Ten years ago, a gripping audio series called Serial burst onto the scene to become the world’s first viral podcast. Thanks to its compassionate host and compelling murder mystery, Serial became a phenomenon that spawned one of the most popular audio genres on the planet, one with the power to hook listeners with no prior experience with the format. The best investigative podcasts are documentary-style series that deep dive on a subject over the course of a season, and are hosted by a narrator or narrators (often investigative journalists, though not always) who introduce the story and spend the rest of the episodes piecing together the clues and shedding new light on previously neglected evidence. Popular topics include crime, scandals, politics, and history, though anything that's a good story can get the investigative treatment, as this eclectic list suggests. There are countless investigative podcasts out there, with these 20 being a perfect introduction to the genre.
More than a decade since Michael Jackson’s death, his legacy remains complicated and unresolved. Think Twice: Michael Jackson, named the best podcast of 2023 by The New Yorker, is an exploration of the King of Pop’s life and impact—and an investigation into why his global influence continues to endure despite the disturbing allegations against him. In this astonishing ten-part series, journalists Leon Neyfakh and Jay Smooth bring a new perspective on the Michael Jackson story, based on dozens of original interviews with people who watched it unfold from up close.
Two days before Christmas 1996, Sophie Toscan du Plantier, a French television producer on holiday in Ireland, was brutally bludgeoned to death outside her home. The crime sent shockwaves through the peaceful, tight-knit coastal village in County Cork, and as the investigation unfolded, one question persisted: Who would want to kill Sophie, a complete stranger to most of the townspeople? As hosts Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde dive into the case, the haunting and atmospheric sound design as well as the intimate participation of the case’s main suspect, an English journalist who maintains he was framed, transport listeners to the thick of the mystery.
In 2020, actor and comedian Connor Ratliff embarked on a saga to solve the “very stupid mystery” of how his entire career was derailed by an offhand comment from Tom Hanks. When Ratliff auditioned for the beloved actor’s miniseries Band of Brothers, Hanks reportedly remarked that Ratliff had “dead eyes” and he failed to get the part. The rejection ultimately became an utterly fascinating podcast saga, which has since bolstered Ratliff’s eventual career comeback (he has starred in Marvelous Mrs. Maisel among other projects), been nominated for multiple awards, and even scored the climactic payoff—finally—of Hanks making a personal guest appearance on the show to tell his side of the story.
It’s 1990. The Berlin Wall just fell. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse. And the soundtrack to the revolution is one of the best selling songs of all time, the metal ballad “Wind of Change,” by the Scorpions. Decades later, journalist Patrick Radden Keefe heard a rumor: the song wasn’t written by the Scorpions. It was written by the CIA. Wind of Change is his journey to find the truth.
In this investigative true crime Audible Original podcast, host Dov Fox unravels the strange case of Donor 9623, a sperm bank donor who seemed to be the perfect biological father—a music prodigy, a gifted athlete, and an intelligent man with a genius IQ. The only problem? It was all a lie. 36 children later, the truth about Donor 9623 and the biggest hoax in reproductive history is finally coming out.
On the last day of her grandmother’s life, journalist Maya Lin Sugarman finds a box of forgotten screenplays that sets her on a journey to uncover the truth about their author: her late uncle, Galen. She discovers that he was a leader of a Chinese gang, that he went to jail, and, in a final twist, that he poured his life story into a screenplay that was turned into a ’90s Hollywood action movie…starring Rob Lowe, Burt Reynolds, and Ice-T.
From the mind of Jon Ronson comes the strange case of Carol Howe, a one-time debutante who fell in with a group of violent white nationalists before switching sides and giving federal investigators advance warning of the 1994 Oklahoma City bombing. But who was Howe, how much contact did convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh have with her sources, and why didn’t the government act on her information? With his signature curiosity and anxious allegiance to facts, Ronson asks question upon question, turning The Debutante into an engaging puzzle of mysteries nested within mysteries, with Carol as its innermost enigma.
It’s 1995, and Bob Bierenbaum seems like quite the catch—he's a plastic surgeon who flies planes and speaks multiple languages. Plus, he's Jewish, which is a bonus for Carole Fisher, a divorcée looking for love in Las Vegas. But there's something off about Bob. He has a temper and avoids talking about his ex-wife, though it turns out there's a good reason—she's missing and presumed dead. After they break up, Carole ends up connecting with some of Bob's other exes, and together, they dig into find the truth about Gail Katz’s mysterious death.
After Serial, this iconic series from audio juggernauts Serial Productions and This American Life may be one of the most talked-about podcasts ever recorded. Reporter Brian Reed is enlisted by an eccentric Alabama resident named John McElmore to investigate a crime, but the story Reed stumbles upon is far more unique and upending than the one he signed up for. If you still haven't listened, this is the perfect entry into the world of podcast mysteries and a master class in storytelling and narration.
Millions of would-be cheaters signed up for Ashley Madison in the early 2000s, seeking a private space to share their public desires. But the promise of discretion was shattered after hackers stole the company’s user data and published it in one of the most shocking data breaches of the internet age. In this compulsive and penetrating new series presented by performer Sophie Nélisse, the real people who were caught up in the hack finally tell their stories in full, along with experts who put it all into the context. Exposed: The Ashley Madison Hack serves as a cautionary tale for anyone whose secrets live in the cloud.
Travel back to the bohemian side of West Virginia in the '70s and '80s. I Was Never There offers an atmospheric journey into the era’s counterculture movement and one self-proclaimed hippie outlaw who disappeared. Mother-and-daughter hosts Karen and Jamie Zelermyer set out to uncover what happened to their friend Marsha “Mudd” Ferber, a proprietor of a bar and club, founder of communal houses and co-ops, and low-level drug dealer who was also known for her flair for the reckless. After she vanished, those she knew were left to put together the pieces, weighing foul play against a wandering soul.
In Bear Brook State Park, the remains of one 24-year-old woman and three little girls, ranging in age from 11 months to seven years, were found in two metal barrels—the first uncovered in 1985 and the second in 2000. What followed would forever change the methodology of murder investigations. Hosted by Jason Moon and presented by New Hampshire Public Radio, Bear Brook examines the process of victim identification and the breakthrough use of genetic genealogy—the very same tech that brought the Golden State Killer to justice—in solving cold cases. With empathy and care, Moon guides listeners from the gruesome discovery to the techniques that allowed investigators to make new breaks in the case.
In the digital age, crime is online. Hunting Warhead takes listeners through the darkest corners of the internet as host Daemon Fairless interviews investigators working to take down criminal rings producing and distributing content depicting child sexual abuse. Speaking with survivors, perpetrators, white-hat hackers, and police, Fairless dives into an international pursuit. Sensitive to those who have been harmed by sexual violence and exploitation without ever shying away from the realities of the dark web, this a gripping listen for anyone curious about how children are rescued and protected by those who aim to expose and take down their abusers.
Produced and hosted by Avery Trufelman, this podcast digs into the clothes we wear—and why we wear them—for different landmark occasions. The pod's 7-part series on "American Ivy" is essential listening, tracing preppy style from its roots in upper-crust Britain to US colleges and then to the attention of a Japanese merchant who forever transformed it for the global market. Filled with interesting tidbits, this is the perfect listen for those curious to learn about fashion traditions they may not have previously considered.
From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, The Kids of Rutherford County is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South. For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two lawyers, former juvenile delinquents themselves, who try to do something about it.
In the past few years, true crime has shifted its fascination from serial killers to con artists. And why not? For those prone to self-doubt, the idea of brazenly living a lie is almost as alien as burying bodies in the basement. Consider the strange case of Nicholas Rossi, who authorities allege fled rape charges by faking his death and assuming the identity of an Irishman named Arthur Knight. If you were such a person, how much confidence would it take to go on the record with a dogged journalist, telling your wild tale in an accent UK ears are already hyper-attuned to analyze for clues? Or maybe, just maybe, you’re telling the truth. This shocking story—sensitively reported, with a warning for sexual violence and domestic abuse—is in the news as the suspect's trial begins (at the time of this writing) in the US.
When eight-year-old Relisha Rudd was declared missing in 2014, she had already been gone for 18 days. But how did her absence from both the classroom and the shelter where she lived go unnoticed for so long? And what societal shortcomings had left a second grader so quickly forgotten? In WAMU’s Through the Cracks, host Jonquilyn Hill examines the case, taking a hard look at a city and culture that had failed to protect a young Black girl, considering the context of the gaps that leave marginalized communities so vulnerable, and ultimately weighing whether or not Relisha’s disappearance was preventable.
Of all the unsolved mysteries that persistently nag at our collective subconscious, is any as perplexing as the disappearance of an entire commercial aircraft, with 239 people on board, as recently as 2014? Even if you think you know the story of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, this eight-episode podcast provides the most compelling account (and persuasive theory) to date, as told by former naval officer Peter Waring and Australian journalist Jana Wendt. Winner of the Kennedy Award for Outstanding Podcast, Deepest Dive is a twisty, thrilling, and evidence-based investigation into what really happened to the fateful flight.
Is it possible for an American Vice President to carry out a criminal enterprise inside the White House and have nobody remember? To have one of the most brazen political bribery scandals in American history play out before the country while nobody’s paying attention? In her first original podcast, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow goes back 45 years to dig into a story that got overshadowed in its day. There’s intrigue. Corruption. Envelopes of cash delivered to the White House. In this deep dive into the Nixon administration's other scandal, Maddow sheds new light on an explosive chapter of American history.
In this insightful yet disturbing audio documentary, listeners are taken into the dark and true story of a secretive government operation based in an unassuming Australian town. Its single mission was to eradicate society’s “greatest menace”—homosexuality—with a secret prison designed specifically to incarcerate gay men. Emotional and gut-wrenching, this listen is also full of uplifting stories around strength and unapologetic authenticity. This brilliantly told piece of little-known queer history took home two awards at the 2022 New York Festivals Radio Awards.
