11 True Crime Podcasts That Will Suck You All the Way In

We don't have to tell you that Serial is the podcast that popularized true crime podcasts with the masses. From the creators of This American Life, the Sarah Koenig-hosted show examines a different crime each season. And as we learned from season one's coverage of the Hae Min Lee murder case, it's addicting. Each episode of season three focuses on a different court case in Cleveland, OH.

Listen to Serial here.

We can't get enough of My Favorite Murder, and thanks to the 100+ episodes currently available, we don't have to give up it up any time soon. Hosted by true crime fans Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, this podcast does a deep dive once a week into an intriguing crime. Full episodes come out every Thursday, and typically run between one and two hours. If you're looking for somewhere to start, the Mary Vincent episode will live up to the hype.

Listen to My Favorite Murder here.

Sword and Scale is not for the faint of heart. This podcast gets into the grittiest, seediest true crimes imaginable, and it does not skip out on any details. The show conducts amazing interviews and boasts impressive guests, so you never know what you're going to get. It's hosted by Mike Boudet, and there are currently 123 episodes available. You can jump in on any episode, but we highly suggest Episode 57, the Derek Medina episode.

Listen to Sword and Scale here.

You've probably heard of Criminal, but with 99 episodes to date, there's no better time to dive back in. Phoebe Judge's podcast is another option for listeners who want to focus on one crime each episode, and the content is pretty impressive. Episode six is particularly striking with its focus on Frazier Glenn Miller Jr.'s public shooting, and the repercussions of the crime in small town outside Kansas City.

Listen to Criminal here.

You're going to want to get in on the Dr. Death podcast now, since Universal is currently working on a TV series based on it. Wondery's podcast is hosted by Laura Beil, and the entire six-episode series focuses on one man: Dr. Christopher Duntsch. He claimed to be one of the best doctors in Dallas, but when patients came to him for help with pain, he instead maimed and killed them until he was finally sentenced to life in prison. The case is shocking and disturbing, but Beil's reporting is as good as it gets. (And if you haven't already listened to Wondery's Dirty John, do that before the TV show premieres!)

Listen to Dr. Death here.

Sleuth is a podcast from the iHeartRadio team currently in its first season. It focuses on one crime — the murder of local theater actors Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi in Southern California. Daniel Wozniak was subsequently committed for their murders, and he currently is on death row. The podcast, however, focuses mostly on Rachel Buffett, Wozniak's ex-fiancée, and whether or not she had any involvement in the heinous crime.

Listen to Sleuth here.

This is one of our favorite true crime podcasts because, similar to My Favorite Murder, it somehow manages to combine true crime and comedy. The series mostly covers different true crime cases, but the tangents comedian hosts Kari Martin and Caitlin Cutt find themselves on are always refreshing (plus, it's a nice break from the horrific subject matter).

Listen to White Wine True Crime here.

From the creators of Serial and This American Life comes S-Town, an investigative podcast hosted by Brian Reed. It's made up of seven episodes, and it focuses on a call that came in from an antiquarian in Woodstock, AL, who asks the podcast to investigate an unsolved murder in his town. We don't want to spoil too much, but let's just say the turn of events is completely unexpected, and the effects are profound.

Listen to S-Town here.

Gimlet Media's Crimetown podcast is hosted by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier. These hosts have been making waves in media for awhile now, with work on the Catfish film and HBO's hit series The Jinx. The first series focuses on crime and corruption in Providence, Rhode Island, and it's pretty startling content. Season two began in October, and it delves into Detroit's sordid history of police corruption in the 1970s.

Listen to Crimetown here.

Writer Robin Warder hosts The Trail Went Cold, and it's exactly what it sounds like: an in-depth examination of cold cases. There are currently 92 episodes, and each story is more shocking than the last. We highly recommend Episode 82, the case of prosecutor Jonathan Luna whose body is found stabbed 36 times with his own penknife. Once you start listening to this podcast, you won't be able to stop.

Listen to The Trail Went Cold here!

With 334 episodes, The Last Podcast On The Left will provide you with hours of spooky entertainment. It's not a classic true crime podcast — in that it focuses on all sorts of dark material, like Jonestown, Roswell, Tupac, and Rasputin — but it is extremely informative, and as shocking as it gets. Comedian Ben Kissel, producer Marcus Parks, and comedian/actor Henry Zebrowski all work together on the podcast, and you will definitely enjoy their fun narrative style.

Listen to The Last Podcast on the Left here.