by Here at coffee and reads we love true crime and what better way to bring it home than listening to a podcast. All our top picks are chilling, binge-able, and will take you great adventures. You cal also watch true-crime documentaries here. Here are the Top 10 true-crime podcasts you should listen to.
Dr. Death
This is not for the faint-hearted. Christopher Duntsch was a Dallas-based neurosurgeon who radiated confidence. He claimed he was the best in Dallas. If you had back pain and had tried everything else, Dr. Duntsch could give you the spine surgery that would take your pain away.
Journalist Laura Beil uncovers the pain she caused his 33 patients through spinal injuries and even death through botched spinal surgeries.
Murder in Illinois
In 2007, Chris Vaughn was arrested during a funeral for his wife and three children. He would be tried and convicted of their murders. He allegedly tricked his family that he was taking them for a water park surprise trip and to later shoot them one by one. He then left their bodies in an SUV on the interstate.
To this day he maintains no memory of what occurred that tragic day 20 years ago. Murder in Illinois follows the complicated circumstances that led to Vaughn’s conviction, as well as the forensic evidence his supporters believe proves his innocence- in an attempt to answer one question: Who killed the Vaughn family?
Stream in on iHeart radio podcasts
The Clearing
When April Balascio was 40 years old, something she’d feared for decades was finally proven true. Her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, really was a murderer. This true-crime podcast follows her story after she called a detective to tell him about her suspicions which led to the arrest and conviction of her father. He had committed multiple murders.
She tries to unravel the truth about her father’s life and change the narrative online of her father being a serial killer caricature.
Produced by Pineapple Street Studios in association with Gimlet.
Invisible Choir
The Invisible Choir true-crime podcast examines the most heinous murders through investigative storytelling, primary source audio, and victim testimonials. We aim to bring voice to the voiceless, and visibility to the invisible.
White Lies
This podcast follows the unresolved story of Reverend James Reeb a white Unitarian minister killed in 1965 after sojourning to Selma, Alabama.
Two journalists Andrew Beck Grace and Chip Brantley have returned to Alabama to try and uncover what kept this case from being resolved and uncover a story about guilt and uncover a story about America now and its past.
Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia
From the Peabody Award-nominated C13 Originals Studio, and the creators of Root of Evil comes a new documentary series about the stories, and family we can’t escape.
Jackee Taylor has been hidden in WITSEC, better known as the Witness Protection Program, for almost 40 years. But after a strange and violent incident reveals secrets about her past, Jackee begins a journey to find out the truth about herself and her family.
Hers is a twisted tale of darkness, murder, mystery, tragedy, and resilience, which traverses the country, and lands in the most violent era of one of the country’s most violent cities – 1970s Cleveland. At the heart of this story, is Jackee’s relative – a former member of the world’s most powerful motorcycle club, a sociopath, a killer, and an informant.
Jackie can’t move forward unless she reconciles with his past, and she’s finally telling this story in the hopes that others don’t have to live the kind of life that she has.
Unsolved
This true-crime podcast revolves around the murder of Father Alfred Kunz who was found murdered at the church and school he stayed in in 1998, Dane, Wisconsin.
Gina Barton tries to answer questions on why he was killed with allegations of his strict traditionalism, affairs with congregants, and interestingly close friendship with a waitress.
You don’t want to miss it!
What Happened to Holly Bartlett
This investigates the 2010 death of Holly Bartlett, a blind woman found clinging to life under Halifax’s MacKay Bridge. Police deemed her death an accident but her family and friends think otherwise.
Police have sworn there was nothing to suggest foul play despite the case being solved within 72 hours. Her family has now hired private detectives to help solve this crime as they hunt for new evidence.
The Shrink Next Door
Joe Nocera, a Bloomberg columnist in this podcast stitches together an investigative piece on Isaac Steven a fancy-schmancy New York City therapist.
He hosted lavish parties at his Hamptons summer house and counseled and parties with celebrities. There were blurred lines between help and hurt as he took advantage of and isolated vulnerable patients.
The Devil Within
This is a true-crime documentary that happened in 1988 leaving Jefferson Township New Jersey reeling in shock. Betty Anne Sullivan was killed by her own fourteen-year-old son who later killed himself. The community was left in utter shock at what befell them.
