Featured Reviews
These reviews are the top choice from our Podfluencers each month. These posts feature primarily on our home page.
New Shows to Check Out
The end of 2019 closed one of the most impactful decades in podcast history. The issue is that listeners have been spoiled with amazing podcast content. Don’t fret though – 2020 is off to a hot start, with a slew of new podcasts already bringing the True Crime heat.
Check out Podfluence’s top 3 podcasts of 2020, so far…
The 27 Club
Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin have all been taken from the world too soon, and eerily enough all at the age of 27. If you are a fan of true crime and music and you aren’t familiar with Disgraceland, we may have just made your day. Host Jake Brennan, of Disgraceland fame, has teamed up with iHeartRadio to bring us on a tour of music’s most exclusive club. Brennan’s wit combined with the passion for the subject makes for an undeniably fascinating listen. Check out The 27 Club’s first season as they tackle the gruesome details of Jimi Hendrix’s past.
Mind Over Murder
Premiering in January, Mind Over Murder is a new true-crime podcast from victim advocates Bill Thomas and Kristin Dilley. Bill and Kristin are both victim’s advocates and have ties to the Colonial Parkway Murders that took place in Virginia Beach from 1986-1989. Mind Over Murder is designed to explore and investigate solved and unsolved murders. There will be a focus on the Colonial Parkway Murders, but the inaugural season kicks off with a 2 episode case discussion on the murder of college sweethearts from 2009.
Chasing Cosby
If you are a true-crime fan and aren’t familiar with the L.A Times family of podcasts, then you have a lot of great listening in front of you. The L.A. Times has brought us Dirty John, Detective Trapp, and now Chasing Cosby. Only a few episodes in, Chasing Cosby is already setting the bar high for podcasts in 2020. Award-winning journalist Nicki Weisensee Egan has been covering or “chasing” Bill Cosby since 200, and provides a tremendous amount of context in this exploration of the rise and fall of this ill-fated former American idol.
Criminology
Criminology combines the powers of Mike Ferguson (Mike), one of the more recognizable names in podcasting, and Mike Morford (Morford), to produce one of the most detailed oriented true crime podcasts available. This duo states early on in their podcast that the goal is to dive into cases much deeper than other podcasts who may keep things at a surface level. Their goal is to offer new insight into some of the more heavily focused and popular cases. Morford is based out of New Jersey while Mike is based out of Dayton, Ohio. Although they are distant in location, it doesn’t affect their rapport.
Mike is no stranger to True Crime, in fact, he hosts another top 50 podcast. He brings a seriously professional skill set to Criminology, which includes his ability to provide more details around a case than you are used to hearing. Want to give it a litmus test? Their coverage of the Zodiac Killer is the best of any true-crime podcast, and those are fighting words!
Morford and Mike are often joined by outside consultants and specialists to help tie pieces of information together, and as a byproduct, they provide a full 360 view of all parties involved in each case. The details of these crimes can often be unsettling, to the point where I recommend not eating prior to downloading the show (half-joking).
Mike and Morford stick to the facts, cover each case with grace and dignity, and ensure they offer respect to the victims. Unlike other shows, there is virtually no self-promotion and deep rabbit holes of personal theories, which can oftentimes be a turn-off. Even when they begin to offer a theory towards the end of the show, they alert the listener and point to previously stated facts to offer their conclusion. The research, chemistry, and timing of the show (drops Saturday night) make it my favorite Sunday morning podcast.
Once Upon a Crime
Once Upon a Crime is a true crime podcast that researches the crime, criminals and victims to discover the “why” behind some infamous crimes as well as fascinating lesser known cases. Host, Esther Ludlow presents “the story behind the story” you won’t hear anywhere else. Each month a new true crime topic is covered – kidnappings, mass murders, tragic deaths of musical icons, killer kids and deadly duos and more.