I’ve posted two podcast recommendation posts in the last year that focus on some of my favorite topics. I usually listen to only true crime, with maybe some comedy or wrestling mixed in. You can read those here and here! I wanted to take a minute to show which podcasts I’m currently rotating through on a weekly basis. I spend a lot of time finding old podcasts and catching up on back episodes before becoming up-to-date, but there are plenty of others that I listen to weekly/monthly as new episodes come out. I’ll call this my “current podcast rotation” if you’re curious to know what I’m playing every week. This is accurate as of February/March.
True Crime
The most common podcast that I listen to is the general category of “true crime.” There are a lot of one-off podcast that have one story in one season that I’ve listened to, but there are some that still come out with new content as of right now. The ones below are either individual story episodes (one case per episode) or season-long stories (one case per season). I kind of like the individual story ones more because it’s quick and easy; the season-long cases usually get too dragged out for me after a while.
Criminal
This is one of my longtime favorites and I love how consistently the episodes come out! The host even made a spin-off podcast (coming up later in this list) that I’ve been listening to. This show features little crime-related episodes that range across the spectrum. Some episodes are about actual crimes or criminals and some are more about the study of crime, the incarceration and justice systems, etc. Pretty much every story has been fascinating so far, with just a few that weren’t for me. I binged the first bunch of episodes and enjoy whenever new ones come out.
Unresolved
This is a new one for me but it comes out pretty frequently. Like a lot of the podcasts I listen to, it’s about missing people or unsolved crimes. This one has a bit of both but the common denominator is that all of them have been left ~unresolved~ in some way. It’s a good one overall; not really one of my favorites yet, but the topic is interesting to keep me coming back. I’ve been choosier with the episodes and just download the ones that seem interesting.
Thin Air
I love this one! It’s a new addition within the last few months and it’s become one of my favorites. Like Unresolved often does, this one involves missing persons cases. I’m fascinated (and a lot of the time saddened and/or appalled) by the fact that people can essentially vanish into thin air. This one highlights cases across time so it’s intriguing to hear recent ones mixed in with older ones from the 60s too. The hosts have nice voices and it’s fun to see what new case will be released next.
Unconcluded
This one is relatively consistent with posting but I’m not loving it quite as much as I was before? Some episodes it seems like they’re making progress in the case and other times I feel like it goes in circles. The missing person case that it focuses on is Jennifer Kesse from Orlando in 2006. I like learning about the same person over a period of many episodes (like Tara Grinstead on Up and Vanished) but it can get repetitive as a result. The Sidebar episodes answer viewer questions and they’re okay, but not a must for me.
Wrestling & Other
I realized that I really only have two kinds of podcasts. True Crime and a few that fall under this “other” category. I do have the occasional wrestling podcast or something kind of about conspiracy theories and cults (but I would still almost put those under the “true crime” bucket). Here are two non-true-crime ones that I enjoy each time they come out!
WrestleRamble and RambleClub
I love Luke and Oli’s WrestleTalk channel on YouTube, so I always make it a point to listen to their podcasts as well! They talk about WWE matches that recently happened, predictions for PPVs, and rate/review RAW vs. Smackdown each week. They also have a Patreon account that I currently support, which features the RambleClub podcast (where they review non-WWE matches) and polls for later topics. I’m a fan of their humor and personalities, so I make sure to tune in for basically every episode each week. It’s a lot of wrestling, but what else is new for me?
This Is Love
The Criminal podcast made a “spin-off” of sorts that features stories of love instead of crime. I’m really enjoying it so far! It premiered on Valentine’s Day this year so I’m still getting used to it, but I like how similar it is to Criminal. They talk about all kinds of love that can happen for someone (or animals, etc.!), including romance novelists and people dealing with the loss of a loved one. Again, I like how wide the topic is because Phoebe can cover just about anything.
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