By: Amanda Valentine | Staffwriter
Within the past year, I have consumed a lot of true crime. A lot. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I at least classify as definitively obsessed. While I have yet to delve into the genre through books, I have watched a lot of documentary series, and listened to a lot of podcasts. If you’re someone who has just gotten into true crime or someone who wants to, here is my curated list of series I would recommend-and I couple I wouldn’t- to help you dive in.
(A warning: you might find that your Spotify Discovery Weekly becomes less accurate as you eventually spend all your listening time on true crime podcasts).
Podcasts:
Most Bingeable: Crime Junkie
I found this series midsummer this year, and though the series had launched almost 100 episodes at the time, I listened to the whole thing in just a couple weeks. The hosts are Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, but Ashley does most of the talking while Brit does the listening (offering her own insights and questions from time to time). They cover everything from murders to conspiracies, striking a perfect balance between telling a story and simply giving the facts. Additionally, their podcast does not require you to listen in any particular order- while they sometimes reference back to other cases they have done before, there is no definite need for continuity. If you’re new to the show, just scroll through their many episodes until you find a case you’d like to hear about, and listen!
Most Unique (and Humorous): My Favorite Murder
When I first tried to listen to this show shortly after I had finished Serial and needed more true crime content, I honestly did not like it. The hosts- Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark- didn’t cover any true crime for the first whole fifteen minutes or so of the episode that I had chosen. Not a fan of the commentary and conversation when I wanted true crime stories, I decided to give up on it. A year later-having listened to every episode I could of Crime Junkie and some others-I needed a new podcast, so I tried it again. This time, I appreciated it for its own personality. The two hosts have performance backgrounds: thus, their show often has a charismatic and comedic tone, but maintain an ability to not be disrespectful of the often dark content. Their show is primarily split between long episodes where each host picks a case to tell the other, mixed with “Minisodies” wherein they take turns reading multiple short “hometown” stories submitted to them from their fans (“Murderinos”). Their content ranges from well known serial killers like the Green River killer, to conspiracies like the Moth Man, to silly stories from hometowns all over the world. As someone used to mostly plain factual content, this took me time to get used to, but now I eagerly await the release of each new episode. It is the most light-hearted of any other series on this list.
For The First-Time Listener: Serial
If you listen to any true crime podcast that isn’t Serial, there’s a 99% chance that the host will mention that their obsession with true crime podcasts began with Serial. My own obsession began there as well, just about two years ago now, so of course Serial is near and dear to my own heart too. Narrated by Sarah Koenig, the series boasts three seasons now, but is almost always associated with just its first season, which covers the case of Adnan Syed. I won’t recap the whole case- the podcast does that better than I could- but it boils down to a debate on whether or not the convicted man- Adnan- is innocent. The storytelling is nuanced, captivating, and brilliant: it includes interviews with nearly everyone related to the case, even Adnan himself on multiple occasions. If you know nothing about this case, I highly suggest catching up-it’s ongoing, and despite a conviction, unsolved.
For a Deep-Dive into a Case: Cold
Cold unravels the case of the extremely messed-up Powell family murders. The murderer at the center of the case shared a lot of characteristics with other murderers-abusive in relationships, manipulative, traumatized-but the story that led to the murder of his wife and two children is a rabbit-hole of information. This case is astoundingly sad and hard to hear, but the host, Dave Cawley, gives a respectful and compassionate overview. This is one of many case-study style true crime podcasts, but this is among the most well-written that I have heard.
A Little Too Disturbing (Would Not Recommend): 22 Hours: An American Nightmare
I had listened to about half of the episodes of 22 Hours that had been released before midsummer this year, but I had to stop. The case covers the 22 hours during which the Savopoulos family was tortured and eventually killed in their own house just outside the D.C. area. While the podcast captivated me for some time, eventually the details became hard to keep track of-whether this is a result of poor storytelling or poor attention on my part, I do not know. Mainly, I stopped listening because of how horrifying the case was. The details were hard to bear, and the producers held back very little. If you’re looking for a very tense and bone-chilling listen, this might be the podcast for you.
Not Very Genuine (Would Not Recommend): Up and Vanished
Some other podcast hosts have referred to this cast as one they liked (or at least listened to), but I found it impossible to listen to. Not only is the production sub-par, but the narrator does not seem to have a real passion for the case. Within the first episode, he remarks that he had started the podcast after listening to Serial, and wanting to do something similar. He chose the case by browsing the internet until he found a local one which was good enough to do a podcast on. To me, “digging around for a case” to do a podcast on seems like a cop-out. While I do not want to assume what the narrator’s motivations were (they could’ve been perfectly good-natured) the lack of passion, combined with the bad audio and distracting music, made this podcast not worth the time.
Netflix Shows:
Best Dramatized Series: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
I watched through many strictly factual crime documentaries before giving a dramatized one a chance, and I’m glad I did. While dramatization often leads to producers taking some creative liberties-as evidenced by the ‘hacksaw’ scene in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil-this one takes those liberties to dive into what the mind and everyday life of a killer might look like. Darren Criss portrays the emotional range and instability of spree killer Andrew Cunanan with captivating depth and smoothness between transitions, bringing the entire show to another level. The show’s quick turns of pace and varied perspectives make it an interesting look at the case and the people who were unfortunately pulled into Cunanan’s tricks. Two other dramatized series that deserve shout-outs as runners-up to this show would be The People vs. O.J. Simpson, which is packed with star power, and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil, which features an unmissable performance by Zac Efron.
Mind-boggling with the Best Interviews: Abducted in Plain Sight
Taking place in 1974, the series covers the abduction of 12-year-old Jan Broberg, who was taken from her unsuspecting family by a close family friend. This case differs from many other series in that it is not a cold case: the show does not present the facts to the viewer, then just leave it to them to decide what happened. Instead, because Jan Broberg survived the abduction, she herself is featured in interviews throughout the series. This instantly sets the series apart from others, because almost always the victim of so horrible a crime does not live to tell the tale. Her abductor, Robert Berchtold, took her away and convinced the young girl through the use of isolation and tape recordings that she had to fulfill a ‘mission’, which would mean having a relationship and intercourse with 40-year-old Berchtold. Jan thankfully lives to overcome this horrifying trauma, and becomes strong enough to share her story in the documentary Abducted in Plain Sight.
A Factual Snapshot Summary: Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
If you’re not familiar with the Ted Bundy case, you’re probably new to the world of true crime storytelling. It is among the most well-known and widely discussed. Conversations with a Killer, though only four episodes long, provides a snapshot of the case’s basics supplemented by some fascinating visual and auditory evidence related to the case. The series does lack making real insight, instead choosing to stick to the facts. However with the volume of other Ted Bundy content available in the media, it’s not hard to dive further into the case if you were compelled to after watching. Its flaw, as many critics pointed out, is that it focuses heavily on Ted’s likability and charm, almost seeming to sympathize with the downfall of such a ‘promising man’. It functions well as a complement to Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil, giving the facts while the latter gives the emotion. It’s not a perfect series, but it is very binge-able (One night’s-worth, in my own experience.)
A Shocking Wrongful Conviction: Making a Murderer
Of all the Netflix true crimes series, this one is my favorite. The case had become gradually more well known in the past few years, but has been ongoing for a long time. It includes the wrongful conviction of an innocent man, Steven Avery, who spent 18 years in prison before regaining his rightful freedom. Then, a few years later he was convicted a second time for another rape and murder, this time bringing young Brendan Dassey into the case as an accessory. The series exposes the details of the case, outlining what the evidence shows and cutting holes into the prosecution’s case. In the second murder trial, the prosecution relies almost entirely on the confession of Dassey as evidence, but it’s clear that his confession was coerced and fed to him. This series is filled with twists, jaw-dropping moments, and hard-to-swallow truths about the justice system. Making a Murderer’s deep dive into this case proves that the verdict is not necessarily the truth. However, while the first series is great work, the second series falls flat as a continuation, focusing too much on the media hype around the first series and not enough around the case itself. If you choose to watch this, I would recommend just stopping after season one.
Not Quite Captivating (Would Not Recommend): Evil Genius
The first scene in this series focuses in on the security tape of a man with a ticking bomb strapped to his chest, begging for the policemen around him- who stand guarded behind their cars- to help him before it goes off. The police, likely too scared and unsure what to believe, continue pointing their guns at him until finally, the bomb goes off and he explodes along with it. It is an extremely disturbing clip, and sets the tone for the rest of the documentary. It is an aggressive, hard to watch work. While there is value to be found in this kind of production, I found the constant urgency and gore of the series to be too much to bear at points and therefore was more deterred than drawn in.
Didn’t Love, Didn’t Hate: The Staircase
The Staircase covers the case of Michael Peterson, who had two wives, both of whom died by falling down the staircase. The likelihood of this kind of freak accident at all makes each separate death sort of questionable- but the fact that this could happen twice in a man’s life makes the nearly identical “accidents” very suspicious. While the case itself is very interesting, I felt as though the documentary itself often dragged on. This is definitely a case to know, but somewhat hard of a documentary to get through.
