The fascination with true crime media in the form of podcasts really began back in 2014 with “Serial.” Sarah Koenig, a journalist from the Baltimore area, created a podcast covering Adnan Syed’s 1999 alleged murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The project transformed true crime podcasts into the engaging media form they are today, complete with flashy music and a story-like structure. However, as the genre has exploded, with most podcasts now designed for entertainment purposes, the original goal of “Serial” got lost in translation: investigating to bring light to an innocent man’s wrongful conviction.
As an aspiring investigative journalist, I consume a lot of true crime media. Podcasts are my favorite form as I can be walking to class or drawing while getting information about one of my interests I’m most passionate about. There are many true crime podcasts that I consume and enjoy, both from an entertainment and informative perspective. My favorites are heavily involved in the cases they research and provide information for organizations involved in victim’s rights, tip-lines and information centers. They also often connect with people involved in the case so their voices can be heard.
Critics of true crime often argue how it can exploit the families involved with key players in the case. But my favorite podcasts go much further than just reporting; they are involved with many organizations within the crime communities. Despite the purpose being entertainment, a crucial role in crime media is advocating for the victims, their families, and providing ways to assist with unsolved cases. It’s important for journalists to be sensitive and use their platforms to seek justice.
When a podcast is doing more than just producing an entertaining show, it shows the depth of their involvement within the community and their care for the victims. They are respectful to the victims’ families, provide resources to help unsolved cases or the families of impacted individuals, and give a surplus of well-researched information for listeners to have a full view of the case.
Here are some of my favorite podcasts that cover all of these bases.
- “Voices for Justice.” – Sarah Turney
Sarah Turney is more than just an investigative journalist; her older sister disappeared, likely at the hands of her father, in 2001. Alissa Turney has not been found since, and her step-father’s previous status as a cop likely contributed to him being overlooked for abuse allegations and suspicious behavior for more than 20 years. Horrific realizations of her father’s involvement inspired Sarah to help other people. In her podcast, she covers the facts of cases and gives resources to help the people involved. She also interviews lots of people involved and is respectful towards victims’ families.
Her podcast has specifically shed light on her sister’s case and called for action against her father. Her work contributed to her father getting arrested and charged with her sister’s murder in 2020, 19 years after she first went missing. Turney takes all of the trauma that she and her family have endured for two decades and uses that to help other people through their experiences as well. Her podcast gives interesting insight from the perspective of someone who has been through having a missing loved one. Her work is inspiring, and her podcast and social media have helped many families find answers.
- “Morbid.” – Morbid Network
Ash and Alaina are two Massachusetts natives that have been producing this successful podcast for years. They have more than 400 episodes that include true crime stories, hauntings and ‘Listener Tales’ that cover crime and horror stories from their audience.
While they do not have any personal connections to true crime, their work has always been victim-focused and given a voice to victims and families. Their episodes are long and informative, often including many parts. They always give tip numbers for unsolved cases and provide resources to help wrongfully convicted persons they cover in their episodes or victim’s resources.
Their podcast is funny, engaging and entertaining, and they bring a comical light to discussions of the perpetrators. If you want to hear a podcast talking about the beauty of the victims and the monstrosity of the perpetrators, this one’s for you.
- “Trace Evidence.” – Steven Pacheco
This podcast is one of the most informative podcasts that I have ever listened to. It is very science based and explains in great detail how evidence ties into a case and what exactly it means. Pacheco details the cases chronologically and goes over each individual piece of evidence. He also links the evidence together very well and provides listeners with a full layout of the case. It helps the audience understand how investigations work.
Pacheco provides lots of resources about the case. His podcast is mostly unbiased, but he often discusses his opinions at the end of the episode in a discussion piece. The information provided puts the audience inside of the investigation and helps them to understand just exactly what ‘Trace Evidence’ is.
- “The Vanished Podcast.” – Wondery
This podcast exposes its listeners to only unsolved cases. It sheds light onto these crimes and gives resources to get involved and do further research because many of these cases do not get a lot of media coverage. Through listening, I have learned a lot about crimes that were swept under the rug by the media.
Missing persons’ cases are heartbreaking because the people closest to the victim are left without any answers. Loved ones are not able to put these people who have gone missing to rest, and they are just left wondering. This podcast is important to help those left without answers, and it gives underrepresented people a voice.
- “Black Girl Missing.” – Feminista Jones, Asa Todd, Niki Irene
This podcast only covers cases of minorities. Often, there is lots of injustice in criminal investigations resulting in a lack of police urgency, not enough resources to pay for things like billboards or search parties, and young, Black, women left behind from a broken system.
The people producing this podcast are hilarious, but they never lose sight of their focus through their many episodes. They share cases and bring so much attention to women and girls from minority communities that do not get the attention they deserve. This podcast also helped educate me on a lot of race issues, and it is important to hear about the experiences of minority communities and these victims’ cases as well. It is a wonderful podcast to learn about topics ranging from true crime to social justice.