CRIME PODCAST WRAPPED ‘22
FOUR PODCASTS TRUE CRIME FANS SHOULD BE LISTENING RIGHT NOW…
Do you know why The Joker has a bigger fandom than Batman? Isn’t it scary to know that a sadistic psychopath with a twisted sense of humor finds secret reliability within common people? People who wake up in the morning with a woozy taste of monotonous routine; who also carry the faceless reality of the world; who share similar irritability of chasing the mundane bites to survive in a society that establishes itself against the humane standards of living.
Striving to understand this dilemma has always landed me in true crime documentaries and investigation videos. Once you find me knocking on the threshold of criminal psychology banter and Mind Hunter, it is a carnival of opinions and debunking theories sessions with no pause button in sight.
Crime podcasts bring me the solace of listening to arguments and mental closures that either take me to relevant notes or astounding facts I didn’t know about.
This year, my watchlist has been overpouring with cult documentaries, unsolved cases, and bizarre theories related to cases that remain under mystery for decades now. My breakfast table was shifted to my bedroom so that I could start my day with Buzzfeed Unsolved and a 1-hour episode of Sword and Scale.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that we are living in the golden age of Podcast — and if you have been in the course of listening to a few of them, the post-pandemic scene has peaked the amount of popularity they have garnered in recent years.
So, here is my recap of five podcasts that you should get hooked up to, NOW:
1. THE DESI CRIME PODCAST
Hosted by Aishwarya Singh and Aryaan Misra, this podcast is the best place to get started with. The narration, the expressions and the connectivity of dots to bring us complicated stories — simplified and well-curated.
If there’s one thing that boils down to my afternoon gloominess is listening to this podcast. The intensity and vivacity of a true crime story are something that draws a line between the listeners and hosts. From an aficionado of podcasts, this particular element is very well balanced and catapulted by the creators of The Desi Crime Podcast.
In the new setup of presenting these horrifying stories, the hosts share the same emotional yearning that we do, while listening to the heartbroken details of a criminal landscape, as if you are sitting with them in the same room projecting your gasps, sighs and shocking wide eyes.
I have displaced many, many, and many hot latte cups and frazzled hair scarves under the disguise of being the female Sherlock Holmes, and yet, I can say this with no caffeine in my body system, The Desi Crime Podcast has the best narrative velocity.
Their coverage of infamous case of Kolkata House of Horrors and recent The Delhi Dahmer is absolutely spine-chilling.
Aishwarya and Aaryan do a great job of simply giving space to their audiences to become a part of the storyboard — of the period, intervals, beginning, climax, twist, and denouement. They connect the fragmented trails of a case like a novel and follow up with facts, opinions, and important consequential updates.
P.s.: I am silently rooting to interview these two crime podcasting wizards. Readers and Universe, get to work!
2. MY FAVORITE MURDER
Have you ever giggled or had yourself a quiet laugh while listening to a hauntingly mysterious true crime case? Yeah, you may as well call me a sinner. But, before you throw all the speculative curveballs at this kid, try to rewind your watchlist a little bit and set the gear to the era of Buzzfeed Unsolved and the iconic duo of Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara.
The candid banter, wrong conclusions in-between, the shocking pause, and the tug-of-war of solving the case rightfully while going through conspiracy theories — a tiny place that added a little bit of air amidst the heaviness of haunting deeds of a crime that has been on a run, ever since; this chaotic pattern of organizing talking sessions which feels like deconstructing your curiosity and sharing the theories in your backyard on a lazy evening with cold brews on deck with your buddies, is the best kind of podcast category that you will enjoy.
My Favorite Murder, hosted by Karen and Georgia, is that backyard session a true crime lover longs for. The idea for this podcast came on a fortunate Halloween party between two lifelong true crime fans — talk about Universe on-duty, creating co-incidences like such!
Since 2016, this podcast has gained popularity and ranks at number 10 on iTunes Podcasts chart in the comedy category. 2019 Forbes’ list of highest-earning podcasters ranked My Favorite Murder in second place.
If you don’t quickly get on board with this podcast, it is only plausible and convincingly right that I make a leading recommendation. The duo has also written a book, Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-to Guide, the New York’s Bestseller. This non-fictional memoir is not just insightful to their caliber, but it also makes you want to be friends with Kilgariff and Hardstark.
3. Serial
Just to put things into perspective, I am quoting an excerpt from an article on Vulture’s There will Be Podcasts segment, which just happens to find its way while I was finishing off this piece:
As best-selling true-crime author and podcaster Billy Jensen puts it,
“Serial is the most important, because it went viral, got into the zeitgeist, introduced many people to podcasts, and got them hooked.”
Serial is created by the ingenuine minds who created The American Life. If you are a precious turtle living within your shell, away from politics and controversial topics, The American Life can be a warm butterfly pea flower tea of your immediate igloo neighborhood during the breezy hibernation season.
Just Kidding!
I became attuned to this podcast around the US Presidential Elections in 2016 because I just could not stop myself from getting constant updates and opinions of how that entire campaign was perceived.
The similar non-fictional journalism of Ira Glass’s vivacity has been recorded through Serial and hosted by Sarah Koenig, as a crime investigative podcast. Initially started as a spinoff of The American Life, Serial has won the Peabody Award, being the first podcast to receive this award.
And even if you drive away from the popularity lounge, the execution of Serial is top-notch, making us compulsively deconstruct our thoughts about the justification of any criminal case, instead of plugging our backs against a recliner while sipping tea.
It’s not just about spilling the tea, guys!
4. Something Was Wrong
This podcast is the testament as to why I have 99 problems and listening to true crime podcasts can solve them all.
Something Was Wrong is not a typical narrative junction of the horrifying details of a sinful deed.
Instead, Tiffany Reese, the woman behind this podcast, connects us with cruel realities and surviving tales of individuals who belonged to the same normal world that we inhabit but had to face the anti-heroic refraction of someone they had trusted, loved, and welcomed to set the epilogue of their lives. Traumatic experiences from abusive relationships and unfortunate events shared alongside guests do influence our perspectives on the opposing spectrum of victimization or victim-blaming.
And regardless of what the people’s reception is or what the comments might say, it is inevitably commendable to have platforms that highlight indifference and disagreement. Right?
Discovering this podcast happened to come from a fateful accent of casual discussions under the sun with a few true crime fanatics I met during a literary event. And the ease of being able to add to the different perceptions of the kind of crimes that originate from a relationship gone sour was intriguing.
If Serial fulfills your imaginary courtroom drama and turns your inner political critic on, Something was wrong will set you off on a personal connotation of flaws and fixtures.
And, that’s a wrap!
But, before you go, here’s a beginner’s guide — a list of episodes you should listen to if you are a fresher to these podcasts;
Created by the left-handed shrink of Detective Holmes.
