Your Own Backyard
Listeners who want investigative true crime with real-world consequence and single-minded, passionate focus from a creator who refused to let a case die.
Podcasts Like Your Own Backyard
If you loved Your Own Backyard, here are the best podcasts to try next. Matched by case type, storytelling style, and community ratings from our database of Missing Person, Murder, Cold Case shows.
Why listeners love Your Own Backyard
Your Own Backyard is proof that one person with a microphone can change the outcome of a cold case — and Kristin Smart's family finally got justice in 2022 because of it. It follows a serialized format — each season covers one case in depth, building suspense across episodes.
Binge Factor
9/10
Community-rated compulsive listenability
Format
Serialized
One story told across multiple episodes
Style
Serious, investigative, deeply respectful
Presentation approach
Episode Length
~1 hour per episode, 29 episodes total; listen in order
Typical episode duration
Host Style
Solo narrator
Presentation format
Verdict
Must listen
Our editorial rating
Recommendations
12 podcasts like Your Own Backyard
Bear Brook
True crime fans fascinated by forensic science, DNA technology, and cold cases with a genuine scientific payoff.
In the Dark
Listeners who want journalism-grade investigation into wrongful convictions, systemic racism, and institutional failures — more 60 Minutes than true crime thriller.
Serial
Anyone interested in journalism, legal procedure, and deep investigative dives into morally ambiguous cases with no easy answers.
The Teacher's Pet
True crime fans who like journalism-driven investigations with massive real-world impact; anyone fascinated by domestic crime and institutional failure.
Murder in the Maasai Mara
British photographer Julie Ward was found murdered on a Kenyan safari in 1988. Her father spent decades fighting a cover-up that reached to the highest levels of the Kenyan government.
Missing in America
Dateline NBC's dedicated missing persons anthology — a new disappearance, a new investigation, with every episode.
Bronwyn
Hedley Thomas — the journalist who helped convict Chris Dawson — turns his investigative firepower on the 1993 disappearance of Bronwyn Winfield, a mother of two from Lennox Head, NSW.
Gone South
Narrative series about crime in the American South, now widening to other regions.
Son of a Hitman
Investigates hitman Charles Harrelson and the crimes linked to him.
A Million Other Choices
A Canadian-hosted, victim-centred true crime podcast covering murder and other criminal cases from around the world, with a particular interest in the Canadian justice system.
MURDERISH
Jami Rice tells real cases in full, from start to finish, with detailed research.
True Crime DEADLINE
Journalist Matt Johnson covers cold cases, unsolved mysteries and murders.
How they compare
| Podcast | Format | Country | Binge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your Own Backyard (original) | Serialized | United States | 9/10 |
| Bear Brook | Serialized | United States | 9/10 |
| In the Dark | Serialized | United States | 10/10 |
| Serial | Serialized | United States | 10/10 |
| The Teacher's Pet | Serialized | Australia | 9/10 |
| Murder in the Maasai Mara | Serialised | Kenya | 6/10 |
| Missing in America | Episodic | United States | 6/10 |
| Bronwyn | Serialised | Australia | 7/10 |
| Gone South | Serialized | United States | — |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What podcasts are similar to Your Own Backyard?
The best alternatives to Your Own Backyard are podcasts that share its Missing Person, Murder, Cold Case focus and serialized format. Our editorial team has hand-picked the most similar shows based on content type, storytelling style, and community ratings.
Why do people love Your Own Backyard?
Your Own Backyard is known for its serious, investigative, deeply respectful approach to Missing Person and Murder. It scores 9/10 on our binge factor rating, reflecting how compulsively listenable listeners find it. It has earned a "Must Listen" rating from our editorial team.
How long are episodes of Your Own Backyard?
Episodes of Your Own Backyard are typically ~1 hour per episode, 29 episodes total; listen in order long. It follows a serialized format, covering one story across multiple episodes.
Where can I listen to Your Own Backyard?
Your Own Backyard is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify. You can find it by searching the show name on any of those platforms.
What is the best episode of Your Own Backyard to start with?
New listeners are recommended to start with Episode 1 — must be heard in sequence. As a serialized podcast, it's best to start from the beginning of a season.