Best true crime podcasts: 5 must listen podcasts after watching Truth Be Told - including Serial and Morbid

Truth Be Told season three landed on AppleTV+ this month - the show follows Poppy (Octavia Spencer) a true crime podcaster who begins working on actual investigations. In the latest season she teams up with Eva (Gabrielle Union) and the pair dig into a sex trafficking ring.

Fans of the show may be inspired to find some real true crime podcasts to get stuck into - and there’s plenty of choice out there. True crime is one of the most popular podcast genres in the US and the UK - a UK survey found that nearly 20% of podcast listeners prefer the genre above all others. These are five of the best true crime podcasts to listen to now:

Serial

Hosted by Sarah Koenig, this investigative journalism podcast has been downloaded more than 340 million times, setting a record for the industry. Over each season, Koenig narrates the true story of one or several crimes, the investigation, and findings and looks at the overall case from a fresh perspective.

The infamous first season of Serial covered the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee - and was a factor in the freeing of Adnan Syed, who had been convicted of the killing and served 23 years in prison. Season 2 follows the case of American soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who was held for five years by the Taliban, and then charged with desertion. Season 3, looks into several cases from the Justice Center Complex in Cleveland.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie is a weekly true crime podcast in the style of a talk show - the series focuses on discussion of solved and unsolved murders, missing people, serial killers, and suspects on the run.

Host Ashley Flowers discusses a new crime case in each episode in a straightforward, casual, and informative way. Previous episodes have focused on the Christmas Day murder of Aaron Taylor, the missing person case of Naty Perez, and the arrest of rapist Ernesto Miranda.

Morbid

Morbid: A True Crime Podcast is an anthology series hosted by autopsy technician and author Alaina Urquhar, and her aunt, Ash Kelley. 272 episodes have been released between 2018 and 2021 - episodes often focus on serial killers such as the Golden State Killer, Ted Bundy and the Boston Strangler, but other topics include The Salem Witch Trials, Kurt Cobain, and sleep paralysis.

The series has gone on to be one of the most popular true crime podcasts in the US and the hosts have gone on to launch the Morbid Network, with five other podcasts on true crime, cults, and the supernatural.

Redhanded

Almost 200 episodes of the RedHanded podcast have been released so far, with a new one out each week. This podcast, hosted by Brits Suruthi and  Hannah, looks at true crime in the UK, such as the White House Farms killings, and the Moors murders, but also covers international crimes.

As well as high-profile murder cases, the duo also take a look at matters of the occult, with episodes on possessions and hauntings. The series offers a good balance of covering well-trodden ground as well as shedding light on events you may never have heard of.

Let’s Go To Court!

A little different from most true crime podcasts,Let’s Go To Court!, hosted by best friends Brandi Egan and Kristin Caruso, cover crimes as they are reported in the courtroom. The hosts explore all the drama of the courtroom, picking two legal battles to dissect in each episode.

The pals bring plenty of humour to their podcast and although they don’t have formal legal training, their joint obsession with lawsuits. Cases include Cameron Diaz’s topless lawsuit, and The San Antonio Four.