Top True Crime Podcasts

It is nearly impossible to imagine a criminal investigation that does not involve some kind of forensic science: firearms analysis, bloodstain patterns, arson, etc. But what leads us to trust these methods? Some point to the “CSI effect.” Viewers who have been watching true crime shows and trials for years have been trained to assume these methods lead to the right people getting arrested and convicted of some of the most heinous crimes. But what’s the science behind them? Are they valid?

In this podcast, host Molly Hermann lays out the lack of science behind some of the most well-known CSI tools, and tells the stories of the wrongfully convicted who went to prison for years. She interviews nearly 70 people - including forensic scientists, legal experts, and the exonerated - and digs into the larger issues within the criminal justice system that have let the “junk science” in.

In a world where truth often feels stranger than fiction, PERPLEXED was born from our obsession with the unexplained, the unsolved, and the utterly mystifying.

We started this podcast because we believe every mystery deserves to be heard, every victim deserves justice, and every unexplained phenomenon challenges what we think we know about reality. From chilling true crime cases that baffle investigators to paranormal encounters that defy logic, we dive deep into the stories that keep us awake at night.

Join us as we explore the darkest corners of human experience and the most perplexing mysteries our world has to offer. Because sometimes, the questions are more fascinating than the answers.

The Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning “You Didn't See Nothin” follows Yohance Lacour as he revisits the story that introduced him to the world of investigative journalism. Part investigation and part memoir, Yohance examines how its ripple effects have shaped his life over the past quarter-century.

In 1997, Lenard Clark was beaten into a coma by a gang of older white teens simply for being Black in a white neighborhood. One of Lenard’s attackers was from a powerful Chicago family. The media quickly turned towards stories of reconciliation and racial healing, with cooperation by Black leaders and the attacker’s family.

Yohance wasn’t having any of it.

At the time of the attack, he was in his early 20s, writing plays, selling weed, and living at his dad’s house on the South Side of Chicago. Unable to stand by silently, he began working with a neighborhood newspaper to investigate the vicious hate crime. Reporting on the incident led him to grow increasingly disillusioned with journalism.

From USG Audio and the Invisible Institute – creators of the 2020 Pulitzer Finalist podcast “Somebody” – “You Didn't See Nothin” finds Yohance back in Chicago after a 10-year prison sentence, tracking down key players to examine how this story connects to our present moment.

A new podcast from the makers of the worldwide hit, The Lady Vanishes.

In 1985, police dropped a bomb in a Philadelphia neighborhood. Their target? A family of Black radicals known as ‘MOVE,’ who found themselves ensnared in a city — and nation’s — domestic war on Black Liberation. Over seven episodes, host Matthew Amha investigates the events that culminated in the MOVE bombing, and the long afterlife of a forgotten American tragedy.

All episodes are available ad-free on the CBC True Crime Premium channel.

In September 1992, 14-year-old Misty Copsey goes to the Washington State Fair with her best friend. Misty doesn’t make it home that night, and she is never seen again. Police initially deem her a runaway. Misty’s mom, Diana, insists they are wrong. Five months later, a search party finds a potential clue: a pair of jeans, socks and underwear crumpled along the side of a highway. Diana recognizes the jeans immediately, but the police are skeptical. More than 30 years later, through multiple investigations, no other trace of Misty has ever been found. How does a young girl disappear into thin air?And how could investigators fail to pursue leads that were right under their noses? In this captivating new series from ID, cold case investigator Sarah Cailean works through anonymous tips, interviews with Misty’s family and friends, police records, and media reports in an attempt to get to the bottom of whether Misty’s disappearance is the work of a serial killer or that of someone who knew Misty. Sarah won’t stop until she answers a question that’s haunted western Washington for more than three decades: Who Took Misty Copsey?

Also, go back and listen to Season 1, "Why Can't We Talk About Amanda's Mom?" and Season 2, "Who Killed Jennifer Judd?"

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In late 2010, a middle-aged man moved into his daughter's college dorm and created what has all the hallmarks of a cult. Over the decade that followed, he extorted millions of dollars from vulnerable young adults through violence, psychological torture, and forced sex work. Actress and Director Elisabeth Rohm narrates Law&Crime's 6-part investigative series, which draws from thousands of pages of transcripts, exhibits, audio files, and video recordings from a federal trial and explores the actions and motives of Larry Ray. This is Law&Crime’s Devil in the Dorm.

Follow Devil in the Dorm on Wondery+. You can listen exclusively by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App.