Top 10 True Crime Podcasts

If you enjoy playing armchair detective, then take a listen to the top ten crime podcasts.

1. Disclosed: The Children In The Pictures

Australian documentary-maker Akhim Dev follows the Queensland Police investigation of a notorious child exploitation website. This powerful, multi-award winning eight-part series is an examination into how child abuse has become endemic online, and what we can all do to fight it; it’s challenging and tough, and the podcast every parent or carer needs to listen to.

The gripping podcast won Gold at the 2023 New York Radio Festival Awards for best narrative documentary and silver in the True Crime Category at the internationally acclaimed The Signal Awards in New York, which honours ‘people and content that raises the bar for podcasting’. It also won Best Documentary at the Radio Today Podcast Awards, won ‘Podcast of the Year’ at the Australian Commercial Radio & Audio Awards (ACRAs), was a finalist in the prestigious 2023 Kennedy Awards for Audio Journalism: Outstanding Podcast, and was shortlisted as one of three finalists in the prestigious Australian Walkley Awards for Audio Long (over 20 minutes).

2. Fairy Meadow (BBC)

Three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer disappeared without a trace from Fairy Meadow beach in New South Wales on January 12, 1970. No one knows what happened to her. Investigators then found a confession in 2016, but the suspect walked free because the confession was deemed inadmissible. Hear why 50 years later this case remains unsolved and how the family are still on a mission to find her. 

This month (January 2024) marks 54 years since the disappearance of Cheryl Grimmer. 

3. Gripped: You Don’t Know Me

A teenage girl leaves her boyfriend’s house and is never seen again…​ ever. The story of Lizzie Burdett’s mysterious disappearance, and the secrets of those in the community around her, is baffling and this podcast invites you to solve the mystery in real time along with its leading character, Noah Caruso – the brother of the accused. Adapted from a novel by award-winning Australian crime writer, Sara Foster, You Don’t Know Meis a dark and brooding fictional audio drama set in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with unseen twists as each episode focuses on a different potential suspect. It is Big Little Lies meets Agatha Christie, and family drama meets crime-thriller,in a compelling all-new, immersive, audio-storytelling format. 

This podcast has just been nominated for an AWGIE award by the Australian Writers Guild. The AWGIEs recognise outstanding achievements of Australian performance writers and their contribution to Australia’s cultural landscape. 

4. Crime Insiders: Forensics – The Unabomber

Ted Kaczynski terrorised the US for almost 20 years, so what was it like forensically analysing the letters of a twisted genius? Max Houck is one of the world’s most respected and recognised forensic scientists; during his time at the FBI, he worked on some of the world’s most infamous forensic investigations, including 9/11, D.B Cooper and The Unabomber. In this podcast he shares details of his incredible career with Crime Insiders: Forensics host Kathryn Fox. Listen here

5. Crime Insiders: Detectives – The Hunt for Malcolm Naden

Hear the details of a manhunt that lasted more than seven years and saw one of Australia’s most wanted men, Malcolm Naden, finally caught. Ricky Hennessy was an integral member of the NSW Police Force for more than 22 years and in this episode he tells Crime Insiders: Detectives host Brent Sanders the story of how Naden was finally captured. Listen here

6. The Dry – Audio drama (BBC) 

Based on Jane Harper’s best-selling thriller, this story is set in a small town in Australia where a family is brutally killed. Policeman Aaron Falk finds he must face what’s hidden in his own past to help him solve the secrets of the present, in a brilliant audio drama set in the Australian bush. From the BBC. Listen here

7. The Vanished (Wondery)

This true crime podcast explores stories of those who have gone missing, with host Marissa Jonesoften interviewing loved ones who are still searching for answers. Over two parts listen to the Margaret ‘Kay-Alana’ Turner case: in March 2023, 27-year-old Kay-Alana had planned to visit a friend in Austin, about a four-hour drive away. But her friends couldn’t find her. Where along that 245-mile trip could something have gone wrong? Then, stories began to emerge about Kay-Alana that seemed so out of character for her. Listen here

8. Crime Junkie – Conspiracy: Philip Island 

When 23-year-old Beth Barnard is found murdered in her home on Philip Island, investigators immediately suspect another local – who has mysteriously gone missing. But despite learning about the love triangle that links them to each other, there are several pieces of the puzzle that don’t fit, no matter which way they look at it. Listen over two episodes to this fascinating story. Listen here

9. Dateline NBC – The Murdaugh Murders: Inside the Investigation

For anyone who binged the Netflix documentary series about Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, this episode will be right up your street as it focuses on the lead detectives speaking out about the investigation into once-prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, who was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. Craig Melvin reports. Listen here

10. Crime Insiders: In Focus – The Real Chopper: Part 1 & 2 – Man or Myth

Mark ‘Chopper’ Read is a huge name in Australia’s crime and gangland history, and confessed to several horrific crimes, but how much of it was true? Journalist Adam Shand tries to separate the man from the myth and speaks to Chopper’s first manager, Andrew Roper, who explains the incredible story of Chopper’s unlikely rise to fame. Listen here