True Crime Podcast Reviews

I love podcasts.

I’ve been writing about entertainment stuff lately because somehow I haven’t been wanting to write about feelings and deeper topics, but seeing I studied journalism and was headed toward the path of an entertainment journalist, I think this is fitting enough.

Dirty John 5/10

I liked listening to Dirty John, and got through the series in just two days. It is a short series with only 6 episodes, 7 if you include the live questions after the season ends. I was surprised about the nature of the show. I have heard it’s a really good true crime, but I expected it to be a little more filled with twists and turns. Instead, I found that it was more about emotional abuse, and the way John manipulated those around him. It was still very interesting, but not worth quite the hype I felt was surrounding the show.

Serial 8/10

Serial is an interesting series because there are currently 3 different seasons, and like Dirty John, there was a television show created as a follow up. The first season of Serial follows a murder trial, the second follows the investigation of Bowe Bergdahl, a US soldier who was held prisoner of the Taliban for almost 5 years, and the third season has a lot of smaller stories in each episode to show a “behind the scenes” peek into the court systems in the United States. I liked each of the seasons, but surprisingly preferred the last two. I felt like the first season showed way too much of a bias and almost as though the convicted murderer, Adnan, charmed Sarah, the woman who did the interviews for the show, a little too much. I think he basically convinced her he was innocent, and she justified too many of his actions or explanations after seeing very blurry facts.

I liked the third season because it was so interesting to get to see a full case play out in the criminal justice system. I love shows like Law and Order SVU, so getting to hear some real stories play out and see how the police and court handle criminals was fascinating. If you haven’t listened to Serial yet, this should be one of the next podcasts on your list.

Crime Junkie Podcast 10/10

Currently OBSESSED with this pod. So much so, that I even heard my husband humming the theme song the other night, and he hasn’t even listened to an episode with me. I think it’s because it’s super catchy and I’ve been listening nonstop since I discovered it. The hosts, Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, are super entertaining and such good storytellers. They find interesting crimes to talk about and have some solved and other unsolved mysteries. I like being able to research afterwards, and there are dozens of episodes for me to catch up on. I like this one so much I think I’ll sign up for their Patreon account after I finish everything!

Confronting O.J. Simpson with Kim Goldman 7/10

The new podcast about O.J. is interesting, especially since I didn’t live through this trial, so don’t know as much about it as I could. I’m a little bit of a KUWTK fan, so listening through some of the details that made the family famous is quite interesting. I kind of zoned out a little, though, and wasn’t interested enough to rewind and hear what I had missed, so it’s not as captivating as other podcasts. This is just airing now, so there are only 3 episodes out, but it’s worth a listen if you’re even just remotely interested in this murder case.

Man in The Window 10/10

This is my favorite podcast that is currently going on. It’s #1 in the charts right now, and for good reason. Man in The Window is about the Golden State Killer, and although his crimes took place in the 70s and 80s, Joe DeAngelo was arrested recently for these crimes, and it is all so fresh that he hasn’t even entered a plea yet. It apparently might take years for the trial to begin, but it will definitely be more interesting following along after listening to this show. One of the episodes gave me goosebumps, and it’s definitely not something you want to listen to unless you’re in the mood for some heavy true crime.

What are your favorite podcasts? I clearly like true crime and am currently hooked on it, but I’m game for pretty much anything. A few more lighthearted favorites include The Morning Toast, Reality TV RHAP-ups during the Big Brother season, How I Built This, Off The Vine, and a political podcast that will remain nameless.