I love listening to true crime podcasts! For those of you who don’t know, true crime podcasts focus on crime, most often murders, and walk the listeners through what happened. These podcasts often focus on unsolved crimes, where hosts speculate on who they believe the killer or perpetrator to be. I think that they are fun for long car rides, since playlists can grow old pretty quickly.
- Serial
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This podcast really started the whole true crime craze when it started in 2014. The first season centers around the case of Adnan Syed and the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Host Sarah Koenig starts her own investigation to figure out if the jury’s verdict was correct, or if he’s perhaps an innocent man in prison. I think this is a great start to the true crime podcasts, and season one is fantastic. I remember listening to it when it had recently aired and my whole family seemed to like it almost instantly. Sarah Koenig is a great narrator and is very well spoken. I found that seasons 2 and 3 were not as strong as season 1, but you should definitely give season one a listen!
- My Favorite Murder
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This one is hard to get into and I’ve had friends tell me to give it another chance, but I don’t like it as much. The first couple episodes feature the two hosts name dropping different murders or murder cases, but if you’re like me you probably won’t have a clue what they are talking about. I have heard that after those episodes they have listeners call in about cases that are very close to them and where the listener might have known the killer or the victim. In those episodes the hosts talk about the details and go through the case.
- Crime Junkie
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Crime Junkie is one of my favorite true crime podcasts and is great for long car rides. Here hosts Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, get into so many different unsolved murder cases. Crime Junkie is actually hosted in Indianapolis! It’s so fun that they’re local, and they discuss cases all over the United States and some globally. Each episode is about a different crime, occasionally there are some two-part episodes. Ashley Flowers does a great job telling the stories of the victims and what is known about their killers.
- To Live and Die in LA
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I’ve just started listening to this podcast and I am really enjoying it so far! The first season focuses on the disappearance of Adea Shabani and the mystery that surrounds the final hours before she vanished. The host, Neil Strauss, is a New York Times best-selling author and is so articulate. He follows the investigation from almost the beginning as his friend, private detective, calls him and asks for help. Neil joins his friend and the police to help solve this case, as he chases leads and interviews keep witnesses.