When Chris Lambert released Your Own Backyard, his independent investigation into the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart, he didn’t just tell a story, he helped solve a case. The podcast’s meticulous reporting played a documented role in the arrest and conviction of Paul Flores, setting a new standard for what true crime audio can accomplish. That’s a tough act to follow, but it’s not the only show out there combining patient, ethical investigation with real-world impact. If you’ve finished all eleven chapters and find yourself searching for something that hits the same way, these podcasts deliver the same blend of dogged research, respect for victims and their families, and storytelling that keeps you listening long past one more episode.
To Live and Die in LA
In Feb 2018, an aspiring actress vanished from her Hollywood apartment, and Rolling Stone journalist Neil Strauss was asked to help her family get answers, which they found, sometimes at great personal risk. Now the award-winning true crime podcast returns to unravel the baffling, tragic case, with Neil Strauss joined by his wife and his neighbors, Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger and concert violinist Ann Marie Simpson.
Man In The Window: The Golden State Killer
In Man in the Window, Paige St. John, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, uncovers never-before-revealed details about the man who would eventually become one of California’s deadliest serial killers. From Wondery and the L.A. Times comes a new series that traces his path of devastation through his victims’ eyes.
The Thing About Pam
Two days after Christmas, 2011, Russ Faria came home from game night to find his wife, Betsy, dead. He was soon charged and convicted of her murder, but Russ Faria insisted he was innocent. Betsy’s brutal killing set off a chain of events that would leave one man dead, implicate another, and expose a diabolical scheme. This original series from Keith Morrison and Dateline defies all expectations and proves that truth is stranger than fiction.
Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders
Paper Ghosts: The Texas Teen Murders returns to 1983, when two teenagers were found murdered execution-style on a quiet Texas hill, followed by decades of rumors, false leads, and a case that could never be closed. Now veteran investigative journalist M. William Phelps reopens the file, uncovering new witnesses, hidden evidence, and a shocking web of possibly connected deaths. Over nine gripping episodes, it unravels a story 42 years in the making and asks: who’s really been hiding the truth?
Gone Fishing
Gail Maney was sent to prison on her son’s birthday, convicted of putting a hit on a man who stole drugs from her, and served 15 years. She’s consistently denied any involvement in the disappearance of Deane Fuller-Sandys, a man she says she never even met, and isn’t sure was murdered at all. In this eight-part series, Amy Maas and Adam Dudding investigate the case, unravel the shifting accounts of key witnesses, expose flaws in the police timeline, and raise disturbing questions about police conduct.
Death in Ice Valley
An unidentified body. Who was she? Why hasn’t she been missed? A BBC World Service and NRK original podcast, investigating a mystery that has remained unsolved for nearly half a century.
Forgotten: Women of Juárez
In the border city of Ciudad Juárez, hundreds of women have gone missing. Those who are found bear strange symbols carved into their bodies, some with their wrists bound by shoelaces, all discarded like garbage. Forgotten investigates the theories about what or who is responsible, a serial killer, organ traffickers, a Satanic cult, pursuing the case alongside law enforcement on both sides of the border, terrified witnesses, and corrupt authorities.
Shallow Graves
Shallow Graves is a podcast about a serial killer you’ve never heard of, one who slipped under the radar for years. Because of that, one of his victims has been missing for 31 years, and almost everyone familiar with the case believes there must be more. Shallow Graves digs into each case by talking to the original detectives and family members, bringing listeners inside the case as it stands today.
Happy Face
For Melissa Moore, 1995 was a nightmare, the year she learned her father, Keith Hunter Jesperson, was a serial killer. It’s also when her doubt spiral began: when you share your father’s looks, intelligence, and charisma, how do you know you’re not a psychopath too? Happy Face tells the story of Jesperson’s brutal crimes and the cat-and-mouse game he played with detectives and the media, but also the horrific legacy he left his children. Join Melissa Moore as she investigates his crimes, reckons with the past, and confronts her darkest fears in search of a better future.
Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo
Where is Cleo? Taken by child welfare workers in the 1970s and adopted in the U.S., the young Cree girl’s family believes she was raped and murdered while hitchhiking back home to Saskatchewan. CBC News investigative reporter Connie Walker joins the search to uncover what really happened to Cleo.
Sword and Scale
Sword and Scale is a weekly true crime podcast covering the dark underworld of crime and the criminal justice system’s response to it. Launched January 1st, 2014, it features stories of murder, abduction, and other bizarre crimes, told through raw, uncensored audio—from 911 calls and court testimony to interviews with victims and sometimes perpetrators. It gives listeners a 360-degree look at the seedy underbelly of human nature, proving the worst monsters are real.
New Orleans Unsolved
New Orleans Unsolved is an independent narrative true crime podcast based in the historic city of New Orleans. Investigator/producer Anna Christie and veteran journalist Thanh Truong dig deep into a string of unsolved cases from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Season 1 explored the mysterious death of a teenager whose body was recovered from the Mississippi River, leading into Season 2, The Rope Murders, a set of cold cases involving victims who were ritualistically tied up and left in desolate areas of Louisiana and Mississippi.
The Trail Went Cold
The Trail Went Cold is a weekly true crime podcast exploring baffling unsolved mysteries and cold cases. Each episode, host Robin Warder examines a new murder or missing persons case from different countries and time periods, laying out the details before offering his own analysis and theories. Produced and edited by Magill Foote, with music by Vince Nitro.
Unraveled
Unraveled is hosted by journalist Alexis Linkletter. Each season features a deep-dive investigation into a single case or issue. Season 1 covers the case of the Long Island Serial Killer.
Missing in Alaska
Missing in Alaska is a deep dive into the mysterious disappearance of Congressmen Hale Boggs and Nick Begich, whose plane vanished in Alaska in 1972. Despite the largest search in American history, no sign of the men ever surfaced, officials blamed ice, and a nation consumed by Watergate and Vietnam quickly moved on. Two decades later, a murderer and bomber with mafia ties told the F.B.I. the plane was bombed. Was he lying? Journalist Jon Walczak travels from Arizona to the Arctic Circle to uncover the truth.
Park Predators
Explore the dark side of the world’s most beautiful places with investigative journalist and park enthusiast Delia D’Ambra. Each week, Delia takes listeners deep into national parks and forests across the globe, uncovering stories where nature’s beauty has masked sinister secrets, from infamous headline cases to little-known crimes still needing answers. Because sometimes the most beautiful places hide the darkest secrets. This is Park Predators.
Bone Valley
Behind every Bone Valley season is a conviction: the right story, told with purpose, humanity, and craft, can have an enormous impact. Award-winning investigative documentaries from the fault lines of America’s justice system.
Relative Unknown
From the creators of Root of Evil comes a new documentary series about the stories and family we can’t escape. Jackee Taylor has been hidden in WITSEC, the Witness Protection Program, for almost 40 years, but after a strange and violent incident reveals secrets about her past, she sets out to uncover the truth about herself and her family. Her twisted tale of darkness, murder, and resilience traverses the country and lands in 1970s Cleveland, one of the country’s most violent eras.
Bear Brook
Bear Brook, hosted by Jason Moon, is the critically acclaimed true crime podcast from New Hampshire Public Radio. Season 1, two barrels, four bodies, and a cold case that’s changing how murders are investigated forever. Season 2, Jason Carroll is serving life for a murder he says he didn’t commit, with the only evidence being his own taped confession; 30 years later, can the truth be found? Stephen King called both seasons “the best true crime podcasts I’ve ever heard. Brilliant, involving, hypnotic,” and The New Yorker praised season one’s ambition, complexity, and thoughtful tone.
Down The Hill: The Delphi Murders
Abby and Libby, two young girls murdered. Investigators search for the killer using their biggest clue: a recording of his voice, captured on one of the victims’ phones, ordering the girls Down the Hill. Almost three years later, it remains a mystery that still haunts the small town of Delphi, Indiana, while police say the killer may walk among them.
The Vanished Podcast
The Vanished is a true crime podcast that explores the stories of those who have gone missing. Going beyond conventional news reports, it takes a deep dive into a different missing person’s story each week. Host Marissa Jones brings exclusive interviews with family members, friends, law enforcement, and experts. What will The Vanished uncover next?
Cold
Cold is a narrative podcast series focused on missing persons cases. With each season, investigative journalist and host Dave Cawley takes on a single story.
LISK: Long Island Serial Killer
The LISK (Long Island Serial Killer) investigation began in May 2010 with the disappearance of sex worker Shannan Gilbert. In the months that followed, Suffolk County Police uncovered the remains of nine more murder victims, including the “Gilgo 4,” all sex workers disposed of similarly. After years without developments, police arrested Rex Heuermann, linked to at least three victims through DNA evidence, cellphone records, and witness accounts of a Chevrolet Avalanche.