▲ 63 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
Murdaugh Murder Convictions Overturned
Looks like TC podcasters will get another go around at milking this case.
u/sadsackspinach — 7 hours ago
r/TrueCrimePodcasts
▲ 46 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
Where are true crime fans going after Wondery shuts down?
Hi true crime podcast aficionados,
Now that Wondery is officially shutting down this month, what app are you moving to for your podcasts?
I was paying €44.99/year and it felt reasonable because everything was in one place. I listen to podcasts basically every day, and I really don’t want to end up juggling 4 different subscriptions just to keep listening to the shows I like. That’s going to destroy my wallet fast.
What’s the best alternative if you listen a lot to true crime? Spotify? Apple Podcasts? Pocket Casts? Something else?
Main things I care about:
- good true crime catalog
- no ads if possible
- offline listening
- not insanely expensive
Curious what everyone else is switching to.
u/Klutzy-Bat5959 — 3 days ago
What are some cases that you just can’t stop thinking about? Cases that turn you into the FBI, the ones that keep you up at night. Here are mine. I really hope that when I die I find out the answers to these…
Maura Murray
Denise Johnson
Jon Benet(oldie but goodie)
Brian Shaffer
Springfield 3
Nancy Guthrie
u/runningbookworm — 11 days ago
▲ 146 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
The best True Crime Pod out RN!!!!
Preface this post by saying I listen to no joke 40-50 hours a week of true crime podcasts…going on 5 years now.
As you can imagine I run out of content lol
By far the best out rn and a long time is BloodTrails.
The narrators voice A+
Production A+
Interviews A+
Interesting Cases A+
I can only hope that they end up doing a serialized season long pod soon.
Absolutely amazing stuff!!!!
EDIT:
Seems a lot of people are like me and need new recs so here’s a personal favorite list I compiled
I listen to 50 hours a week of true crime podcast and I’m a snob/connoisseur
I’ll give u my top 12 of the last 5 years in no one order
Blood trail
STown
The trials of Frank Carson
Hunting Warhead (the best of all time and it’s not close—WARNING it has to do with child s** Abuse)
Sea of lies
Crimetown S1 (maybe the 2nd greatest)
Gone South S1
What happened to Holly bobo
Detective Trapp
In the dark s1
Felonious Florida s1
Suspect S1
Special mention
Bakersfield 3
Strangeland s1
The real killer s3
New Orleans unsolved (although it’s very long and gets dull but insane story)
The children in the pictures (warning child abuse)
Scamanda
In the land of lies
Beyond all repair
Mary and bill
The coldest case in Lamarie
To live in die in La s1
u/SnoopDougPOKER — 5 days ago
▲ 22 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
Latest New Orleans Unsolved episode?!!!
Wow! I have loved and recommended this podcast for over a year because of Anna‘s incredible developing investigations and I really like the way she delivers the information without making a joke out of it, and without wasting my time. (So great investigator and great podcaster for me.)
The latest episode is just jaw dropping! Seriously listen starting at minute six, if you want to just hear a list of everything that she’s discovered over the last few years.
Then go back and listen to the whole thing. The first season was called “the rope murders” because that’s what she was investigating - teenagers bound and murdered in the 70’s and a pedophile cop that never has to really pay. It just unraveled and unfolded as she kept investigating, -and I think season two has 43 episodes! All of them expose incredible new material she finds and now nationwide crime involving juveniles.
Almost 2 hours in this week’s episode because she had to wait to see if she was going to get a gag order when she was subpoenaed by one of the perpetrators in this developing and incredible story. I mean it’s reaching back DECADES and it’s revealing the Boy Scouts and the priests and the government and the police corruption, and more- but I don’t wanna spoil it because it just keeps unfolding!
OK, you know I’m a fan of this podcast by now and it is the only one I support monthly.
u/thatstrongwoman — 7 hours ago
▲ 82 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
Beth's Dead
Someone please tell me I'm not on my own in finding this totally boring? I'm on episode 3 it's over an hour long, I'm pretty sure the adverts take up at least 15 minutes of that time and I just don't understand why the heck it's 9 episodes?! How have they got 9 episodes of material from this story?! Are there any good articles I can read about this poor woman rather than keep listening to this drivel?
u/WhatFannyRed — 3 days ago
▲ 32 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
Need Brand New Longform Podcast
I devour true crime podcasts and at the moment am completely out. Wondering what newest one is I need to check out. Have listened to these recent new ones. I recommend all of them:
Love Trapped (I actually think podcast production could be way better but the core story is insane)
Foundling (another thinker and not fully true crime I guess but interesting, complex, and maybe felt at times a bit irresponsible)
The Walkers: The Real Salt Path (really great podcast in all respects about a literary con from a journalist who did tons of research)
Adults in the Room (Out of Seattle, this is a top podcast, extremely well done by investigative journalist with personal connection to story)
Okay but what now? What brand new long form podcast should be next?
u/Lizard_Li — 5 days ago
▲ 34 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
Catching Evil
Hey all...came across this long form podcast and I'd like to recommend it to anyone looking for something new to binge.
Just an overview, this podcast is about Christopher Wilder. He is a serial killer born in Australia but later relocated to the US and committed most of his crimes there. I had heard about him before, like I assume many of you have, but finding a podcast that goes deeper in to the crimes he committed and many of which he may very likely have committed, was interesting.
There are interviews with some family members of his victims as well as women who managed to escape/survive Wilder. The accounts are jaw dropping to say the least. Please give it a shot if you haven't listened to it. The podcast also covers the infamous Wanda Beach murders and why they believe Wilder to be the perpetrator of that crime and a few more before relocating to the US to commit more atrocities there. It's an ongoing podcast but alooot of the episodes already came out a while back.
The podcast is graphic...so trigger warning incase you decide to listen.
If you have listened to the podcast, I'd love to hear you thoughts about it. Its very well researched and respectful to the victims.
u/Some_Cat_2261 — 17 hours ago
New Orleans Unsolved - new episode dropped and it's a doozy
This podcast is insanely good and also unbelievably awful. Trigger warning for some grim stuff about child sexual abuse and murder.
Oh, and if you're a fan of Harry Connick Jr. you might not love what we learn about his daddy. (Probably mostly not news to many.)
u/Malsperanza — 4 days ago
▲ 92 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
I was looking out at my backyard and back of a shopping plaza which is basically just an empty alley and dumpsters. I saw two people back up to a dumpster at one of the businesses with their trunk open and carried a garbage bag which must have been heavy because they both had to carry it and then lift it into the bin making a large thud. Then one of the people threw in what looked like a smaller single item then one more bag and drive away. My instant thought was a busy and murder weapon 😭 probably just illegal dumping. There was also the time I saw a suitcase floating in the river.. 🙈
u/freyab0baya — 7 days ago
▲ 328 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
When searching for the term Crime Junkie, one question appears in Google’s “People Also Ask” section: What was the Crime Junkie scandal?
The answer reads:
“In August 2019, the popular Crime Junkie podcast faced a major scandal involving accusations that host Ashley Flowers plagiarized content from journalists and other podcasters.”
The scandal was reported by major news outlets, including but not limited to The New York Times, Variety, Vox, Vulture, as well as numerous smaller publications, like EdRants, Plagiarism Today, and Indianapolis Monthly, and a large volume of social media posts—including a notable number from Reddit.
There is even a published list identifying 94 episodes that are reportedly affected.
Ashley Flowers responded publicly, stating that Crime Junkie would improve sourcing practices and properly credit the sources used in its episodes.
Well said—but one measures not by words, but by actions.
So let’s look at the actions.
Numerous claims have been made
The copyright and plagiarism controversy first emerged in 2019. One might expect that public scrutiny and the threat of legal action would have influenced subsequent practices; however, more recent allegations suggest that concerns about proper attribution persist.
Numerous claims have been made that episodes used the work and research of others without clear acknowledgment; several of those recent claims have been posted on Reddit.
Why we’re posting this
We run a research-focused website on the 1968 Marina Habe murder case. Our team has researched the Habe case for over three years. We were not aware of Crime Junkie until it released an episode on Marina Habe. While listening, we noticed that elements of the episode’s research closely resembled content from our own work.
Our copyright page clearly states that our material may only be used with proper attribution, including a link to our website. We reviewed show notes across podcast platforms, as well as on the official Crime Junkie website, but did not see credit given to our work.
Prelude: The Honeypot
We have proof that IP addresses associated with Crime Junkie accessed our website in the months leading up to the release of their podcast about Marina Habe. We obtained those IP addresses with a honeypot-page.
We contacted Crime Junkie with our concerns and created a private page on our website, accessible only via a direct link shared with Crime Junkie. On that page, we outlined how some elements of our work appeared to be reflected in the episode, pointing to the structure, narrative, suspects, and—most notably—the autopsy analysis.
The page also included monitoring tools to track visits.
We observed that it was accessed 30 times, including 25 times from Indianapolis, Indiana, where Crime Junkie’s headquarters is based, and three times from the San Jose area, where Mallika Dhaliwal is located. Dhaliwal was credited on the Crime Junkie website with doing “original research” for the Marina Habe episode.
When comparing these IP addresses to our server logs, we noted that the same addresses and IP range had visited our website numerous times in the months leading up to the release of the episode. While this does not prove intent or plagiarism, it provides documented indications that the site was accessed from locations associated with Crime Junkie.
Note: To comply with privacy regulations we cannot post the IP addresses; however, full, unmasked IP logs have been preserved for legal review.
General Parallels Between Our Work and the Episode
We will begin by reviewing the more general observations, before moving on to the more concrete evidence that offers stronger indications of the episode’s connection to our research.
General Observations
The podcast closely followed our structure and narrative: beginning with the disappearance timeline, moving through the autopsy analysis, and then examining the suspects—Hornburg, Collins, and an outlaw biker nicknamed Spanky. This sequence closely aligns with the framework of our own investigation.
The episode’s focus on John Hornburg closely mirrors the profiling presented on our website. Aside from our site, no other articles or podcasts identify Hornburg as a possible suspect.
The podcast’s inclusion of the Michigan Co-Ed Killer (Collins) in the Marina Habe case closely aligns with the research presented on our website. Similarly, this individual has been identified as a potential suspect only on our site; before the release of the Crime Junkie episode, no other blogs, articles, or podcasts had publicly made that connection.
While a diligent researcher could theoretically reach these conclusions independently, the specificity, framing, and placement in the episode suggest that our site may have served as a reference.
While the observations above are based on general facts that could be uncovered through independent research, we will now examine more concrete evidence.
The Snapshot: Spanky
The inclusion of a suspect nicknamed Spanky also follows the structure of our narrative. Notably, the source notes on the Crime Junkie website for the Marina Habe episode reference an Archive.today link related to “Spanky.”
(Archive.today lets you create archived versions of a webpage, similar to the Wayback Machine on archive.org.)
However, this specific archive was created by us and, at the time, appeared only on our website. It later appeared in Crime Junkie’s source notes after the podcast was published, suggesting that their researchers used our site.
Reviewing the snapshots of the page—which shows how many captures were made from the original L.A Times article—indicates that only one snapshot exists and that snapshot was created by our team.
We also created a snapshot of the Crime Junkie website, which displays the archive.today citation. The snapshot in question:
The LA Times: A bond stronger than bars, by Joe Mozingo. Published November 30, 2008. Accessed July 24, 2025, via archives.today.
The Archive.today snapshot was originally posted by us as a footnote (4) on the Suspects page. We have since added the unarchived link to the L.A. Times article.
It also raises a related question: why use an Archive.today link at all? In their other sources, they cite direct links to articles. In this case, the original L.A. Times article was available to link directly, yet the archive version—the same one we created—was used instead.
Summary
- That specific archive snapshot was created by us
- At the time, it appeared only on our website
- Archive records show only one snapshot existed—and it was ours
- Now the archive also appears on Crime Junkie’s website.
Fun Fact
Crime Junkie identified Kirk Smyth as the suspect nicknamed “Spanky.” At the time of the podcast’s release, Smyth was listed on our website as a person of interest associated with that moniker. However, we clearly stated that this was speculation, not fact.
Months after the Crime Junkie episode aired, we identified the actual “Spanky.” Consequently, their podcast researched and profiled the wrong individual.
In late 2025, we identified the real Spanky in collaboration with author Tom O’Neill (Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties) and the son of Spanky, who contacted us through our website. For more information, see the Suspects page.
Had Crime Junkie conducted the “four months of independent reporting” they claimed in our email exchange, their researchers would have probably discovered what we eventually did: Kirk Smyth was not Spanky. The fact that Crime Junkie profiled Smyth suggests a link to our research. They didn’t just follow our leads; they inherited our early, unverified theories.
The Crux: Marina Habe’s Time of Death
One point of uncertainty in the Marina Habe case has been the time of death. Contemporary newspaper articles from the late 1960s suggested she may have been killed shortly after her abduction on December 30, 1968.
However, Marina’s stepbrother later told reporters that the coroner said she had been held for a day, fed, raped, and stabbed—suggesting a later time of death.
No time of death has ever been published in the Marina Habe case — not in the autopsy report, nor in 1960s newspaper archives — yet her time of death has been the subject of speculation.
Due to this uncertainty, we—a collective of researchers that includes a retired homicide investigator and a forensic psychologist—decided to examine the question of Marina Habe’s time of death.
We provided Marina Habe’s autopsy report, along with the case documentation, to two independent medical examiners.
Each examiner calculated a time of death; however, because time-of-death analysis is not an exact science—particularly in the 1960s, when methods were far less precise than they are today—their estimates differed by several hours.
To address this, we used a carefully calculated median of the professional opinions. In other words, we averaged the two estimated times of death.
Based on our analysis, we estimated Marina Habe’s time of death to be between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on January 1, 1969.
Our analysis is the first instance in which a specific time-of-death is presented.
Crime Junkie used the exact same time-of-death range in their podcast.
Regardless of the sources interviewed, documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, or 1960s newspaper archives, a time of death estimate remained undisclosed—until we published it.
The episode’s use of this exact, uniquely derived range, along with other elements from our analysis—including rigor mortis and the presence of fresh blood noted during the autopsy—suggests that our site may have served as a reference, rather than that the timeframe was independently developed.
“I always start with Google”
“I always start with Google,” Flowers told WTHR in an interview. “I find out what’s available.”
Our site ranks top for all search terms related to the Marina Habe case. Flowers said that when examining a case she first turns to Google. What are the chances Crime Junkie researchers did not visit our website?
Our Request and Their Reponse
We contacted Crime Junkie to request credit for our work, since it appears they used our website as a source, and emailed them. This was their response:
Our program was the result of more than four months of independent reporting. The script and analysis—including time-of-death estimations and narrative structure—were derived from original interviews, historical news archives dating back to 1969, and documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
While we appreciate the attention additional voices bring to cold cases such as this, we can confirm that all research for this episode was conducted independently and in full alignment with Audiochuck’s rigorous editorial standards. We stand by the integrity of our reporting and do not believe further attribution is required.
Note: Crime Junkie stated in their episode that a FOIA request to the LASD (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department) for documents related to the Marina Habe case had been denied; therefore, the time of death could not have come from a FOIA request.
Conclusion
Individually, each of these points could potentially be explained:
- similar structure
- overlapping suspects
- comparable forensic interpretation
However, taken together:
- a unique archive link originating from our site
- the same specific time-of-death range
- overlapping suspect framing
- documented access to our website prior to release
…it raises reasonable questions about whether our work was used without attribution.
We reached out to Crime Junkie and Audiochuck to request clarification on the specific evidence documented in this post. As of this writing, we have not received a follow-up reply.
u/Biblestudyiscanceled — 12 days ago
3 Podcasts that changed how I view parts of the world, and got the host wrapped up in the plot.
I was recently thinking about podcasts that live rent free in my head because they change how I view parts of the world, then I realized the three I was thinking of all have something else in common: the host got deeply entangled in the plot of the podcasts investigation.
Sold a Story - How True Crime? Curriculum writers and publishers unintentionally pushed a scam reading curriculum for teachers worldwide that set back all schools that used it. - How My View Changed? This one completely changed how I view reading education, so much so we taught our youngest the better way to teach reading mentioned in the podcast and saw a very noticeable difference between our kids. - How Host Got Entangled? The negative affects were so prevalent of the scam curriculum that when people found Sold a Story podcast the host became the quoted source to justify change from school boards to legislation.
White Devil - How True Crime? Police Cheif was killed in Belize and accused was mother of billionaire heirs. - How My View Changed? A major plot twist happened to expose how the billionaire oligarch that controls most of Belize can make anyone in the country’s life a living hell. I’ll never visit Belize now. - How Host Got Entangled? Host was one of only a few lifelines the victim of the billionaire oligarch’s wrath could use to get free, then took an active role instead of just passive reporting.
13th Step - How True Crime? Rehab chain owner was abusing his clinics’ patients. - How My View Changed? Podcast exposed how prevalent abuse from rehab staff to patients really is and how the industry is a magnet to attract employees who want to abuse others. - How Host Got Entangled? Rehab chain owner terrorized the host and her family/friends to get her to stop investigating.
u/Deep-Dive-Detective — 21 hours ago
▲ 37 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
Hi everyone,
I’m looking for true crime podcast recommendations with a pretty specific vibe:
- Long episodes (at least ~50 min to 1h30+)
- Minimal banter / chit-chat / excessive laughter
- Focused, detailed storytelling about the cases
For reference, I used to listen to a lot of Rotten Mango and liked the deep dives into both perpetrators and victims—the background and context really interest me. But over time I started to dislike the delivery style (voice, heavy censoring like “self-exit,” “SA,” etc.) and the overall quality.
I also enjoy Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén (formerly “Serial Killers”) and Crime Junkie, but I’m really looking for something with longer episodes and a more in-depth format.
I tried Casefile (a few episodes), but I had a hard time concentrating because of the accent (I’m not a native English speaker).
Any recommendations for podcasts is very appreciated 🫶
u/hazelnutbanana — 13 days ago
▲ 24 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
The past weeks I have been pretty obsessed with scammer true crime podcasts. And thanks to this community here, I found some really good ones, that I pretty much binged. What can I say, Im an addict.
After going trough a rougher time in private, I felt I needed to get away a bit from the murder and all. So I started listening to different kinda crimes, like cults, financial and eventually scammers. Started with Love Janessa, and also a german podcast about the nigerian love scammers. Which I found quite interesting. The thought of Africa getting their money back from the white people after they have colonized, enslaved and are robbing the african continent was a very interesting thought train, that was mentioned in the german podcast. But I am sidetracking from what I actually want to talk about.
My last podcasts were/are:
- Love trapped
- Eliesabeth
- Scamander
- Unicorn Girl
- The salt path BBC / The walkers (two different podcasts on the same topic)
- Kaitlyns Baby
These are all horrendous storys. The harm that was caused to the victims are sometimes similar and sometimes so very different and just cruel. I am still so shocked about the Afghanistan people being played.
Whith all these podcasts I was missing one thing, and that was an explanation. Until I finished the Kaitlyns Baby one today. Here finally they had doctors for an interview that would give a possible diagnosis and give some form of explanation why these people do it, and if they even know what harm they are causing. Unfortunately they didnt give an explanation to, why the mother is playing along and even facilitating the whole thing. In other podcasts it was a husband for example in the Walkers, or Scamander.
It is just so interesting whats going on with these people, and how early the lies are starting. Its really often in the childhood.
What are your thouhts on it, do you think the mental ilness is an excuse for the behaviour?
Also Im very grateful for similar podcasts reccommendations. Or non murder true crime podcasts with long format.
u/franklingoldenrobot — 9 days ago
▲ 16 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
I'm looking for a series about a violent crime against a human (or humans) where there is an answer at the end. I like DNA ID, but I enjoy the longer ones that are presented in a series, like a mystery, and they really dig in and take you down the clue and investigation path.
I'd prefer they are either solved, or there is a least some conclusion or partial resolution. Any suggestions?
u/SunLillyFairy — 7 days ago
▲ 39 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
Hi there - I’ve been listening to true crime podcasts since Serial first hooked me. I feel like I’m at the end of recommendations from this sub and that my podcast apps recommend.
With that, Spotify now has audiobooks. A few have been recommended to me but I’m wondering if anyone here has any true crime audiobooks that they loved?
Thank you!
u/Gatorbug47 — 12 days ago
Hey,
It’s my first time posting on this subreddit, so I’m sorry if I do anything wrong.
So, to get straight to the point, I need recommendations. I just can’t stand listening to music during my routes to school and work or at work and I love listening to podcasts. But I haven’t found a podcast that just sticks for one reason or another. I’ve listened to a few of the more popular ones but I ended up DNF-ing them. Notably, the most recent contenders are:
Crime Junkie — Listened to them for ages until I got tired of the repetitive stories. Not to offend anyone but I felt like every story just became so predictable. Not to mention the freaking ads. Couldn’t take it anymore and just gave up on it. The earlier episodes were chefs kiss but as the podcast progressed it started to become more like they were trying so hard to be reporters.
Rotten Mango — With the episodes being over an hour long, I thought that it would be like a deep dive podcast. But nope. Most of it was absolute nonsense (aka banter) and I honestly couldn’t just tolerate the fact that the host didn’t even try to pronounce certain names right. Specifically Russian names. And the freaking ads again. They were always in the most inconvenient places and unnecessary. Yes, I get a girl needs to make dough but seriously.
If you have any recommendations, please tell me and I’d be eternally grateful. 🙏
Have a nice rest of your day/night.
u/kybooks — 7 days ago
▲ 25 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
I think I’ve listened to everything good. There’s nothing new or captivating. Every time I click on a “popular with listeners or “suggestion on Spotify, it’s either terrible or AI.
Is there really nothing new and good?
u/Ieatclowns — 9 days ago
▲ 12 r/TrueCrimePodcasts
I'm looking for a multi-episode series to binge, not a single episode. Something involving true crime but also dark family secrets/family dysfunction/etc.
Roots of Evil is the best example I can think of offhand. It's like two twisted tales in one, you have the potential murderer aspect, but then you have the family life saga, which adds a whole new layer.
Old or new doesn't matter. But serious and well done, not ones where they drink and laugh and chit chat like idiots. Thanks!
u/inthewoods54 — 11 days ago
As stated, I am looking for a multi-episode true crime podcast centering around a single crime outside of the US. There is additional criteria I prefer but recommendations don’t have to follow them to a T.
- Not too repetitive
- Not a case that is super well known like serial killers or something like the Bain family murders
- I prefer solved/resolved cases (and not in a someone got arrested but we may have the wrong person way)
- I also prefer more modern cases but it doesn’t have to be happening now
- Crime doesn’t have to be murder (loose criteria)
I know I said multi-episodes but a single podcast episode that more or less fits this is fine (like Casefile)
All suggestions are very much appreciated
u/nnikki100 — 11 days ago