The genre of true crime has been around for decades. The public's taste for the sometimes sordid, sometimes mind boggling details of infamous crimes and legal shenanigans never seems to ebb.
Whether the protagonist is guilty or not; the stories of people who've had a run-in with the law inspire endless water cooler chatter, and nothing seems to fuel the conversation like the recent crop of true crime podcasts.
Assuming you've already listened to the uber-popular Serial (season 1 and season 2), here are some other shows you should start binge-listening to now.
True Crime Historian
True Crime has been a sought-after genre for almost 150 years but in the last few years a subgenre of its is witnessing a new burst of popularity - Historical True Crime. It's what you think it is - the crime stories that have been lost to history. In True Crime Historian, host and narrator Richard O Jones traces the history of America's famous and forgotten scandals, scoundrels and scourges from newspaper accounts in the golden age of yellow journalism. After listening to an episode, if you are still hungry for some visual lurid details, head on over to his website for some archived newspaper clippings.
Recommended listening
Detective
Series one of Detective revolves around a retired investigator, Lieutenant Joe Kenda and his true stories from 23 years on the Colorado Springs Police Department's Homicide Division. Joe's gritty retelling of the cases is an unromantic, but no less addictive portrayal of criminal investigation. Detective turns the pulpy myths of our favourite Hollywood procedurals and grounds them in reality.
Recommended listening
Undisclosed
Let's just say it: No one was ready for Serial to end. By the end of the series the listeners were still obsessed by Hae Min Lee and what happened to her on the day she went missing. Rabia Chaudry who brought the case to Sarah Koenig's attention, takes us through the series in greater detail, from an investigatory perspective instead of a narrative one.
Recommended listening
Criminal
Phoebe Judge and Lauren Spohrer tell true crime stories of every make - from murders to cyber fraud with a few hilarious misdeeds thrown in for fun. They craft compelling narratives with an almost forensic attention to detail that leaves listeners coming back for more.
Recommended listening
Crime in Sports
Crime in Sports is a hilarious look at true crime in the world of sports. Hosts James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman mercilessly skewer athletes who've lost big games...with the law! They do the research, tell the story and it's solidly entertaining even if you are not that much into sports.
Recommended listening