Here’s the thing about being a true crime lover: Despite the endless sea of new podcasts being released on a weekly and monthly basis, it’s never enough. You’ve probably already exhausted the many lists recommending the best true crime podcasts of all time. But it couldn’t quench your insatiable thirst for more murder, unsolved cases, and investigations into the criminal justice system.
Luckily, there’s certainly no shortage of new and recent true crime podcasts that provide more hours of binge-worthy listens. But with such a vast onslaught of true crime to potentially sink your teeth into, it can be overwhelming to sift through everything for quality assurance.
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That’s where we come in. We dove headfirst into that pile of gruesome content for you to compile a definitive list of the best new and most recent true crime podcasts to satisfy your binge needs.
Now, “new” and “recent” are relative terms when it comes to podcasts. Unlike movies and TV, the only really effective promotion for newcomers is word of mouth — and even die-hard podcast listeners come to new releases on their own time. So our stipulation for what counts as a “new” addition to the true crime genre is flexible, needing only to be published anytime from 2022 to 2023, although on this list, you’ll also find some long-time creators who have continued to make critically acclaimed, quality content. Many other podcasts just came out, and a few recommendations are even still in the process of releasing new episodes and telling their stories.
Lastly, if your favorite podcasts are missing from here, it might be that we already covered them in our best true crime podcasts of all time and most binge-worthy limited series podcast roundups.
1. Truthers: Tiffany Dover is Dead*
Why it’s great or who it’s for: Anyone in doubt about the power of conspiracy theorists and their narratives.
What it’s about: When Tennessee nurse Tiffany Dover fainted on camera after getting the first COVID vaccine in December 2020, a firestorm began. Although Dover actually got up and went on with her day, the theory that she’d actually died from the shot had already taken root. When Dover disappeared soon afterward, anti-vaxxers and other conspiracy theorists went deep and wide with the rumors. In this five-part podcast, NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrony attempts to prove that Dover is alive but has been driven away from the public eye by those determined to assert their beliefs at any cost. The result is a deep dive into a terrifying and ever-evolving world of misinformation and manipulation.
2. Sistas Who Kill
Why it’s great or who it’s for: Cases you probably don’t know about from women you should know.
What it’s about: Hosts and best friends MaRah and Taz(Opens in a new tab) are “not here to give out legal advice” (see their latest episode about Helen Frazier). They’re here to talk about Black women who have killed, how the police handled — or didn’t handle — the investigation of their crimes, and the outcome of each case. This includes a look at the treatment of the perpetrator and others in the context of a systemically racist legal system. After the case rundown, don’t miss “I’m Not Black, I’m OJ,” a multipart analysis of how they would get away with the crime if they’d done it.
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3. Walk Softly Children
Why it’s great or who it’s for: A beautifully rendered show about a more than 30-year-old cold case that’s warming up again.
What it’s about: It’s been 32 years since 12-year-old Doreen Vincent disappeared from her father’s home in rural Wallingford, Connecticut. Attorney Jessica Fritz-Aguiar first investigated the case on the podcast Faded Out(Opens in a new tab), hosted by Sarah DiMeo, and she continues to pursue answers about what might have happened to Doreen. In Walk Softly Children, she tunnels into dark corners occupied by her father, Mark, arrested in 2022 for illegally possessing a firearm(Opens in a new tab), and those in the evangelical Christian circles he inhabits. That includes the staff at Milford Christian Academy, the former students of which are ready to talk about their experiences in its culture of humiliation, fear, and manipulation. If Doreen really did leave 1316 Whirlwind Hill Road on June 15, 1988, Fritz-Aguiar is on the verge of finding out what happened next. And that might mean restoring Doreen’s narrative to her.
4. Lost in Panama
Why it’s great or who it’s for: A podcast bringing attention to an epidemic while searching for answers to a disturbing mystery.
What it’s about: Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers, two students from the Netherlands, took a six-week vacation to Panama in March 2014. On April 1, they disappeared after embarking on a hike on the El Pianista trail. Their remains, along with their backpacks, a digital camera containing some creepy photos (90 taken in three hours!), and their phones (from which a number of 911 calls had been made), were discovered two months later. Yet to this day, no cause of death has ever been established. Eight years after Froon and Kremers vanished, journalists Mariana Atencio and Jeremy Kryt retrace their steps in an attempt to find out what might have happened to them. For Atencio(Opens in a new tab), who was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and was herself violently attacked while hiking there, it’s also a search to learn about the epidemic of femicide in Latin America. In the corridor of Panama where Froon and Kremers were traveling, Atencio and Kryt find more than 50 cases of missing women.
5. RedHanded
Why it’s great or who it’s for: People who like their true crime witty, in-depth, and with British accents.
What it’s about: Since 2017, Hannah Maguire and Suruthi Bala have been making episodes of RedHanded, a true crime podcast that’s unafraid to fully lean into the monstrous. The winner of Listener’s Choice at the British Podcast Awards in 2021 and 2022, Maguire and Bala have a book, merch, and a packed touring schedule with sold-out spots. Check out their recent coverage of the Idaho Student Murders(Opens in a new tab), as well as their disturbing two-parter(Opens in a new tab) on Jefferey Epstein(Opens in a new tab).
In addition to the longer episodes, Maguire and Bala have also begun dropping smaller eps known as “Shorthand.” Running about 20 minutes each instead of an hour plus, they’re saturated with the same sarcasm, care, and extensive research as their regular counterparts. So, if you’re looking for some macabre company, take them with you on a trip — perhaps to a well-lit area.
6. Buried Bones
Why it’s great or who it’s for: Those craving a new look at old crimes.
What it’s about: What do you get when you cross a retired investigator (Paul Holes) with a journalist (Kate Winkler Dawson)? A smart and fresh take on really old cases, most of which you’ve probably never heard of — like the one with the Harvard professor and the janitor(Opens in a new tab) — and some you definitely know but can’t hear enough about. Holes and Winkler Dawson are an entertaining and clever pair who bring a modern eye to these old cases, which often involve bodies that have never been identified, murders that have never been solved, and crime scenes that have been compromised by the elements. You can also take a look at some fascinating source material(Opens in a new tab) on the show’s website.
7. Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders
Why it’s great or who it’s for: Fans of investigative journalism.
What it’s about: Throughout September 1982, seven people, including three from the same family, died unexpectedly after taking Tylenol laced with potassium cyanide. Just as Chicago Tribune investigative reporters Christy Gutowski and Stacy St. Clair were about to drop the first episode of Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders, police moved in on their prime suspect, Jim Lewis. Lewis had been examined by police before, busted for extortion when he sent letters to Johnson & Johnson (as well as President Ronald Regan) claiming responsibility for the crimes, and demanding $1 million. Each episode is a well-crafted jump into each of the poisonings, with new details that will send you reeling — even if you think you know the case like the back of your hand.
8. Bone Valley
Why it’s great or who it’s for: Those interested in righting old wrongs — now.
What it’s about: How do you correct an injustice that’s gone unanswered for three decades? Michelle Schofield was 18 years old when she was found murdered in a phosphorus pit in Lakeland, Florida. Her husband, Leo, was charged with the crime and sentenced to life in prison. But 15 years later, a set of fingerprints turned out to belong to Jeremy Scott, who at the time of Michelle’s murder was a teenager with a history of violence. In spite of this revelation, Leo Schofield remains in prison. Bone Valley is the account of host Gilbert King (author of Devil in the Grove(Opens in a new tab), which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction) and co-host/researcher Kelsey Decker as they dive into Scott’s criminal history in an attempt to exonerate Schofield after more than 30 years in prison.
9. The Fall Line
Why it’s great or who it’s for: It’s doing the work.
What it’s about: The Fall Line covers cases that have received little to no attention from the media, usually those involving people of color and in the Southeastern US. Creators Brooke Hargrove and Laurah Norton tackle each case with a victim-first approach, taking care that the person whose case they’re featuring isn’t relegated to grisly media fodder, and interviewing the folks closest to them to paint a thorough picture of them as a human. These are cases that should make it to the level of a Dateline episode in terms of national exposure, but because they’ve been overlooked by mainstream news sources, you wouldn’t hear about them if you didn’t know about this podcast. So, now that you do know, have a listen.
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10. Going West
Why it’s great or who it’s for: Anyone in search of their next regular listen.
What it’s about: Hosts Heath Merryman and Daphne Woolsoncroft have made over 200 episodes of Going West, which now drops episodes twice a week on cases about the missing and murdered, solved and unsolved, often suggested by listeners. They’ve covered the well-known (Maura Murray(Opens in a new tab)), the recently spotlighted (Shanquella Robinson(Opens in a new tab)), and those that haven’t yet made it into mainstream attention (Sequoya Vargas(Opens in a new tab)). Despite its dark materials, there’s a comforting quality to this podcast. Maybe it’s the jovial chemistry of the hosts, the variety in the cases, or the knowledge that you’re going to get an update when there’s an update to be had. It’s one you’ll want to include in your rotation of quality content.
This is an update to 2020’s Best True Crime Podcasts.
