10 Best True Crime Podcasts of 2024
True crime is consistently the most popular podcast genre, so narrowing it down to a list of the best is very difficult. Some shows are definitely trying to cash in on this trend, and even if they are popular or reasonably well made, they are all about quantity over quality.
But not these ten: After listening to podcasts in just a few days in 2024, these are the true crime shows I couldn’t stop texting my friends about.
In the dark
The New Yorker’s third seasonof Into the Dark is one of the greatest pieces of long-form investigative work I’ve ever encountered. Madeleine Baran reports on the 2005 Haditha massacre, in which 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians were killed by US Marines, relying on stunning audio recordings and access to classified documents and photographs that reconstruct what happened and refute almost everything. which the military had previously revealed. More than simply explaining that terrible morning and the suffering of the families left behind, or finally identifying the people responsible for these war crimes, it explores how war can dehumanize others. It is sobering, compelling and difficult listening.
Empire City
Chenjerai Kumanyika is the host ofEmpire City , a show that delves into the complex history of the NYPD, right back to the very beginning – and not to sound corny, but it’s a story the cops don’t want us to know. . Chenjerai is an amazing storyteller and takes you back in time. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t really trust the police, Empire City will tell you that you probably shouldn’t do this. This is a history podcast filled with life.
Fur and hate
On December 7, 2014, a major chemical attack occurred at Midwest FurFest, a convention for the furry community, that remains unsolved a decade later. The police did not properly investigate and the media ridiculed the story, even though it was a hate crime that resulted in 19 people being hospitalized. Who would do such a thing? Finding out this fact became a white whale for internet reporter Nicky Wolfe, and now he’s covering it inFur & Loathing , a new podcast that is both a compelling investigation of true crime and an in-depth, humane look at the close-knit Furry community, the most creative and, as he puts it, Nicki, the “nicest” community on the Internet. Nicky works (and attends the Furry Convention) with a community member known as Patch O’Furr to bring attention to the story, delve deeper into the FBI investigation, and interview a likely suspect in an “alt-fur” group associated with far-right and neo-Nazi organizations. .
Quiet
In 1998, 28-year-old Harriet Thompson was murdered in her home, and thanks to a poor investigation, a racist jury, and inhumane death penalty policies, Jesse Lee Johnson was wrongly convicted on death row for 17 years for her murder.“Silence” is Jesse’s story, and it delves into the state’s weak case against him, why he never for a moment thought about a plea bargain, and what it was like to get out of prison when the state finally decided he should never have been there in the first place. first place. Hosts Leah Sottile and Ryan Haas (from Bundyville ) strive to give this case the attention it deserved the first time around through excellent investigative reporting. They record some truly shocking things on tape and track down people who are crucial to uncovering the truth about what happened.
Confessions of Anthony Raimondi
The Confessions of Anthony Raimondi introduces Anthony, a member of a New York City crime family who claims to have participated in the 1978 assassination of the Pope. It’s so full of tall tales that it’s impossible to believe them all, and that’s the whole point of this podcast: Mark Smerling (co-creator of the HBO series The Jinx ) follows Anthony’s stories and tests them, which is difficult because Anthony is such an unforgettable character and a fantastic storyteller that It can be difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. I don’t really care if these stories are true or not because Anthony is charming and the podcast is great.
Ripple
Ripple tells the story of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest oil spill in American history, with in-depth reporting that will make you angry to no end. Dan Leone takes us to the waters of the Gulf to understand what happened and what is still happening. He brings the truth out of the lies, portrays real grief and tells us the real story of how BP tried to clean up the spill and the people they put at risk in the process. Dan talks to people who have risked their lives, lost loved ones and lost their livelihoods. It rewrites the chronology of the disaster that BP and the media have given us, and is able to prove how out of control the disaster was and how weak the response was.
In addition to any repairs
Beyond Repair , Emory Sivertson’s crime series about a woman accused of murdering her mother-in-law, never misses a beat. Each episode complicates the plot, makes me question my assumptions, and ends on a cliffhanger. Emory takes us through every corner of the murder scene to find out what really happened, and eventually shares his own theory after three years of pursuing the story. There’s a microphone drop moment in the final episode that I won’t soon forget.
Noble
Noble is the fascinating story of the Tri-State Crematory, a crematorium that did not cremate bodies but threw them into a huge mass grave. It’s also about Noble’s hometown of Tri-State, Georgia, and the crime family at the center of a corrupt enterprise. He creates a compelling cast of characters among those involved in the discovery of all these bodies, as well as family members who thought they were doing the right thing, in the memory of their loved ones. Despite all this, host Shawn Raviv shows true compassion for all the people who find themselves in such strange and sad circumstances.
Slow burn
In the ninth season ofSlow Burn , subtitled “Gays vs. Briggs ,” Christina Coterucci takes us to 1970s California, where the biggest fight for gay rights in the country was underway thanks to a ballot proposal that sought to ban lesbians and gays from working in public schools. California. . The show provides all the context needed to understand the climate that allowed it to happen, all the hard work that went into stopping it, and the likelihood of something similar happening again.
ransom
Ransom is a documentary retelling of the kidnapping and ransom murder of 12-year-old McKay Everett from his Texas home in 1995, but that horrific crime is only a tiny part of the story: the podcast doesn’t begin or end with McKay’s death or even his trial. the man who killed him, a friend so close to the family that the boy called him “Uncle Hilty.” Ransom retreats – why would a man kill the son of a family friend? How did he get there? What does murder have to do with him being a student-athlete with a gambling problem? And then it moves forward: what happened to the Everett family after McKay passed away? What happened to Uncle Hilty? Who is really suspicious of Paulette, McKay’s mother? The series uses interviews, archival footage and on-the-ground reporting from producer Ben Kubrich to tell a multi-layered and emotionally complex story.