I have a serious podcast habit. I probably spend 2-3 hours a day listening, mainly to true crime but I also like history and mystery. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know I post an end-of-year roundup of my favourite podcast series, but it’s getting too hard to keep up – by the time December comes around, I can’t remember everything I’ve listened to.
So, I thought I’d make it monthly! At the end of every month, I’ll share my favourite podcast series. They won’t always be new podcasts (sometimes I discover a hidden gem and sometimes I’m just late to the party) but they will all be worth a listen.
Check it out if you like reported investigations with a limited number of episodes – I won’t recommend any podcasts where the hosts wildly speculate for hours on end.
This month, I’ve got four podcasts for you, I hope you like them!
The podcasts I binged:
I really enjoyed Project Unabom from Pineapple Street Studios (to be honest, I love all their podcasts). Everything I knew about the Unabomber case comes from a dramatised Netflix series, so it was good to hear what really happened during the decades-long manhunt from investigators. The interviews with early suspects were fascinating, and I was surprised the podcasters had so much access to Ted Kaczynski’s family. A definite contender for my top podcasts of the year list.
Another strong contender is the 7th season of Slow Burn. I’m grateful to live in the UK and have free access to reproductive healthcare but, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, it feels like our rights could be taken away at any moment. I think it’s important to listen to stories from women who couldn’t access safe and free abortions. And despite the grim subject matter, the podcast still felt uplifting. It was also only four episodes long – bonus points for keeping it brief!
Smokescreen: Puppy Kingpin from Neon Hum Media takes a deep dive into the US dog breeding industry. It’s not your typical ‘true crime’ but it is a great investigation – the podcasters uncover puppy laundering (like money laundering, but with dogs). Apparently, in some circles, animal cruelty is a culture war issue? Wild.
Call Bethel from the Telegraph follows journalists Katherine Rushton and Cara McGoogan as they investigate child abuse allegations against the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Telegraph podcasts always feel a bit too scripted for me (although I did enjoy both seasons of Cara McGoogan’s Bed of Lies), but there were some great interviews and recorded phone calls to break it up. I was enjoying this podcast but then it just… ended? It made it feel like the podcast was a bit of an afterthought. I don’t want to say the ending ruined it for me – I still think it’s worth a listen – but it’s been knocked off a spot in my ‘top podcasts of 2022’ list.
The album on repeat:
MØ reminds me of living with my friends and meeting my partner – I had No Mythologies to Follow on repeat for much of 2014. I can’t believe that was 8 years ago! I felt the urge to listen to that album again (it was a sunny day and I think it also reminds me of summer). I searched it on Spotify and noticed MØ released a new album at the start of 2022. Motordrome is pretty much wall-to-wall Scandipop bangers. Put Kindness on and have a dance around your kitchen – if that doesn’t bring a smile to your face, you might be dead inside.
Katrina Wesencraft 