Yes it’s 2 posts this week again! Wow!
(And you may have seen this post up earlier this week… I’d originally meant to schedule it for Friday 7/5 but accidentally published it earlier and didn’t catch it til later. Guess I could’ve left it but I like to space things out, so I went in and rescheduled it to post the correct day!)
But I’ve been slowly working on this post off and on the past couple of months and finally making myself finish it; I have people on IG ask fairly often what podcasts I listen to since I bring them up in my stories sometimes. So I thought I’d make a list.
I can point to the exact moment I became obsessed with podcasts; January 2017 when my friend Gabe held his phone over the table to me and said “You ever heard of My Favorite Murder?” I was working on Bespin Leia at that point and having some new form of entertainment was perfect timing. I listen to podcasts at work, when I’m napping, and when I’m sewing… so a good portion of the day LOL. Sometimes I break it up with music, and once I get my TV hooked up in my sewing room (going on 6 months without it, haven’t missed it yet…) I’m sure I’ll break it up with my constant-sewing-companion MST3K again, but for now it’s podcasts all day and all night!
And… I’m a true crime fan at heart so a lot of these are true crime. So fair warning if you’re not into true crime you probably won’t care for 75% of this list! LOL.
1. Already Gone
All about missing/murdered people from Michigan. I’ve never even been to Michigan but I still enjoy every episode of this podcast. The host’s voice is my favourite voice in all of my podcasts I listen to, she just has a beautiful voice and a wonderful story-telling style. And covers a lot of cases I’ve never heard of. I only subscribed to this one a few months ago so I’m still making my way through the back catalog, but when new episodes pop up they’re a “listen immediately” for me.
2. And That’s Why We Drink
I love this show because it’s true crime AND paranormal. One host tells a paranormal story and the other tells a true crime story. I LOVE paranormal stuff but thus far haven’t found many other paranormal podcasts that have worked for me. It took a bit for the hosts to grow on me but now I look forward to their banter every week; it’s one of those that’s like being with 2 good friends all joking around together and telling fun stories.
3. Bear Brook
A podcast dedicated to the Bear Brook murders, the unidentified woman and children found in barrels years ago. I’ve been interested in this case for ages and this podcast does an amazing job breaking the story down, following the DNA updates, and the recent breaking news about the case! I binged this one in no time, it was (is) excellent.
4. Casefile
Ah yes, what true crime podcast fan doesn’t listen to Casefile? Two things I enjoy about Casefile – first, the host’s beautiful accent and speaking voice! I could listen all day! (and sometimes I do.) Second, they cover a lot of interesting crimes from around the world, often things I’ve never heard of. When they do multi-part stories you know you’re going to get an incredibly in-depth telling; my husband and I listened to the Belanglo/Backpacker Murder series on our way back from our last Orlando trip and even my husband (who doesn’t like true crime) was hooked on it.
5. Cold
Yes. It’s more true crime. I warned you! This is a long podcast (18 hour long episodes!) about the disappearance of Susan Powell. This is super in-depth and another one I binged when I first started listening. It’s an insane story and a lot the story is taken directly from journals of the involved parties. It’s one I think I’m going to listen to again in the future.
6. (deleted)
This is one I’ve only recently started listening to so I’m still making my way through their back catalog. One thing I like about their episodes is they categorize them; ie, “Unidentified” “Murdered” “Conspiracy” “Missing”… so when I’m scrolling thru looking for an episode to listen to I can kinda pick when I’m in the mood for.
After recent allegations of plagiarism I’ve unsubscribed to this one and no longer recommend.
7. Don’t Talk to Strangers
This is another podcast by the host behind Already Gone above, this one focusing only on the Oakland County Child Murders. This is the one I started listening to – and enjoying – before finding another she also did another podcast (Already Gone). One of the things I like about both podcasts is she does such an amazing job of setting the scene; the time period, the location, what life was like when these things happened.
8. Dr Death
This was a short-run podcast about a surgeon who messed up the lives of a lot of his patients. If medical stuff squicks you, maybe avoid it; but otherwise highly recommend if you’re into medical crime stories.
9. Dressed: The History of Fashion
HEY! We finally got to one that isn’t about crime! I tend to let Dressed episodes build up and then binge all the ones I’ve missed at once. If you’re into historical costumes/fashion it’s a great podcast, the hosts are charming and knowledgeable and they cover some REALLY interesting subjects. I especially enjoy their mini “Fashion History Mystery” episodes.
10. In the Dark
This is another one I only recently started listening to and I absolutely devoured the first season about Jacob Wetterling’s disappearance. Incredibly in-depth. Season 2 is about a murder in Mississippi and the man accused of the crime – and tried 6 times for it. The second season is one I had my (not-a-fan-of-true-crime) husband listen to and he’s really enjoying it; it does not focus heavily on gory details – they tell you what you need to know and focus more on the (crazy) investigation, and the (crazy) trials.
11. Into Thin Air
I’m including this one though I haven’t even really listened to it yet. I got a recommendation on this podcast after listening to another podcast’s episode about this same crime. I started the first episode before taking a nap so I only heard a few minutes of it! But the first few minutes I enjoyed so I plan to binge through it while sewing soon. It’s about the disappearance of a little girl, sort of similar to the Casey Anthony case.
12. The Murder Squad
This is the podcast with investigator Paul Holes and journalist Billy Jensen – having heard both on My Favorite Murder previously, I’ve been subscribed since it’s started but honestly haven’t listened a lot yet. I’ve let episodes build up without listening recently so I think soon I’m going to binge through the newer ones soon.
13. The Last Podcast on the Left
Ok so I have to be honest here. When I first saw this podcast recommended somewhere on reddit, I went and listened to an episode, and didn’t like it much. It was like 3 guys yelling over each other and pretty NSFW. (And the earlier episodes are even more NSFW so fair warning!) But at some I went back and listened to another episode and… got hooked. And now, it’s my favourite podcast. I refresh my podcast feed every wednesday and friday night looking for the side stories episode to go up on wednesday and the main episode to go up on friday. It’s hilarious, they cover a lot of interesting topics, not just true crime, but also aliens, paranormal, conspiracies, cults. And they do incredible research! I love the hosts and I WISH THEY’D DO A SHOW HERE IN MEMPHIS PLEASE.
14. Lore
Ok who doesn’t listen to Lore? But I have 2 problems with Lore. First, I often listen to it in the mornings when I’m alone at work and get so creeped out I have to turn it off and save it for later. LOL. Second, the host’s dulcet, soothing voice and cadence often lull me to sleep. LOL. Ok so those are personal problems and not podcast problems. I love the creepy stories and especially the music.
15. Movie Sign with the Mads
It’s Dr Forrester and TV’s Frank reviewing movies! What more could you want. I don’t listen to this one as frequently, I let the episodes build up and often go through them at work, because it’s one I can listen to at work without offending anybody who happens to hear it LOL. I typically don’t like listening to/reading movie reviews but they are funny and provide interesting perspectives on both new and old movies.
16. My Favorite Murder
This is the one that started the obsession for me. I still very much enjoy it and its one I listen to immediately when it pops up in my podcast app. When I first started listening, I would skip through all the banter at the beginning and cut straight to the stories. But as Georgia and Karen grew on me, I stopped doing that (and eventually went back and listened to the episodes where I’d skipped!) because they became like hearing my friends talk and joke about their lives and experiences. And now I look forward to hearing from my “friends” every week. The stories are a little more loosey-goosey but their personalities are what make it work. Bought their book recently and really enjoyed it, too!
17. Sawbones
This is a medical history podcast; they cover a topic each week, talking about certain diseases/cures/etc. It’s funny AND well-researched! I love the hosts, who are a husband/wife team. This is another I wish would do a tour show in Memphis… please!
18. Spectacular Failures
This is a NEW podcast, they only have 3 episodes out so far, but I’ve enjoyed every one of them. They talk about business failures; the first episode was about Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s Heritage USA amusement park.
19. Stuff You Missed in History Class
This is my palate cleanser podcast. When I’ve had too much true crime, I come listen to SYMIHC. They cover so many kinds of historical stories and they’re always interesting. And they’ve beeen around FOREVER so you have a giant back catalog to enjoy too! Love the hosts, they are charming, and shout out to Holly for being a Dragoncon costume nerd too. Pretty sure I have a photo with her at an old Dragoncon.
20. The Chernobyl Podcast
This was just a limited series podcast with a new episode that came out each night after each episode of Chernobyl aired on HBO. So no more new episodes but if you enjoyed the show, check out the podcast, which goes into a lot more detail about the way the episodes were made, the history, the changes they made and why, etc.
21. The Dark Side Of
Ok this is another fairly new podcast i just started listening to; I believe they are going to change topics for each season but for now, this first season has been about “The Dark Side of Hollywood” which I LOVE so I’m really enjoying it. It’s a very straight forward show, no bantering or chatting. They just dive right into the story, and the hosts sound a bit like tv narrators/anchors, so it kinda takes me back to an “E True Hollywood Story” place.
22. The Dollop
This was the podcast i picked up right after I started listening to My Favourite Murder so it’s been a longtime favourite. And so far the only podcast I’ve gotten to see live! They tell crazy stories about American history; the whole set up is that Dave tells the story and Gareth has no idea what’s the story is about. Some episodes have had me rolling laughing.
Occasionally I kinda let my Dollop episodes build up without listening for a while; only because The Dollop does SUCH a great job connecting these crazy, often-horrible events in American history to stuff that is still happening today… and sometimes it’s just too real, LOL. But it’s hilariously funny so I once I start binging them again I can’t stop and I’ll often go back and listen to a bunch of old episodes again, too.
23. The Fall Line
True Crime show about missing/murdered in the southeast/mostly Georgia. The only podcast to ever make me actively cry while sitting at my desk at work. That’s a compliment; it’s extremely moving.
24. Generation Why
True crime, pretty straight-forward, they present a case and theories. They cover a wide range from lesser-known cases to classics. And they have a HUGE back catalog you can spend weeks going through. I enjoy when they crossover/switch hosts with True Crime Garage too. (Also this one is out alphabetical order because there’s a “The” in front of it in my podcasts lists…)
25. Disney Dish (and all of Jim Hill’s network shows)
(Same alphabetical problem here, there’s a “The” in there…). This was actually the first podcast I started listening to, and it’s currently the only one I pay for – I subscribe to them on bandcamp. Well worth it! This is the only Disney podcast I listen to, and I really enjoy Jim and Len’s disney park news and history of the parks. I go through phases with this podcast though… when I know it’s going to be a long time before I get back to WDW, I stop listening for a while because it makes me sad LOL. Then I binge through everything I missed and get excited for our next trip.
In their podcast network they have various other shows – some I’ve listened to and some I haven’t. “Marvel us Disney” – about Marvel related stuff (haven’t listened yet), “Universal Joint” (about Universal parks – I listen to this pretty regularly), “Fine Tooning” (about animation, also enjoy this one), “Looking at Lucasfilm” (haven’t listened), and “I Want That’ about Disney Merch (my 2nd fav after Disney Dish).
26. The Purrrcast
About cats! LOL. This one is great for when I want something light and not serious to listen to.
27. This Podcast Will Kill You
Another medical history based podcast; two hosts discuss one disease per episode. The history of it, the way the disease works, and its impact/what the future looks like. Great stuff, one of my favs.
28. True Crime Garage
Yes it’s another true crime podcast; they present a case and go through theories. They often break cases up into multi-episodes so you have a lot to listen to; they really dig into theories for each case, so that’s fun. They also have a huge back catalog of episodes, however the older episodes are only available on Stitcher.
29. You Must Remember This
One of my ALL TIME FAVS I’ve gone back and re-listened to every episode 3 or 4 times at this point. It’s SO good. It’s Hollywood history, and each season has a theme – my favourites have been the Blacklist series, the MGM Stories series, and Charles Manson’s Hollywood. Unfortunately it’s on hiatus right now and there’s no hint of when it may be back, or if it’s coming back; but the host is working on several other projects including a recent book about Howard Hughes, and a patreon, so if you listen to this and enjoy it, support her other endeavors!
So that’s it! That’s all the podcasts I listen to/am currently subscribed to. I’m sure there’s some I’ve listened to all of it and unsubscribed to because they were over and now of course there’s no list so I can’t remember those… and there’s been a few I’ve listened to without subscribing but again, I have no way of remembering those names! LOL.
9/10/19: A couple of additions since I published this!
30. Medical Mysteries
This is another Parcast series I picked up after it was advertised on The Dark Side Of. I love Medical Mysteries and so far this one has been very interesting!
31. Morbid
I started this one after dropping one – lots of people were suggesting this one as a replacement option. I’ve only listened to 2 or 3 episodes so far but enjoying it and next time I’m stuck sewing for a while I’ll be binging it!
32. Patient Zero
If you like Bear Brook AND medical mysteries, here’s a good one, it’s about Lyme Disease. It’s really well produced and a great listen.
33. The Clearing
Ash recommended this one to me and it’s sooooo good.
34. Two Girls One Ghost
I wanted more spooky stuff in my podcast feed and asked for recs on instagram, and this one came up a lot. I love it!! I’ve binged a ton of the episodes already (they got me thru the last bit of Dragoncon sewing madness) and of all the “chatty” podcasts out there this one sounds the most like just hearing my IRL friends talk about spooky things around me while I work. So that’s really enjoyable.