​If you like crime fiction, you'd probably enjoy the company of its cousin, true crime. This is a genre of books and documentaries about crimes and criminals from real life (versus the head of fiction writers like me). Recently, the genre successfully expanded into another medium, podcasts.

In case you don't know, a podcast is a series of recordings of one or more people talking about a topic, similar to radio shows. Like radio shows, they're free. Unlike radio shows, you access them via computer or smartphone.

If you have an iPhone, it'll be pre-loaded with a Podcast app. If you have an Android phone, you can find podcasts through Google Play Music. Spotify is another hub. You can search for a specific podcast on any of these platforms and start listening within seconds.

So...What should you search for?

Hopefully that's where my list will help. Here are the names of popular true crime podcasts, along with descriptions they've provided:

Serial

Serial is a podcast from the creators of This American Life, hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial tells one story — a true story — over the course of a season. Serial has won every major award for broadcasting, including the duPont-Columbia, Scripps Howard, Edward R. Murrow, and the first-ever Peabody awarded to a podcast.


Criminal

Criminal is an award-winning podcast about true crime. Stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle.


S-Town

S-Town is a new podcast from Serial and This American Life, hosted by Brian Reed, about a man named John who despises his Alabama town and decides to do something about it. He asks Brian to investigate the son of a wealthy family who’s allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. But then someone else ends up dead, and the search for the truth leads to a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man’s life.


Undisclosed

The Undisclosed podcast investigates wrongful convictions, and the U.S. criminal justice system, by taking a closer look at the perpetration of a crime, its investigation, the trial, and ultimate verdict... and finding new evidence that never made it to court.


Missing in Alaska

Alaska, 1972. Two congressmen vanish on a small plane. They’re never found. In 1995, a mobster tells the F.B.I. the plane was
bombed. What happened?


Bear Brook

A podcast about a cold case that's changing how murders will be investigated forever.


In the Dark

In the Dark is a Peabody Award-winning investigative podcast from APM Reports.


Criminology

Criminology is a true crime podcast that takes a deep dive into some of the most famous cases in the annals of crime. Hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford will give you every details of these infamous crimes.


True Crime Chronicles

Serial killers. Cold cases. The lost and the missing. We're working with crime reporters around the country mining newsroom archives and case files to explore unsolved mysteries, infamous criminals, and underreported cases. Will Johnson, Spencer Bruttig and Reed Redmond are digging into these stories and bringing you a new case every week.


American Scandal

Scandals have shaped America since its founding. From business and politics to sports and society, we look on aghast as corruption, deceit and ambition bring down heroes and celebrities, politicians and moguls. And when the dust finally settles, we’re left to wonder: how did this happen? Where did they trip up, and who is to blame?


Do you have a favorite true crime podcast not on the list? Mention it in the comments.

Do you know someone who loves books? Readers of all types have been embracing audiobooks recently. A subscription to Audible is a great gift for a book lover. It gives them something they already love - stories - but in a cool new format they may not have thought of trying on their own.
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