True Crime Podcasts To Binge Listen this Winter

One thing that get's me through the dark days of winter is a good story. Besides reading books and watching (probably too much) TV, I also love to curl up with a riveting True Crime podcast and get lost in the story for a day.

So today I'm sharing with you my favorite binge-worthy true crime podcasts. I've tried my best to include a wide variety of crimes and these are all limited podcasts that have released the full story already, so you can start binge listening all of them right now. 

1. Bear Brook 

Case type: Unidentified murder victims

Bear Brook is one of the best True Crime podcasts I have ever listened to. It really brings you into the community that has formed around four victims whose bodies were found in barrels in the woods of Bear Brook state park. The podcast both investigates who the unidentified victims might be through DNA and genealogy research and who might have been involved in their deaths. Especially the inside look into DNA forensics makes this podcast a unique must listen!

2. Your Own Backyard 

Case type: Missing person/murder

A young college girl goes missing and years later many people suspect she was murdered by a member of the community, but no justice prevails. I was astounded by the amount of witnesses the podcast got together to paint a very well supported story of the victims last days as well as the life of the main suspect both before and after the crime. This podcast is, in my opinion, a prime example of a great True Crime podcast. It was made together with the family of the victim and actually helped to get the process of justice started!

3. Dangerous Memories

Case type: Brainwashing, mindcontrol, fraud

I've always been fascinated by the mindcontrol that happens in cults, but this podcasts shows another type of brainwashing. Where a wellness guru slowly get's a grip on her 'therapy patients' and starts controlling their lives. The victims, who didn't know eachother at the time, detail how they were slowly brainwashed, and more importantly, how they finally broke free of their 'therapists' control. I've never heard a more detailed story of all the steps that lead to being able to control someones mind and what life is like as a victim of it.

4. An Absurd Result

Case type: childrape and wrong conviction

What if you think your rapist is behind bars, only to find out that the wrong person was convicted? And then imagine being wrongfully convicted of one the worst crimes possible: sexually assaulting a child, finally regaining your freedom only after DNA proves your innocence.

Both sides of that story are told in this podcast with such grace and strength, I sometimes listened to it breathlessly. It's an amazing portrait of human strenght in the face of severe injustice and a great podcast to binge listen.

5. The Lost Kids

Case type: Missing child and systemic child abuse

You might have seen it covered in the media before: wilderness camps who promise desperate parents that they will 'cure' their children with behavioral problems. This podcast investigates the 'troubled teens' industry through the story of a child that went missing trying to escape on of those camps. The harrowing stories from that camp really made an impression on me that I'll never be able to shake.

6. The Dropout

Case type: Scams and fraud

This is one of the craziest and most fascinating scam cases I have ever heard of. Elizabeth Holmes started a company for a revolutionairy blood tests she invented. It became a massive succes and she became a well known, succesful businesswoman. However, the revolutionairy blood tests never existed. The whole (massively succesful!) company was a sham. The podcast traces back just how that was able to happen and also covers the criminal trial that followed when the truth came out. The storytelling in the podcast completely inveloped me into the world of Theranos (the company) and the story hasn't left my mind ever since.

7. Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo

Case type: Abducted, missing child

An indigenous girl get's taken from her home by social workers, never to be seen again by her family. When they try to find what happend her, information is vague. The podcast tries to get to the bottom of why she was seperated from her family and what happend after she got adopted. It's a harrowing, personal account of the impact of racist systems in Canada that resulted in families being destroyed and kids lives being ruined. It was a topic I knew very little about, but the podcast does a great job of explaining the context of the case and also makes it very clear how important it is for these stories to be told.

8. Unravel: Snowball

Case type: Scammer

What if your family got scammed by someone you thought would marry into the family? It happend to the host of Unravel: Snowball and in the podcast he tries to find the woman who scammed his family. In doing so, he's made an amazing podcast about how normal people fall for a scammer. While the topic is of course nothing joyful, I found the family so charming that this crime podcast actually left me with a warm heart!

9. A Very British Cult

Case type: cult

Often podcasts are made when cults are falling apart and people are leaving. This podcast is actually about a very active cult that shows no sign of stopping. It's a very interesting look at the impact of cults on the families of it's victims. And what it is like for them to try and get their loved ones out of the environment controlled by the cult. 

10. Death in Ice Valley

Case type: unidentified mysterious death

If you are a fan of mysteries like the man found on somerton beach, you will find this a particularly interesting case. It's about a woman who was found dead in an odd location, without identification. Even stranger, she had been seen around the area, yet very few clues to her identity were found. Investigators couldn't even figure out whether she died by murder or a strange suicide. The podcast goes through all the clues and tries to get closer to her identity and what exactly led to her dying.

11. Believe in Magic

Case type: medical scam

A young woman starts a very succesful charity for sick kids, while she herself is batteling a brain tumor. But while the charity is helping children, online sleuths start to wonder how sick the teenager really is. 

This story had a lot of twists and turns and I was so engaged I binged the whole thing without even thinking twice. The top notch storytelling and great journalism make this podcasts my first recommendation for everyone looking for a medical scam story like the popular podcast Scamanda.

12. I'm not a Monster 

Case type: terrorism

One crime that isn't often covered in true crime podcasts is terrorism. This podcast takes on the challenge of diving into the complex case of women who travel to a caliphate to join ISIS. This podcast has won a lot of prizes and I'm not surprised, the journalist host went above and beyond to do the stories justice and my mouth kept falling open because of the shocking details he unearthed.

13. Escaping NXVIM 

Case type: cult

NXVIM is a cult that sents shivers down my spine whenever I think of it. The podcast goes into the complex structure of the cult and exactly how people were brainwashed from doing just a self help seminar to getting the cult leaders initials branded onto their bodies. The podcast is created together with one of the highest members of the cult who escaped, so the account of what happend is detailed and deeply personal. It makes for a fantastic podcast.

14. Who Killed Emma?

Case type: murder

Everything about this story is both crazy and maddening until the very end. It investigates the unsolved murder of Emma and the strange police investigation that never went anywhere. Somewhat unique is the fact that the podcast manages to get the main suspect on record, before he was finally charged with the murder of Emma. The whole thing is baffeling and I won't spoil more of the story besides that I found the podcast extremely gripping and well made.

And that's my list! As always, I will add podcasts if I find a new one that fits the bill. 

If you found this list helpful, check out my other lists too, like this one with investigative podcasts without murders!

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