It's no secret to those who know me, I am a hopeless podcast addict. I listen to them while I make candles, while I walk, on the way to work... all the time. Some of my faves are the spooky kind. I love true crime podcasts, and a disclaimer here, I don't love hearing about misery and gore, I love hearing about how criminals are caught and the people who help catch them. Some here are my 5 top listens this month.
1. My Favourite Murder (MFM)
For those of you who are really offended by swearing, stop right here, this isn't for you. But for those of you who enjoy listening to two authentic, opinionated and funny women, give this one a go. Here you will find hilarious chats and advice while they discussing criminals and how they were caught. Karen and Georgia are both hilarious, but their comedy is never at the expense of the victim, always relating to the criminals or their own storytelling. I love the dynamic between these two and their honest self reflections are relatable, raw and honest. This podcast feels like a late night chat with your besties. Each week they release a minisode with hometown stories full of hilarious or sad anecdotes, from family tragedies to stories of weird things found in walls. Later in the week they release a full length episode with their own take on famous true crime cases. Last week's episode looked into the Radium girls and the murder of Lisa Cihaski.
2. Spooked
This gem comes as a spin off from the popular podcast Snap Judgement. If you love a spooky story, told by those who experienced it, this is for you. From ghostly sibling visits, to voices that whispers in your ear, protecting you from a more solid, human threat, each story will have your spine tingling. Told in first person, you feel emerged in these spooky experiences told from a whole range of perspectives. I love the production, from the music to the subtle sound effects. The host is wonderfully dramatic, very enjoyable in a scary sort of way. Last week's episode featured a toddler ghost who didn't want to let his beloved sister go...
3. Unobscured
If you love the storytelling of Aaron Manke in Lore (as mentioned in my previous podcast blog), then you will love his investigative series about the Salem Witch trials. Now I thought I knew the context, this series proved me wrong. Featuring interviews with historians that each have a different take on this terrifying moment in history, you will learn so much more about the context which these events happened in. From how trauma affects our behaviour, to religious divides, so many lessons to be learned from this overly read, but often misunderstood time. This is probably my favourite on the list, and the release of the full interviews by the historians gave me so much joy... yep, I'm a nerd.
4. The Murder Squad
This podcast is a collaboration from investigative journalist, Billy Jensen and retired FBI agent, Paul Holes. Billy Jensen worked with celebrated author Michelle McNamara, who investigated the Golden State killer, and helped publish her story after her tragic death in 2016. Billy also collaborated with police forces and local media to solve cases using an inovative approach of targeted Facebook ads. Paul Holes is most known for his use of familial DNA to catch the Golden State killer. This podcast is made for America, using it's unique fanbase of Murderinos as part of the Exactly Right network (created by Karen and Georgia of MFM) to solve crime and seek new clues for cold cases.
5. Family Secrets
This one is not creepy in the way that many of the others mentioned above are. This podcast is all about how families can keep secrets from each other and themselves and the devastating consequences of these deceptions. Author and host, Dani Shapiro, discovers her own family secret through a 23 and Me home DNA kit. Her late father, was not in fact her biological father. This secret led her on a journey of self discovery, reshaping her identity and connecting with the many other people with similar stories. This podcast opens us to the devastating realisation of how the biggest harm can come from those we love most. Scary in a much more human way.
