Podcasts are something most of us listen to, whether we’re cleaning, on a long drive, or just want to dive into the wonders of the world we live in. Each of us has our preferences, and if you’re like me, you’re obsessed with the craziness of America and the crime it brings. In that case, here are my top five true-crime podcasts that have never failed to shock me.

• Murder with My Husband

This podcast is one that I began listening to more recently than others, as last year was my first experience with it. The title is very intriguing and definitely pulls in listeners, regardless of who they are. This podcast features a couple, Payton and Garrett Moreland, who dive into true-crime cases, both big and small, that have occurred within America. From the beginning, it’s been clear she loves it, and he hates it. One thing that’s enjoyable about this podcast is that Payton uses multiple sources about the cases and tells them as if they were a story. Garrett concentrates on her and gets invested in the narrative of the events, just like us listeners out there. Recently, they released the show on Netflix as well, where I watched an episode, and there you can find visuals for every episode that is released on Mondays. At the end of every episode, which typically range from 40 minutes to about an hour, Payton always finds a way to deliver the final blow and the twist of the murders that keep me in shock. There are so many reasons why this podcast is in my top spot, with these only being a few of them.

• Murder in America

The podcast that takes the second spot is, of course, Murder in America. A simpler title for a podcast that pays attention to details within crimes. Ironic, right? Similar to Murder with My Husband, there are two hosts who talk on the show. For this podcast, though, both voices are equally present as you listen, and each episode is considerably longer than other shows, with the shortest being around 45 minutes and the longest being over two hours and 30 minutes. The hosts, Courtney Shannon and Colin Browen, were on a show called The Paranormal Files before the podcast. What makes it stand out is that each week, they delve into a crime from a different state. Alongside each of these, the pair dives into bigger cases. They take crimes from larger killers, such as Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, and tell the stories of their lives and the crimes they committed through multiple parts. In addition to this, some stories have a slight paranormal background that gets brought up. Murder in America, though, is great to listen to alone, in a pair, or even with a group of people, for a great form of entertainment.

• Murder, Mystery, and Makeup

This podcast, one of two by Bailey Sarian, is exactly what the title suggests. Originally a YouTube series, Sarian does a different makeup look each episode, some of them fitting the holiday or season, and others just to do makeup. Like MWMH, Sarian goes over cases that most Americans know, and she dives deeper to find cases that we aren’t aware of as well. She’s accompanied by her two co-hosts, Joan and Paul. You see, they aren’t regular co-hosts for a podcast, but for Sarian, they sure are. These two are a crow and a skeleton that are dressed up for festivities in every video. A difference between this podcast and Murder with My Husband that I noticed is that Sarian doesn’t read off a script like Payton Moreland; rather, she remembers details of a story and adds her own humor to the serious topics that she speaks about. Similar to it, though, there are photos that relate to each story.  The podcast is definitely more for women, especially because Sarian describes what she is doing with her makeup.

• Dark History

Though Bailey Sarian has been mentioned in this list already, it is for good reason. She knows exactly what her audience is looking for in a good podcast. This podcast by her isn’t as much about the crime world as the other podcasts are, but it does involve government conspiracies, high-ranking officials who committed heinous acts, and industries with their deep, dark secrets. This one can’t live up to Murder, Mystery, and Makeup, but Sarian knows how to keep her humor, even in serious matters such as these. Ranging from the faults of the Kennedy family to the truth behind our favorite board games, the different episodes take us on a journey throughout our history that we weren’t aware of, and parts of it that weren’t supposed to be seen. This podcast is different than others because it goes into cases without any murder or gore and is light-hearted in other ways, as well. Sure, there may still be some scandalous events during the episodes, but Sarian will tell the story through charm, laughs, and facts that we never would have guessed.  

• 10 to Life

10 to Life is a podcast that I listen to less frequently, as per the last spot on my list. However, it did get me invested in a murder case that happened recently, just a few years back, in February of 2024. This podcast is more realistic because the main purpose of it is to give the victims of these cases a voice that they did not receive once the crimes were committed. Out of the four so far, this podcast is as true to the story as one can get, as it attempts to be as accurate to the crime as possible, and with the most respect. This being the case, I enjoy this podcast because of the attention to detail that Elise puts into every second she produces. Another thing that many podcasters don’t do is connect themselves to the crime in some way, but Annie Elise does just this. She uses her experiences as a mother and wife to connect herself with the parents and adults who show up during the cases she talks about. Most of her cases are lesser-known, too, so it’s good to get into a podcast with cases that we don’t know much about. If you’re someone who can handle gruesome details, heartbreaking stories, and the most truth of all, then 10 to Life is definitely worth a listen.