5 New True-Crime Podcasts

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True crime is the genre that sent podcasting stratospheric. Serial, the original word-of-mouth wonder, forced a review of its case in the US Supreme Court and sparked a listening revolution. Today, there’s a wealth of true-crime podcasts to grip, intrigue and entertain us. Here are five new ones well worth your time.

You’re Wrong About, 'Nicole Brown Simpson Part 1'

Crime author Sarah Marshall and Huffington Post journo Michael Hobbes revisit the biggest US media event of the 90s: the trial of former American footballer OJ Simpson for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Even if you know how this famous story ends, the podcasts adds new layers to a messy, sensational moment in history.

Listen here.

 

Your Own Backyard

Half a million people are currently registered as missing in the US, with 50,000 added to that list every month. The majority are quickly found. Your Own Backyard focuses on one of the minority: Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, who went missing as a teenager 23 years ago. Host and creator Chris Lambert grew up in the same area of California and knew the story. Careful research showed him much of the information in the early reports about Kristin was wrong. Here, he interviews the people who knew Kristin best, as well as those who saw her the night she disappeared, when she attended a party but failed to make it back to her dorm.

Listen here.

Crime Beat, 'Darkness In The Pass'

Your phone is probably full of pictures of your friends and family, and the places you’ve been. Crime reporter Nancy Hixt has those too, but they sit alongside images of crime scenes and the faces of victims and families – to remind her of the impact of the crimes she investigates. Shining a light in the darkest places, Nancy examines some of Canada’s most high-profile criminal cases, revealing unheard-of details, confession tapes, wire taps and exclusive interviews – all the things you wouldn’t have seen in the news. The first two episodes of the new season centre on the case of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, who went missing from her home in Alberta. 

Listen here.

The Missing Cryptoqueen

Jamie Bartlett tells the story of Dr Ruja Ignatova, who promised to make people rich with a revolutionary cryptocurrency. In 2008, as big banks behaved badly, cryptocurrency gained momentum and entrepreneurs like Ignatova emerged, promising to take the new digital currency to the next level. Within two years, she was appearing at stadiums filled with believers who’d invested in her OneCoin cryptocurrency. In late 2017, a year after packing out Wembley Arena, she vanished. Did she meet with foul play? Or did she just complete the largest cryptocurrency scam of all?

Listen here.
 

Motive, 'Shooting From a Mercedes'

Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Frank Main, Motive looks at what appears to be a cruel sociological experiment. A 13-year-old boy is locked up for a murder he swears he didn’t commit. When he’s released from maximum-security prison in his 30s, he’s given $25m. The opening episode of Motive introduces TJ Jimenez with a viral video of him driving through Chicago in a Mercedes convertible and, without provocation, shooting a man in each leg. It’s then down to Main to fill in the details of Jimenez’s life since release and how he spends his fortune.
 
Listen here.

 

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