True Crime Podcasts to Follow
My 5, I mean 6, Favorite True Crime Podcasts
My favorite True Crime podcasts are @DateDateline and @MomsandMurder. In fact, I was introduced by them to the world of True Crime through podcasts. I don’t understand what got me interested in True Crime, because I didn’t like reading books, blogs or magazines about it, but for some reason perusing through podcasts titles I found @DateDateline and that was it.
A Date with Dateline introduced me to @MomsandMurder. After about a year of listening to the podcast I realized Mandy and Melissa (Moms and Murder gals) live in my back yard! Oh wow. I was looking forward to meeting all of them at CrimeCon in Orlando in 2020, but we all know what happened to that! In any case, if you are into True Crime these are two podcasts to follow. I have tried a few others which post regularly, but these are my two faves.
A Date with Dateline. If you don’t think opposites attract, you will be converted by listening to Kimberly and Katie’s A Date with Dateline. These gals are one of a kind. I mean it. It took me a few episodes to like them, but I was hooked from the first time I heard them. I’ve read some posts online about some listeners not liking one or the other’s personality and such, but it’s actually their personalities that grab your attention. Anywho (as my dad used to say), they get my #NumeroUno vote. Kimberly and Katie are one of a kind (I already said that) and if you like the TV show Dateline, you’re in for a treat. These ladies know their stuff. They thread through Dateline episodes with their insight into the crime, the characters (I know these are real people, but bear with me) and the B-Roll! Yes the B-roll. B-roll is the fluff video TV shows use to fill up gaps. In the case of Dateline I guess they try to give you some inkling into people’s backgrounds or the place where the crime occurred. Kimberly and Katie’s perspective and dissection of the B-Roll is thoughtful and many times hilarious. Also, they come up with alternative titles, which are right on target.
One thing I haven’t been able to pinpoint is which one of the Dateline anchors they like the best. You see, Dennis is Enough, The Mank has been interviewed by them the most, Andrea is the Queen (and I agree), Keith Morrison, oh my… what’s not to love, and even Lester gets their love. I say even, because we don’t see Lester Holt so much on the show itself. Now that Natalie Morales is also on board, we’ll have to see.
Kimberly and Katie have been friends for forever, yes for forever. Sometimes they get into personal territory, but not as much lately. In the podcast and through their social media accounts we’ve met Kimberly’s mom and dad, and Katie’s husband, Oliver, and we FINALLY! saw their faces. They kept themselves hidden behind their voice for a couple of years, but it was worth the wait. They are a balanced duo because they are so different.
They took Dateline’s “do not watch alone” suggestion to a T. They started in their living rooms and took their insights to their mikes (or did they start recording on their iPhones?, I believe that’s how they started). Then they followed blasting their voices, in a good way, to all of us, and look how far they’ve come. I for one, am thankful for it. So, if you want to learn a bit about them listen to their 2017–2018 episodes. (I didn’t think I was going to write so much about them,🤪).
Moms and Murder. Melissa and Mandy are mom’s first, then podcasters, in that order. The Orlando area moms thrive by digging up interesting cases, doing extensive research and serving it to us on a platter of homey back and forth. When you listen, you feel like you’re one of their BFF’s. Melissa loves chickens, she has many at home. We were introduced to them in their website’s previous blog format, but you can find them on their merchandise. Mandy loves diet-Coke.
Mandy and Melissa post their Podcasts on average once a week. Their first episode dropped July 19, 2017 and they haven’t looked back. Success was at their door because of their dedication to the subject matter, to their fans and listeners, and due as well to their down to earth style. Mandy and Melissa take breaks now and then to fulfill family obligations and vacations. It’s a bummer for us, but they need time for their kids (and husbands, of course). When their photos came up as they traveled the world of CrimeCon and other venues, I had a hard time putting the voices to the faces. Who was Mandy? Which one is Melissa? Now, with the new photo on their website, I know Melissa is the tall one! 😉 (Just in case you’re also wondering).
They have posted 185 episodes (per their website, a few are 3 minute announcements). I see their first two were dedicated, in true Central Florida fashion, to the most hated criminal in this area, Casey Anthony. (Is she a criminal if she was found not guilty?) I had not listened to these two episodes (Part 1 and Part2) and “had no idea” they had covered it. But of course, they did. To clarify, they won’t cover cases involving children, though the Casey Anthony case does involve the death of a child. I guess there are exceptions and this case is an anomaly.
Over the years they have had segments. Their first one was hashtag I’m invincible when (#ImInvincibleWhen). Melissa also had the I Googled this City segment which was a fan favorite (at least this fan). A couple of months ago she decided not to continue with it. Over the years they’ve shared interesting things about themselves. At the end of the episode they play entertaining games. They say they’re just housewives and not professional in any way (which I beg to differ) and not having a journalistic background, they do pretty well. They even list their sources! I almost forgot, a listener even wrote a song for them!
Mandy and Melissa have many ways to connect with their fans through their social media accounts on twitter, instagram, Facebook and of course, their website. If you’re into True Crime, this is a definite podcast to follow, and to echo Melissa, to not give them 5 stars 🌟, would be a crime.
I know I said SIX… and here are the others, in order of favoritism. These post regularly or in serial form, yearly, or as research allows. I recommend them, you’ll be hooked. If you’ve never listened to those, you should download the old ones and then wait for the new ones to come. I hope these will feed your hunger for this genre.
Death in Ice Valley is a podcast produced by BBC News Worldservice. The mystery is still unsolved and the hosts are searching asiduously to solve it. By doing the research and producing superb podcasts they put out their theories and the true facts. Listeners get involved and send them their theories and facts as well, and it has become an international sensation. It is hosted by Norwegian investigative journalist Maritt Higraff and British BBC radio documentary maker Neill McCarthy.
Between secret police files, codes they’ve asked the listeners to crack, and rummaging through old files in libraries and state archives throughout Europe, the series has me and thousands others hooked. Also, the professionalism of its hosts keeps you glued to your phone. As well, Maritt’s mysterious and bewitching voice adds more to the allure of the podcast.
The podcast is about only one case, the mysterious death of the Isdal Woman, who was found “badly burnt, in a remote valley in Norway on the north Atlantic coast of Scandinavia in 1970.” She did not have any identity, therefore the mystery. Who killed her? Was she a spy? Was it a lover’s quarrel? A crime of passion? 51 years have passed and still nobody knows who she was. It’s a mystery that “has perplexed Norwegians for nearly half a century,” Higraff says.
Cold Case Files Podcast are excerpts of the Emmy-nominated series on A&E Cold Case Files TV show which have been edited for Podcast consumption. The podcast episodes are produced by PodcastOne and hosted by Hosted by Brooke Gittings. The stories are narrated by Bill Kurtis. Cold Case files (the TV show) started back in 1999.
If you are into cold cases, this is a great source, because it delves into one percent of cold cases, the ones which are solved. So, you get to hear in the half hour episode the whole case and its conclusion.
Brooke Gittings is a social worker turned podcaster who has produced many different True Crime podcasts some in pursuit of helping those who need to get their stories out there. Some of her previous works include: Foul Play, The Vanished, Convicted, Actual Innocence. She also produced and hosted “Buried Alive” the story about the wrongful conviction of Demarchoe Carpenter.
Unsolved Murders. An honorable mention, because I don’t have a lot of time to do more research today, is for Unsolved Murders, by Parcast and hosted by Wenndy Mackenzie and Carter Roy. These are cold cases which are still unsolved, as it’s title illustrates. If you like historical stories, this is your cup of tea. They have many cases which are very old and they sprinkle their storytelling with dramatizations of the main characters, which is a nice touch. I recommend it.
Felonious Florida is a podcast produced by journalists from the Sun Sentinel, the main newspaper in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and presented in audio form in partnership with Wondery. As it is well known, a lot of weirdness comes out of Florida, I can say that, I live here. This podcast, is no exception. They focus on cases which range from the bizarre to the macabre and do it very well. The producers spend a lot of time researching the cases get to uncover details officials have not found or dealt with. The series was created by Lisa Arthur and Juan Ortega and is produced by David Schutz. I wish they’d drop another season.
In its first season came out in 2018, they covered the cases of Casey’s Nickelodeon Murders and the unsolved Boca Raton Mall Murders. These were researched and produced by Sun Sentinel reporters Lisa Arthur and Juan Ortega. The first season was hosted by Lisa Arthur.
The second season dropped also in 2018, covering the cases of “The Killer Clown of Wellington,” the “Disappearance of Lisa Spence,” and “The Encino Murders“ produced by Tonya Alanez and Marc Freeman. It is hosted by EmmaKate Austin and Stephen Hobbs.
Since its last drop back in 2019, which was an update on its first Season, the “Verdict in the Casey’s Nickelodeon Murder Trial,” we have yet to receive another case. We’ve been teased with promotions from Wondery, but nothing else. Will we get another Felonious Florida case? I hope so.
The podcast is platformed on Wondery’s network, but is also available on various podcast websites. For the whole list of the producers, editors and journalists involved go to its website.
