I am firmly of the belief that you can never have too much of a good thing and while not all true crime podcasts can be considered a “good thing,” I’ve got some that definitely qualify. 2020 is not the time to start limiting yourself! So dive on in.
RedHanded
If you’re into British accents, two lady-best friends riffing off of each other, and sarcasm, this podcast will definitely hit the spot. I definitely get some My Favorite Murder vibes, but more research-heavy. The best part of this show is that these two best friends consistently ask each other’s opinions on the cases they discuss. While they sometimes wholeheartedly agree, they frequently disagree but always manage to have a reasonable, civil discussion. These women have mastered the conversational true crime podcast.
Criminal Broads
Tori Telfer is a master storyteller (and after having written 2 books, I would hope so) and this podcast is an example of just how fun it can be to have someone line up a really well-curated experience for you. Considering the popularity of conversational and series podcasts, episodic and pre-written podcasts tend to get lost in the weeds, but Criminal Broads is a great divergence from the norm, particularly if you’re interested in historical crime.
Crime Junkie
This is another lady-best friends podcast but is sort of a blend between conversational and pre-written, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. The direction that the conversation needs to go is planned out (and there are definitely some responses that are pre-written to seem conversational but aren’t), but there is also a fair amount of casual discussion between the friends. A couple of things that this podcast does incredibly well is take time and space for the victims in every case as well as consistently doing episodes related to missing person cases, which is really important considering most of these cases remain open.
Once Upon a Crime
Once Upon a Crime blends a series podcast and an episodic podcast into one by having multi-episode themes, like “Black Widows,” “Cursed Hollywood,” and even “Bad Sports”. The host, Esther Ludlow is professional and thorough in her research and storytelling but will pop in the occasional humorous and relatable aside. I also think this podcast has the most cases that aren’t typically covered by true crime media.
I know that once I get through the entirety of a podcast that I like I tend to worry that I’m never going to find another show to binge, and I’m kind of heartbroken. However, lucky for all of us freaks, there’s always more true crime content to find, and these are just four of my newfound favorites. Happy listening!