimes that have my heart breaking for the victims, and yearning for an end to a story that unfortunately feels perpetually incomplete. The Mysterious Mr. Epstein is an in-depth profile of, well, the mysterious Mr. Epstein.
★ The Shrink Next Door ★
The Shrink Next Door, another Wondery podcast, is hosted by Joe Nocera (a New York Times veteran journalist) and tells the story of Marty, the victim of “psychological domination” from his therapist. This story is wild - and completely true.
PLEASE drop your podcast recommendations in the comments below!