5 True Crime Podcasts Worth Listening To

#1Rough Diamond

Josie Long (presenter). Produced by Mansi Vithlani; sound design by Craig Edmondson8/10

I came to this one for 1960s London and stayed for the man at the centre of it. In 1965 the 133-carat Colenso Diamond, given to the museum by John Ruskin, was stolen from the Natural History Museum. The man arrested was David Knight, a 24-year-old window cleaner who, the show says, lived "just yards away". The comedian and writer Josie Long tells his story, and she tells it as someone who wants to understand him rather than judge him. The series makes an argument, and I think it's worth hearing as one. It says there was "no evidence placing David at the scene", and that the police officers who said he had confessed were "far from squeaky clean". In Episode 3, Excuses, Not One, it says those officers were "heading to trial themselves". According to the series, Knight always protested his innocence, and Episode 2 follows his mother, Dolly, who campaigned for decades to clear his name. She's the part that stayed with me: a mother who would not let the official version settle. Then the series turns. It says that after Knight walked out of Wormwood Scrubs he "embarks on an audacious life of crime", ending in a heist that "only a handful of people" knew he was responsible for. Again, that's the show's claim, and I won't say which heist, because the series is built around that reveal. What I like is that it doesn't ask you to decide whether he was a victim or a villain. It lets him be complicated. The episodes are short, around half an hour each, so it's easy to fit into a week. The series launched on 23 September with two episodes, and Episode 3 followed on 30 September. If you like old London, policing scandals and a story that changes direction partway through, start here. Content warnings: Prison; the mental-health toll of imprisonment (Episode 3); allegations of police misconduct. Legal note: This is a historic case. David Knight was convicted by a jury on a disputed confession and served three years; he died in 2009, still protesting his innocence. His guilt remains disputed: the series says there was no evidence placing him at the scene. That is the series' argument, not an established finding. Its account of a later heist is also the series' claim. We don't name any of the officers involved, and we make no claim about the outcome of any proceedings against them. Start here: Episode 1, The Making of a Thief (23 September, 27 min). Listen: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rough-diamond/id6811879709 · Acast: https://shows.acast.com/rough-diamond · Always True Crime: https://alwaystruecrime.komi.io/ If you like old London, policing scandals and a story that changes direction partway through, start here. Format: Narrative serial · listen in order · episodes about 27–30 min · launched 23 September LTC's published verdict: No LTC review yet

#2Examined: The Backfire Effect

Josie Duffy Rice (journalist)8/10

This is the pick I've thought about most since listening. On 5 November 1986, Scott Macklem, who was 20, was shot dead in a community college car park in Port Huron, Michigan. Eight days later Temujin Kensu was arrested. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 1987 and sentenced to life without parole, and he says he is innocent. He says he was in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, more than 400 miles away, and the series says alibi witnesses testified to that at his trial. Examined is Pushkin's series about, in its own words, "overlooked cases that never got the real investigation they deserved", with a new host and a new story each season. The feed was called Lost Hills until September. This season is presented by the journalist Josie Duffy Rice, and what I value in her approach is that she keeps the question open. The trailer asks, "Has the wrong man been in prison this whole time?" That's the show's question, not a verdict. His conviction stands. The episodes take the case apart piece by piece: The Good Cop, The Hypnotist, The Ninja, The Alibi and, on 5 October, Time Barred. The series says the case went from arrest to verdict in six months, and that the prosecution cast Kensu as "a dangerous ninja out for revenge". Hearing how a description like that can take hold in a courtroom left me uneasy, and I haven't quite shaken it. There's also a quieter thread about how slowly the system moves. According to a Michigan Advance report from June 2026, Kensu is still serving his life sentence, and clemency from Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is his last remaining route. I'd suggest it for listeners who like patient, documented reporting and who are comfortable sitting with a question that the courts have, so far, answered against him. Content warnings: The shooting death of a young man; a bereaved family; a life sentence and long imprisonment. Legal note: Temujin Kensu was convicted of first-degree murder in 1987 and is serving life without parole. A federal judge granted him habeas relief in 2010, but that decision was reversed on appeal, and in 2022 the Michigan Attorney General's Conviction Integrity Unit declined to recommend his release. The Michigan Advance reported in June 2026 that clemency from Governor Whitmer is his last remaining avenue. He says he is innocent, and the series questions the conviction; we take no position on his guilt. What the series says about the prosecution and the police is the series' account. Start here: Episode 1, The Good Cop (14 September). Listen: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/examined-the-backfire-effect/id1549249596 · Pushkin: https://www.pushkin.fm/ I'd suggest it for listeners who like patient, documented reporting and who are comfortable sitting with a question that the courts have, so far, answered against him. Format: Season 6 of Examined · listen in order · episodes about 32–43 min · new episodes on Mondays so far · the full season is available ad-free on Pushkin+ LTC's published verdict: No LTC review yet

#3

True Crime Bullsh**: The Israel Keyes Investigation

Josh Hallmark. Additional research by Kathleen and Jordan Taylor7/10

Some shows tell you a finished story. This one lets you listen to someone trying to finish one. True Crime Bullsh** has a single aim: to identify the missing victims of Israel Keyes, whom the show describes as a serial killer. Keyes died in an Anchorage jail in December 2012 while awaiting trial, so he was never tried. The host, Josh Hallmark, says he has spent "close to a decade" on FBI files and interrogation videos. Season 8 began on Monday 5 October with Good People. According to the episode description, it takes in a plot of land in New Hampshire, a rented cabin in upstate New York and a return to Hunters, Washington, "after receiving some critical new information from the FBI". The trailer says the season looks at Keyes's upbringing and his Washington connections, "new cases" and follow-ups, and searches of the woods for caches. What keeps me coming back is the patience. The show has just marked ten years with a run of retrospective episodes, and Hallmark still treats each lead as something to test rather than announce. That matters here, because any victim the show connects to Keyes beyond those the FBI has linked to him is the show's theory, not an established fact. I listen with that in mind, and I'd suggest you do too. If you're new, the show recommends a primer: Episode 0705, Hunters, re-released on 30 September, which goes back to material first covered in Season 2. It suits listeners who like independent, long-haul investigation and who can live with open ends. Content warnings: Serial murder; abduction; discussion of sexual violence. Legal note: Israel Keyes died in custody in December 2012 before he could be tried, and he was never convicted. Victims the FBI has not linked to him are the show's theory only; we do not say he killed anyone in an unconfirmed case. We don't name living people the show investigates. Start here: The primer, Episode 0705, Hunters (re-released 30 September), then Episode 0801, Good People (5 October, 42 min). Listen: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/true-crime-bullsh-the-israel-keyes-investigation/id1443666680 · Official site: https://www.truecrimebullshit.com It suits listeners who like independent, long-haul investigation and who can live with open ends. Format: Serialised investigation · listen in order within a season · Season 8 began 5 October · Episode 0801 runs 42 min LTC's published verdict: No LTC review yet

#4Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling

Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling7/10

After three heavy picks, I wanted to offer something lighter, and I'll be honest that this one won't suit everyone. Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling, who are a couple, take one case per episode and tell it with humour, "making each other laugh along the way", as the show puts it. If you prefer your true crime without jokes, skip it. I won't hold it against you. If you're willing to try one, I'd start with The Custom of the Sea from 28 September. In 1884, four men stranded at sea, more than a thousand miles from land, made a choice that, in the show's words, led to "a landmark court ruling that continues to influence legal thinking". It's a long-closed case, and it's one of those stories where the legal question stays with you as much as the events do. The show came back from its summer break on 7 September with The Rose Man of Sing Sing, and recent episodes have gone from a 1975 London bank robbery (The 'Bait & Switch' Bank Heist) to a 1932 case in the Lake District (The Woman by the River). Every episode stands alone, so you can choose by place or period. The BBC's own note says episodes contain "adult humour and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting", which seems to me a fair summary of the balance it tries to strike. It suits anyone who wants one self-contained episode, or a gentler way into the genre. Content warnings: Death at sea, including killing and cannibalism (Episode 133). The BBC notes "adult humour and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting". Legal note: Episode 133 is a long-closed 19th-century case. Not every episode in the feed carries the same low risk, so we're recommending this episode specifically. Start here: Episode 133, The Custom of the Sea (28 September, 46 min). Listen: BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gq38lc · Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/murder-they-wrote-with-laura-whitmore-and-iain-stirling/id1714615567 It suits anyone who wants one self-contained episode, or a gentler way into the genre. Format: One case per episode · any order · new episodes on Mondays · Episode 133 runs 46 min LTC's published verdict: No LTC review yet

#5The True Crime Enthusiast Podcast

Paul (solo)7/10

⚠ Content warning, please read first: This pick concerns the murders of two young women and sexual offences committed against the dead in hospital mortuaries. The show's own warning says the episode contains "descriptions of sexual abuse and self harm". If any of this affects you, Samaritans are available day or night on 116 123 (free) or at samaritans.org: https://www.samaritans.org/. I've included this one with some hesitation, and I want to be clear about why it's here. The True Crime Enthusiast Podcast is a solo UK show made by its host, Paul, and it began in 2016 as a written blog. He describes the format as "matter of fact straight talking", covering UK and world cases, "more often than not the lesser known". I have a lot of time for independent shows that keep going on their own terms, and this one is now on its eleventh series. Series 11 opened on Thursday 1 October with the first part of a story about two young women murdered five months apart in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in 1987. The show says the case stayed unsolved until forensic advances led to an arrest in December 2020. David Fuller was convicted of both murders and given a whole-life order. The case reached well beyond the courtroom. Fuller's offences in hospital mortuaries led to an independent inquiry, which published its final report in July 2025. That's why I think this case calls for careful listening rather than casual listening: it raises questions about whether institutions protect people's dignity, including after death. Part 1 runs for more than an hour, and Part 2 followed on Thursday 8 October. I'd suggest it only to listeners who already know they're comfortable with difficult UK cases, and I'd ask you to read the warning above before you press play. Legal note: This is a closed case. David Fuller was convicted of the 1987 murders and received a whole-life order. He was also sentenced for offences committed in hospital mortuaries, with further sentencing in December 2022. We don't name or describe any of the victims, and we keep detail of the offences to a minimum, in line with the dignity concerns raised by the independent inquiry. Start here: Series 11, Part 1 (released Thursday 1 October, 1 h 13 min). Listen: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-true-crime-enthusiast-podcast/id1289005078 · Acast: https://shows.acast.com/the-true-crimeenthusiastpodcast I'd suggest it only to listeners who already know they're comfortable with difficult UK cases, and I'd ask you to read the warning above before you press play. Format: One case at a time, some in several parts · Series 11 began 1 October · Part 1 runs 1 h 13 min LTC's published verdict: No LTC review yet