The 43 Best New True Crime Podcasts in 2021

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host, Interview Case Analysis
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: July 7, 2021

I can only imagine how hard it is for family members of victims to come forward and be on podcasts; when they are willing and have the strength though, it makes for an incredible story. Such is the case for The Yellow Car, where the victim’s daughter helps tell the story of her mother Effie’s death – and why she believes her father was wrongly convicted for it. Personally, I’m saving this show to binge once the serial is complete.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: July 8, 2021

Murder in Illinois brings veteran true crime podcast host and producer Lauren Bright (Happy Face, Murder in Oregon, and The Murders at White House Farm) back in front of the mic to cover the 2007 deaths of the Vaughn family – and arrest and conviction of the family father, Chris Vaughn. But as in so many cases, the story isn’t that simple, and deserves a second look.

• Show Type: Interview Case Analysis
• Host Type: Multi Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: July 9, 2021

Melissa Moore – daughter of the infamous Happy Face serial killer – and Forensic Criminologist, Dr. Laura Pettler discuss serial killers and the lives they touch… including those who lived with and loved the killers themselves. In Life After Happy Face, the pair starts with discussed Happy Face, but also discussed Jodi Arias and Robert Brashers in this first month’s episodes.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: July 14, 2021

Back for a second season, LISK (not to be confused with Unraveled Season 1, which also covered LISK) host Chris Mass dives back into the case, trying to identify new evidence, witness statements, and possible suspects. Through it all, one main question hangs over his investigation: why did the police mess this one up so badly?

• Show Type: Interview Case Analysis (?)
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: July 14, 2021

True crime podcasts generally fall back on violent crimes as a foundation; Transportista takes a different angle and explores the world of drug trafficking. Told in both English and Spanish, this podcast tells the stories of el Transportista, who transported drugs through planes for the world’s most dangerous drug lords in Mexico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia.

• Show Type: Casefile with Commentary
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: July 14, 2021

Art Bust is a fascinating peek at a small corner of the true crime world: art heists in their varied and refined forms. British author and arts journalist Ben Lewis examines a new case every week (or two, based on multi-part stories), enlightening us to the fascinating and creative ways criminals try to pull the wool over the sharp eyes of the art world. This show reminds me a ton of Cheat! if you like that one.

• Show Type: Single (Multi?) Serial
• Host Type: Multi Host
• Cadence: Single Drop
• First Published: July 19, 2021

I personally love how audiochuck releases each of their shows a little differently: some are ongoing, some are serials, some are discrete seasons, and some come as a single drop – Solvable is these last three all rolled into one. Focused on the 1982 discovery of a Baby Doe, co-hosts Amanda Reno (a genetic genealogist) and Greg Bodker (a law enforcement veteran) follow the clues and use new technology to give this little girl her name back.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Intermittent, Ongoing
• First Published: July 21, 2021

Arson is one of those crimes that gets overlooked a lot in the true crime world; Firebug is a new podcast that fills the gap on this terrifying and often passively violent crime. It follows the story of an arsonist in Southern California who terrorized business owners for years and whose fires killed four people. When it finally came out who was responsible, everyone was shocked – and I’ll leave you that cliffhanger to encourage you to give it a listen…

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: July 27, 2021

This brand new show from Wondery dropped mid-month for Wondery+, but free episodes started to drop at the end of July for non-subscribers. Host John Stamos (yes, that John Stamos) sits down with a man whose story is larger than life – and who successfully kidnapped Frank Sinatra Jr. in the early 1960s.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: July 27, 2021

Fox Hunter is a brand new show, examining the murder of 18-year-old Rhonda Sue Coleman in 1990. It’s a 10-episode single serial show that aims to help family, friends, and townspeople who knew Rhonda find the answers they seek.

• Show Type: Interview Case Analysis
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: July 27, 2021

It’s the worst nightmare of travelers everywhere: getting into legal trouble abroad and being unable to return home. In this short five-story series produced by Focus Features with L.A. Times Studios, Convicted: Across Borders shares some of the stories that inspired the new movie Stillwater in their entirety. Learn the harrowing accounts of people – American citizens – detained abroad, and how their stories resolve.

• Show Type: Multi Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: August 2, 2021

The ultra-popular Dr. Death podcast from Wondery is back for a third season – perfectly timed to coincide with the television premiere of the drama miniseries on Peacock. If you’ve never listened, Dr. Death is a fabulous multi serial show worth going back to start at the beginning. Season 3, Miracle Man, follows Dr. Paolo Macchiarini and his documentarian – and eventual fiancé, Benita Alexander. The first two seasons are available now on Wondery+ and I’m ready to binge the whole show!

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: August 11, 2021

Can you help solve a 23-year old cold case manhunt? In Have You Seen This Man?, ABC News details an outlandish, $350 million fraud and the man behind it – as well as the details of his disappearance and what investigators have done to try and catch him in the last two decades.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Multi Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: August 17, 2021

It’s a story straight out of Hollywood – literally: a producer (played by Jon Hamm) went to prison for shooting an agent he suspected was having an affair with his actress wife (Zooey Deschanel). But after his release, he was welcomed back among the stars with open arms, while his wife paid the social price. In Love is a Crime, you’ll learn the details of the story – and examine why a wife was punished for her husband’s crimes.

• Show Type: Multi Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: August 18, 2021

Love wild stories with a dash of true crime thrown in? Looking for the podcast that offers a perfect combination of Tiger King and Criminal? Strangeville is the new true crime podcast for you! This show covers it all – from a tiger on the loose to heists, scams, and more. Each week on Strangeville, you’ll hear a new narrative with witness and participating officer interviews to add extra color.

• Show Type: Single Serial, Trial Recap
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly, Ongoing
• First Published: August 26, 2021

On the eve of Elizabeth Holmes’ trial beginning in California, former WSJ reporter John Carreyrou comes back to the huge story he broke in 2015: the fraud of Theranos, Holmes’ blood-testing company. In Bad Blood: The Final Chapter, the first few episodes give you a recap of the original story and updates in the six years since his story first ran; he’ll also be covering the trial in real-time with regular bonus episodes.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: August 26, 2021

Once considered the greatest Paralympian of all time, South African runner Oscar Pistorius broke records and won gold medals before making history as the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics in 2012. Just six months later, he shot and killed his girlfriend. False Idol details Pistorius’ rise and fall, and remembers the life of his victim, Reeva Steenkamp.

• Show Type: Single Serial, Interview Case Analysis
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Single Drop
• First Published: August 31, 2021

When a young disabled woman goes missing at an Arizona campground, a community – and the ploice force – is split on who’s to blame. In this single drop binge-worthy podcast, The Labyrinth host Ottavia McHenry walks us through the details of the case, and the stories that lead up to that moment.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Singe Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: August 31, 2021

Produced in collaboration between Wondery and Campside Media, Suspect follows the story of a Pacific Northwest Halloween party gone wrong. When a young woman is killed after a night of revelry, the police must narrow down the suspects – initially each just known as the costumes they wore – to find the killer. But now, years later, the convicted man still claims innocence, and this podcast aims to seek the truth.

• Show Type: Multi Serial
• Host Type: Singe Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 1, 2021

Almost three years after the culmination of Season 2, host Payne Lindsey and the rest of the Up and Vanished team return for a third season. This time, they focus on the disappearance of Ashley Loring HeavyRunner who went missing from the Blackfeet Nation Indian Reservation in 2017. Fans and subscribers of the show will be delighted to see this one pop back up in their streams.

• Show Type: Multi-Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 13, 2021

We often hear about how policing and the justice system have inherent – and sometimes very blatant – biases, but what happens when the system is decidedly unjust in a way you’d never predict? That’s what happens in The Fault Line: Dying for a Fight, which discusses the still-unsolved murder of anti-fascist Sean Kealiher in Portland in 2019. This podcast also discusses how the tremors felt in Portland have exposed a fault line that culminated in Washington D.C. earlier this year.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Single Drop
• First Published: September 15, 2021

One of the most infamous cases that the world watched unfold in real time, The Followers: Madness of Two covers the story of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell. Both have been accused of multiple crimes, five people are dead, and host Sarah Treleaven will explore the religious fanaticism, brainwashing, and greed, that lead these two “ordinary” people to believe extreme ideas – and possibly commit murder.

• Show Type: Casefile with Commentary
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 15, 2021

The true crime podcast genre covers a broad swath of behavior – far beyond the murder and violence most of us listen to. One great example of other true crime stories worth hearing comes in Armored, the latest show from audiochuck. Through an intense storytelling style, host Jake Brennan shares notorious stories of armored truck robberies – a very niche topic. Nevertheless, the details are compelling and you’ll get carried away (all puns intended).

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Singe Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 17, 2021

In the third and final season of Cousins by Blood, convicted murderer Ivan Cantu faces the ultimate question: will he receive a new trial, or face execution? Private Investigator Matt Duff follows the story to its ultimate conclusion in this weekly multi-season single serial show.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 20, 2021

The Dougherty Gang is the true story of three siblings who went on an eight-day, fifteen-state crime spree in 2011. This remarkable account delves into the details of the complex circumstances that kicked off their silver screen-worthy crime spree, how they averted police along the way – and how they’re doing now in prison.

• Show Type: Investigation Case Analysis
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 21, 2021

We’re all curious about why serial killers act the way they do – but what can we make of a town (Santa Cruz, CA) where two serial killers hunted at the same time, with similar – but not identical – MOs? In Mind of a Monster, host Dr. Michelle Ward takes us through the details of killings by both Ed Kemper “The Co-Ed Killer” and Herbert Mullin, who operated in the Santa Cruz area during the 1970s. By the end, maybe serial killers will make more sense… but perhaps not?

• Show Type: Multi Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 21, 2021

After two captivating seasons, The Opportunist is back – with another fascinating story of how ordinary people end up in extraordinary and often warped circumstances. Season 3 tells the story of Sheryl Ruthven, whose twisted logic somehow inspired a cult-like following. This is a short, four-episode season – but weirdly and wildly interesting.

• Show Type: Multi Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 27, 2021

As the climate between police and the public came to a head in the mid-2010s, one small-town cop is gunned down in a swamp – and becomes a martyr in the national headlines. But there’s more to the story, as you’ll learn in season 3 of Over My Dead Body. As the truth comes out, the townspeople must reconcile betrayal, corruption, and the secrets of an American hero – and the audience does too.

• Show Type: 
• Host Type: 
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 28, 2021

From the U.K.-based team behind They Walk Among Us comes a new podcast about crimes across the pond: They Walk Among America. Using the same format and style, this new podcast examines crimes in America, covering the missing, murdered, and murderous.

• Show Type: Multi Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 29, 2021

What happens when an expert is called to the stand? It seems simple.. right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case, as discussed in season 3 of Unraveled. This season, hosts Billy and Alexis discuss the proliferation of courtroom experts, and what happens when their expertise is used to put innocent people behind bars.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: September 30, 2021

When a reality TV producer meets a new friend who seems too good to be true, surely their radar must go off… but that’s not the case in Queen of the Con. TV producer Johnathan Walton tells his own story of meeting “The Irish Heiress” Mair Smith – who ended up conning him out of almost $100,000… and others out of millions more.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 4, 2021

They call themselves seekers, those who look for enlightenment or make sense of this world and understand what comes beyond. But what if groups that encourage this end up being darker than expected? In Chasing Enlightenment, you’ll learn the story of Toronto’s Students of Light and what lurks in the shadows too.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 5, 2021

Everyone knows the story of Jack the Ripper, and the women he killed. Or do we? In Bad Women: The Ripper Retold, historian Hallie Rubenhold guides the audience through the personal stories of the five women clearly tied to the Ripper’s gruesome crimes, focusing on their lives and the sociocultural circumstances that led them to cross paths with the still-unknown Ripper.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Multi Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 13, 2021

Curious about what goes on behind the scenes for a Victoria’s Secret fashion show? Or how the Angels rose to prominence in American culture – and how they’ve fallen so far? In Fallen Angel, you’ll learn the sordid details of the sordid brand, including curious connections between the company’s owner and none other than Jeffrey Epstein – plus hear from the women themselves about what it took to become an Angel, and whether it’s worth the price.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 18, 2021

From early days as an NFL journeyman to a stint as a male model to become one of the most well-connected drug smugglers in Miami, Steve Kough is a man of many talents. Using recordings made by Kough and stories from his family, Hemingway’s Picasso tries to unpack the man behind the myth and determine if a family heirloom is really a long-lost work created and owned by two of the 20th century’s greatest artists.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 21, 2021

Prosecuting sexual crimes is hard enough due to bureaucracy and social stigma, but what happens when the police don’t even do the work to allow justice in the first place? In Carrie Low VS., you’ll follow the story of a woman who decided to not only take on her attackers, but the police who were supposed to help catch them.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 26, 2021

For the third season of Smoke Screen, head to the Boyle Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles. Here you’ll learn about the life of working-class Latinx people – and a councilman (The Sellout) who came from among their ranks to end up pushing gentrification and accused of corruption and fraud.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 26, 2021

It’s been 25 years since Anne Champion’s friend was killed, but the case was never solved. When Anne, now a prominent Manhattan attorney, gets an unexpected phone call from an old friend, it compels her to return to her childhood homein Bonaparte, Iowa, to try and piece together the events around Laura Van Wyhe’s mysterious death.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 26, 2021

Think white supremacy movements are confined to the headlines? It turns out, they’re living among us – as explored in White Hot Hate. This Canadian podcast dives deep into the social movements and structures that prop up white supremacy and the criminal activity these groups perpetrate.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 27, 2021

A fascinating show from Wondery, Gramercy Hill and Rebel Way, Shadow of Truth examines the unexplained death of 13-year old Tair Rada in Israel. Using recordings and translations from the original Netflix series, this podcast tries to unravel what really happened to the young girl, the man accused – and convicted – of her murder, and everyone else involved.

• Show Type: Single Serial
• Host Type: Single Host
• Cadence: Weekly
• First Published: October 30, 2021

Jack Barsky, an alias, is the longest-surviving known member of the KGB illegals program operated during the height of the Cold War. Barsky hid in plain sight in America for 10 years, all the while leading dual lives on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In The Agent, you’ll learn his astounding story and what it takes to be a spy.