Done in a day: the 13 most bingeable true crime podcasts to crush in a few hours

Maybe you don’t want to finish them in a day, but either way, these podcasts are certifiably painful to turn off. We have Dateline classics, famous murder cases, and cases made famous by the podcasts about them. No matter your taste, these true crime podcasts are impossible not to listen all the way through.

If you’re looking for your next true crime binge that will leave you hanging off a cliff every single episode, check out this list of the most bingeable true crime podcasts.

What About Holly?

In Fox Audio’s “What About Holly?” reporter Cristina Corbin learned more about a murder mystery, a religious cult, and found out what happened to a once-missing daughter named Holly. In 1981, 21-year-old Harold Dean Clouse and 17-year-old Tina Gail’s bodies were found and remained unidentified until 2021. In this series, Cristina investigated the case, spoke with law enforcement, interviewed the couple’s family, and more to uncover new details.

Internal Affairs

On Dateline NBC’s “Internal Affairs,” reporter Josh Mankiewicz shares what unfolded when a love triangle turned obsessive and deadly. This series explores decision making, 2 people living double lives, and what resulted when law enforcement investigated some of their own. All 6 episodes are now streaming.

Bone Valley

When 18-year-old Michelle Schofield was reported missing in 1987, police found her abandoned vehicle and recovered her body 3 days later in a canal near a freeway called “Bone Valley.” In this 9-episode series, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King and producer Kelsey Decker researched and found new evidence as you’ll hear on the podcast. This series is presented by Lava for Good.

Pressure Cooker

From CBC Podcasts comes “Pressure Cooker,” a series examining an anti-terror investigation, a couple that lived on the edge of society, and how they were accused of crimes. Host Dan Pierce details the couple’s decisions from drug use to dabbling with Satanism, converting to Islam, and in a turn of events, getting ensnared in conspiracies and terror. This series shares interviews with the accused couple, John and Amanda, and more in this 5-part series.

Cover-Up

In just seven 45-minute episodes, People’s “Cover-Up” podcast covers the downfall of a presidential hopeful. When Ted Kennedy’s car went into the water off a bridge in Chappaquiddick, the course of American history changed forever. A young woman died, and nobody knew the truth. After Chappaquiddick, the all-powerful Kennedy family would face (by Ted’s own fault) accusations of a curse that has seemingly followed the family through generations. But first, the story of one of the largest cover ups in history must be told.

Dirty John

A true crime classic, “Dirty John” is an easy binge-listen with enough twists and turns that you’ll be afraid you’ll never find another podcast quite like it. In it, you’ll hear the story of Debra Newell and her seemingly perfect boyfriend. Only, he is not at all what he seems. Quickly after getting married, Newell finds out John’s secrets, which is only the start of the spool that unravels.

Firebug

Ten chapters with ongoing epilogues, “Firebug” will have you burning through the story faster than the arsonist himself. For nearly a decade, a serial arsonist terrorized Southern California, claiming four human victims and countless buildings and businesses. Eventually, the case went cold, and a manuscript about the terror spree landed on the desk of host Kary Antholis. While it told the story of a fictional arsonist burning through California, the details were all too similar to true events unreleased to the public. This set investigators on a hunt to find if Points of Origin was purely a work of fiction or the diary of a serial arsonist and murderer.

The Shrink Next Door

Journalist and host Joe Nocera was neighbors with Dr. Isaac Herschkopf, a therapist with patients that ranged from A-list celebrities to the Hampton elites. He’d host huge star-studded parties with these people, but one summer, everything changed. It turned out, that house wasn’t even his, and one of his patients, Martin, had been left as nothing but a handyman in his own home. Wondery’s “The Shrink Next Door” is a story of control, abuse of power, and trusting the wrong person for over thirty years.

The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra

Hosted and narrated by John Stamos, “The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra” is the strange story of one man’s attempt to redeem himself by pulling off the perfect crime. One day, Barry Keenan swore that God told him there was a simple solution to all his problems – all he had to do was kidnap Frank Sinatra Jr. Barry Keenan shares the story himself for the first time ever in this wild story.

Bad Bad Thing

PodcastOne’s “Bad Bad Thing” is a haunting, cautionary tale told through the actual recordings of a woman pushed to the edge. The tale of Jennair Gerardot is hosted and reported by Barbara Schroeder with insight from clinical psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula. When Jennair suspects her husband is having an affair, she secretly records them and tracks them, narrating what she’s doing herself, and it tragically culminates in death. Binge all 6 50-minute episodes.

The Officer’s Wife

In 2016, Georgia police officer Matthew Boynton radioed for assistance after hearing two gunshots inside of his own home. When more officers arrived, they found his wife Jessica Boynton inside of a locked closet with a gunshot wound to her head and Matthew’s service weapon underneath her. Jessica shockingly lived, and the case unravels farther and farther from a simple hometown romance turned deadly. VAULT Studios’ “The Officer’s Wife” covers a case with no real questions answered: who pulled the trigger?

Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia case has captured the attention of the American public for decades now. Elizabeth Short’s gruesome murder in 1947 has yet to be solved, but some people do have a main suspect: Dr. George Hodel. And his family agrees. Sisters Rasha Pecoraro and Yvette Gentile, the great grand daughters of George Hodel, dig into family history to find out if their ancestor is responsible for the coldest case in American history, and if he’s responsible for any more deaths. This podcast is presented by TNT / Cadence13.

The Thing About Pam

What seemed to be an open-and-shut case of a husband murdering his wife was nothing but. On December 27, 2011, Russ Faria came home to find his wife Betsy dead. He insisted he didn’t do it but was convicted in 2013 of murdering his wife. Unfortunately, this would not be the only murder in this case. With another man and woman dead, a diabolical scheme was discovered. And “The Thing About Pam” is a Dateline NBC classic that will have you hooked until the bitter end.