This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CWU chapter.
I know, it’s crazy, but sometimes I get tired of listening to my music. During the summer of 2019, I would travel all over Washington State. I would shuffle through my trusty and cleverly named playlists, but after a while it became redundant. To make the drives more interesting, I started listening to podcasts mainly in the genre of true crime. It was like listening to an episode of Criminal Minds. Since then, I’ve listened to some pretty awesome podcasts and these are just some of my favorites. I should preface that all of these podcasts contain descriptions of crime, violence, abuse, and death.
The Clearing
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This was the podcast that got me hooked. It’s produced by Pineapple Street Media and Gimlet Media and is narrated by Josh Dean. Just imagine this. You’re sitting there and you realize your father is a serial killer. Would you turn him in? Even if the case had been cold for decades? That is exactly the situation April Balascio was in. In 2009, April came to the police with a suspicion of the person they were talking about in the news was her father, Edward Wayne Edwards. This report changed her family’s entire life and their future. This podcast sucks you in and locks you into a rollercoaster of twists and turns for eight episodes. It’s packed with interviews, police evidence, and “memory mapping”. It is easily my favorite podcast I have listened to and I have recommended it to my mom, friends, and any person I meet that even mentions podcasts. I know it is available in Apple Podcasts, but it is also available on both producers’ websites and various others.
Peter Fazekas / Pexels
Do you want to be mad? Do you want to be really angry? That’s what will happen to you with this podcast. Cold takes a deep dive into the disappearance of a woman and mother named Susan Powell. Susan disappeared on December 7th, 2009 after a surprise camping trip with her husband and two children. While the disappearance is strange enough on its own, it seems as if the whole Powell family is involved. In a strangely bittersweet way, Cold examines police evidence, home videos, recordings, computer files while blending in interviews from friends, family, caseworkers, and retired police officers. There are so many unexpected layers involved in this case and there is evidence everywhere. The eighteen-episode series is produced by Wondery and narrated by Dave Cawley. It is deep, dark, and captivating. Totally worth the listen. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the Wondery App.
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In the two other podcasts, the suspect has been a man and the victim a woman, but what about women that commit a crime? This podcast studies those women. Maybe you don’t want to hear stories of just murder, but just crime in general. Try this one. Plus, this podcast isn’t as much of a commitment. While the podcast has been running for a couple of years, the background, crime, psychology, and more are packed into one or two episodes. I’ve heard the story of Candy Montgomery, who had an affair and committed a murder. And the story of Heidi Fleiss, a gambling addict who is sold into an escort service. She finds a way to be on the business side of things and becomes the Madame of an escort business whose clients were high-profile businessmen, politicians, and actors like Charlie Sheen. I’m currently listening to the story of Brittany Norwood who’s kleptomania led her to murder, I think I haven’t gotten to the ending yet. This podcast is narrated by Vanessa Richardson and produced by Parcast and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Parcast.
Photo by Juja Han from Unsplash
This is another really great podcast too. Picture this. You live in a quaint small town and everything is peaceful when you go to sleep, but the next day, eight people from the same family are reported dead. This podcast follows the 2016 Piketon Massacre, where eight members of the Rhoden family were murdered in their homes. The biggest suspects are members of the Wagner family. This podcast started back at the end of July and posts new episodes weekly. From my understanding, this case is still open and active. The iHeartRadio podcast interview friends, family, and police officers in the ongoing case. It also begs the question, what happens if the Wagner’s aren’t guilty? Who can kill eight people in one night and where are they now?
These are currently my top four podcasts in existence. I listen to them every time that I’m cleaning my house and sometimes when I’m doing homework. I’ve even started listening to them at work. They are entertaining and I can binge them just as easy as Netflix Originals. I’m sure I’ll add some more to the list, but for now, I highly suggest that you check these out.
