10 true crime podcasts for thriller fans

Murder:True Crime Stories

Vanessa Richardson hosts twice weekly episodes exploring historical murder cases – often those that have remained unsolved for years – with a focus on the people impacted by the crime. While he doesn’t promise to answer every question, each season is full of fascinating detail and insight.

Bad People

Criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw and true crime documentary maker Amber Haque dissect criminal cases from the news, including the jailing of ‘momfluencer’ Ruby Franke and the conviction of Ronald Cotton, who spent 10 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Each story is wrapped up in around 40 minutes, making it perfect for a quick listen.

They Walk Among Us

Husband and wife Benjamin and Rosanna Fitton are the team behind this award-winning podcast which began in 2016 and focuses on crime in the UK. Recent episodes have included a look at the oldest cold case murder conviction in British history: the murder of widow Louisa Dunne, whose killer was found after her skirt, which had been preserved as evidence for nearly six decades, was sent for modern forensic DNA analysis.

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

The well-known TV historian investigates the crimes of some of the most shocking murderesses of the 19th and 20th Century (and check out Lady Swindlers for her deep-dive into iconic fraudsters, too). Her storytelling is always engaging and the way she comes at each case with a feminist slant is fresh and fascinating.

Murder They Wrote

Presenters Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling dive into some of the world’s most jaw-dropping crime stories, including some sent in by listeners. A recent episode focused on the horrific murder of two Leicestershire teenage girls in the 1980s, where a teenage boy with learning difficulties was wrongfully accused until DNA profiling cleared his name. With over 130 episodes to listen to – most of them around 40 minutes long – there are plenty of intriguing stories to uncover.

Sea of Lies

This well-produced podcast, which is part of CBC’s Uncover series, starts in 1996, off the coast of Devon, with a father and son making a grisly discovery in the net of their trawler. From there, it becomes a race-against-the-clock hunt for one of the world’s most wanted conmen. This riveting story is presented by Sam Mullins, who previously presented the hit podcast Chameleon: Wild Boys.

The Lady Vanishes

When Marion Barter, former wife of Australian soccer player Johnny Warren, disappeared in 1997 after boarding a plane, her family were left with all sorts of unanswered questions. Over the course of 109 episodes, journalist Alison Sandy follows Barter’s daughter Sally Leaden as she tries to uncover the truth about what happened to her mother. There’s a lot to keep the listener gripped as Sally discovers secrets about Marion, including the fact that she changed her name.

Stalked

When Hannah Mossmann Moore’s life was made a misery by a stalker and the police didn’t seem able to do anything, she turned to her ex-step mum: Guardian investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr. Although the two women were confident that they knew the identity of the stalker, proving it would be the hard part. Over the course of 11 episodes, Carole and producers Georgia Catt and Rob Byrne untangle a complicated web of lies and secret identities.

The Mushroom Trial: Say Grace

There have been multiple podcasts covering the case of the Australian woman Erin Patterson who was found guilty of murdering her in-laws and her husband’s aunt with a beef wellington laced with death cap mushrooms. TV reporter Penelope Liersch from Australia’s Nine network and The Age newspaper journalist Erin Pearson give an in-depth analysis of the trial that gripped the world.

Kill List

Voted podcast of the year in the CrimeCon True Crime Awards, this riveting series from Wondery is hosted by tech journalist Carl Miller. When he discovers a secret “kill list” on a murder-for-hire website on the dark web, naming hundreds of innocent people whom someone has been paid to kill, it’s the start of an obsessive investigation as he tries to track them down.