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. With a binge factor of 9/10, it sits among the most compulsively listenable shows in the genre. 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.
Out From the Cold: Searching for Elaine
Elaine Park was 20, an aspiring actress, and she vanished from Calabasas in 2017. Her car was found near Malibu — but Elaine never was. Her family's search for truth is the heart of this podcast.
Trace Evidence
True crime fans who prioritise research quality above all else; listeners frustrated by inaccuracies in mainstream true crime; those who want depth over speed.
Serial
Anyone interested in journalism, legal procedure, and deep investigative dives into morally ambiguous cases with no easy answers.
Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad
True crime listeners who want to be active participants rather than passive audience; fans of forensic investigation and DNA genealogy; those who followed Paul Holes in I'll Be Gone in the Dark.
Foul Play: A Historical True Crime Podcast
<p><em>Foggy</em> <em>gaslit</em> <em>streets.</em> <em>A</em> <em>quiet</em> <em>courtroom.</em> <em>And</em> <em>crimes</em> <em>that</em> <em>history</em> <em>tried</em> <em>to</em> <em>bury.</em><
Crime Next Door: The Beast of Birkenhead
BBC’s Olivia Graham revisits the 1986 Diane Sindall murder and the 2025 quashing of Peter Sullivan’s conviction. Sullivan quashed 13 May 2025; killer unknown.
The Trial of Erin Patterson
The Crime Desk's courtroom coverage of the Erin Patterson 'mushroom murders' trial — one of the biggest cases of the decade.
You Didn't See Nothin
Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning series in which Yohance Lacour revisits a violent Chicago incident from 25 years earlier that shaped his path into journalism.
Murdaugh Murders Podcast
Journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell broke the Murdaugh family saga before it became a national story, and kept reporting it deeper than anyone else.
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 |
| Out From the Cold: Searching for Elaine | Serialised | United States | 6/10 |
| Trace Evidence | Episodic | United States | 5/10 |
| Serial | Serialized | United States | 10/10 |
| Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad | Episodic | United States | 7/10 |
| Foul Play: A Historical True Crime Podcast | — | — | — |
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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.