True crime podcasts are a bloody phenomenon, honestly. There are so many these days, from full-on investigative reports to folks chatting away over a wine.
If you love true crime podcasts, there’s a good chance you consider yourself an amateur sleuth, figuring out whodunit about everything from the JonBenet Ramsay case to Adnan Syed. So we’ve rounded up the best true crime podcasts that focus on the cold cases – the unsolved stuff that still has people going over the evidence and the facts hoping for a breakthrough.
1. ALL AUSSIE MYSTERY HOUR
Lol, guys. OFC WE ARE GOING TO PUT OUR TRUE CRIME PODCAST FIRST IN THE LIST. Don’t be mad – just come have a listen to me and Josie, my Editor, sitting down weekly for a chat about an unsolved murder, supernatural mystery, or general creepy goings-on. We’ve covered everything from the mysterious Lithgow Panther to Harold Holt, the Aussie prime minister who just BLOODY DISAPPEARED at sea, to The Wanda Beach Murders.
2. LOST IN LARRIMAH
The disappearance of Paddy Moriarty from the teeny, tiny NT town of Larrimah is still a mystery – the local went missing last year, and the case is yet to be solved. Did one of the 11 residents of Larrimah have something to do with it? Was Paddy involved in shady dealings? This podcast covers it all.
3. S-TOWN
If you haven’t listened to S-Town, DO. The very hyped offshoot from Serial was panned by some because it’s not really about a crime per-se, but without giving too much away – there IS an unsolved death, and it IS really mysterious. Plus, it’s just a damn good story, told damn well.
4. UNRAVEL
ABC’s Unravel now has two stellar seasons under it’s belt, each dealing with a different unsolved Australian murder. The first season focuses on the death of Mark Haines, an Indigenous 17-year-old boy from Tamworth. The second focuses on the disappearance of Trudie Adams, a teen girl from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, who went missing after being picked up by a hitchhiker in the ’70s. The investigative journalism is outstanding, and you’ll be having many, many deep-dive convos with friends after listening.
5. TEACHER’S PET
Who HASN’T binged the hell out of Teacher’s Pet, the podcast that’s spawned entire unofficial Facebook groups dedicated to solving the disappearance of Lyn Dawson? If you are one of the few who hasn’t had a chance to listen in yet, DO IT. It’s a creepy, long road of a story full of weird shit like super-close twins, student/teacher relationships and suss behaviour.
6. SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING
Each season, this acclaimed podcast covers a different unsolved case. Some are disappearances, some are murders, all are riveting and well-covered by host David Ridgen, an award-winning filmmaker turned podcast investigator.
7. ACCUSED
Another podcast that focuses on the one case, Accused goes back over the details of the murder of Elizabeth Andes, a woman found dead in her apartment in 1978. Someone was charged for her murder – but was it the right person?
