Summary
- True crime is a popular genre that delves into grim stories of murder, serial killers, and kidnappings, captivating human curiosity about darkness.
- Crime Junkie podcasts provide detailed accounts of horrific crimes, engaging listeners with stories of unsolved mysteries and chilling narratives.
- Hosts Flowers and Prawat explore the broader impact of crimes, highlighting the effects on families and communities, offering insightful perspectives.
The following article contains discussions of murder, extreme violence, sexual violence, and torture.
The best Crime Junkie episodes feature a fascinating and titillating case but also make a broader point about something the crime was adjacent to, whether that's a societal ill that needs mending, a police procedure that needs updating, or something more nebulous that a horrific crime has exposed about a person, peoples, or the world. One of the best podcasts about true crime, Crime Junkie released in December 2017, and is hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. Since 2017, Crime Junkie has released a podcast every week.
True crime is an immensely popular genre of storytelling with movies, TV shows, podcasts, and even TikTok getting in on the true crime wave. These stories about murders, serial killers, and kidnappings are grim affairs to be sure, but there's something fascinating about these tales that activates something deep within people's minds and keeps them engaged as they examine humankind's propensity for darkness. Crime Junkie has a mix of podcast episodes; murders, serial killers, kidnappings, and more are all covered in considerable detail with Flowers and Prawat's engaging and charming banter keeping the show from becoming too dire.
10 True Crime Podcasts With Unique Formats
True crime podcasts have been around since the 2010s, but over time the formula became more complex. Some of which even evolve into unique formats!
10 Mysterious Death Of: Ellen Greenberg
A Confusing And Heartbreaking Loss Of Life
The "Mysterious Death Of: Ellen Greenberg" episode covers the suspicious suicide of Ellen Greenberg in 2011 after she suffered over 20 stab wounds, leading many to believe that there was foul play involved. Conflicting evidence at the crime scene and the particularly violent cause of Greenberg's death suggested that she was actually a victim of homicide, though the case was eventually ruled a suicide. Flowers and Prawat provide a thorough accounting of the incident, examining all the theories about the event.
Most significantly, and the reason this is one of the best Crime Junkie episodes, is that the hosts make time for Greenberg's family and friends, and examine how her death affected her community in Philadelphia. This can often be a piece missing from true crime productions, and the unsatisfactory answer to Greenberg's death requires hearing her close ones' feelings on the matter.
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9 Wanted: Austin Yogurt Shop Killer
A Quadruple Homicide Remains Unsolved
In 1991, at an I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! shop in Austin, Texas, four teenage girls were sexually assaulted and murdered by unknown assailants. Police officers came across the scene after noticing the store was on fire only to find the burned bodies of the victims, but no one else in the store. It's a heinous and gruesome story that Flowers and Prawat handle delicately. Four men, Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Maurice Pierce, and Forrest Welborn, were all accused of the crime.
However, each one was subsequently exonerated and released if imprisoned or had charges dropped against them, because of conflicting stories, mistrials, and DNA evidence pointing away from them. The identity of the assailant, or assailants, remains unknown and the hosts' discussion about the awful events of the night is chilling.
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8 Infamous: Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre
Flowers And Praway Examine Mass Shooting Trauma
This episode of Crime Junkie investigates a massacre that took place on February 10, 1990, at a Las Cruces, New Mexico, bowling alley. With seven people shot and five fatally wounded, it's tied for the deadliest mass shooting in New Mexico history. Two men set out to rob the bowling alley, only to apparently change their minds and turn the lanes into a murder scene. The perpetrators were never caught and Flowers and Prawat focus the conversation on the effects of the event on the community.
This mass shooting had major ripples across Las Cruces and the aftermath of all the senseless violence is harrowing. The podcast emphasizes the devastation wrought on the community and the episode makes a poignant and sadly all too well-known point about the trauma caused by mass shootings. There are inspiring moments of bravery as the hosts also cover the incredible resilience of the survivors.
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7 Murdered: Laci Peterson
A Shocking And Terrible Story About A Dark Marriage
The two-part podcast episode "Murdered: Laci Peterson" explores the case of Peterson's disappearance on December 24th, 2002. Peterson, pregnant with her and her husband Scott's unborn child, disappeared only to eventually turn up dead a few months later. Scott was eventually found guilty of the murder, though he proclaimed his innocence at every turn.
Prawat and Flowers paint a detailed picture of Laci and Scott's life together, and though they manage to present both sides of the story, the increasingly odd behavior of Scott throughout the story cannot be ignored and his lies and the coincidences on the day begin to pile up. It's a twisting, turning tale, and the complexities of the case and how the media was quick to jump on this grisly story are as absorbing as the discussion of the murder.
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6 Murdered: The Powell Family
Two Sons Are Caught In The Middle Of A Horrible Crime
Flowers and Prawat delve into the disappearance of Susan Powell and the strange saga that followed. In December 2009, Susan disappeared and authorities eventually set their sights on Josh Powell, her husband. Josh's conflicting stories about what he was doing that day and extremely suspicious behavior, such as showing little grief and soon moving away to live with his father, paint the man in an undeniably guilty light. What's worse is that it soon seems that Josh's two young sons were forced to go along with the crime.
As suspicions rose and accusations were levied, Josh ended up killing himself and his five-year-old sons. It's a tragic and shocking ending to the episode that Flowers and Prawat build to masterfully. There are numerous side stories and tangents that increase the horrifying nature of the story, but the hosts never lose sight of what the real crime is.
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5 Captured: The Golden State Killer
A Meticulous Killer Captured By DNA Technology
This "Captured" episode recounts the story of the Golden State Killer who stalked Californians from the 1970s to the 1980s. A frightening figure from the era, the Golden State Killer was a highly meticulous serial killer who followed a particular pattern of surveilling his targets before killing them. Flowers and Prawat give a detailed look at his methodology and the horrifying lengths he went to to rape and murder his victims.
He's a brutal killer and the docuseries made about him, I'll Be Gone in the Dark, is the type of true crime documentary that squeamish viewers may immediately nope out of. This is one of the Crime Junkie podcasts with a "happy" ending however, and the killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, was eventually captured thanks to the novel application of DNA databases. The hosts' discussion of these processes is illuminating and never too "in the weeds" for the audience.
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4 Survived: Elizabeth Smart
A Stirring Tale Of Bravery In The Face Of Evil
"Survived: Elizabeth Smart" is another of the more uplifting Crime Junkie episodes and is a welcome respite from the usual doom and frustration. In this inspiring tale of resilience, a 14-year-old Smart was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 5, 2002. Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Elaine Barzee kidnapped Smart from her home and took her to a compound in the woods 18 miles outside the city, where she was held for nine months and was sexually and physically abused.
Mitchell and Barzee would take Smart out in public, covered in a disguise or head-to-toe robes to ensure no one recognized her. The hosts' recount of her rescue almost feels too unbelievable to be real, with her sister suddenly remembering the voice of the abductor, leading the police to Mitchell. The podcast is like a thriller movie as the police gather enough information to find Mitchell, and Smart is the hero who comes out of her ordeal advocating for missing persons and victims of sexual assault. It's tough to listen to, but offers hope at the same time.
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3 Serial Killer: Israel Keyes
This Serial Killer's Life Ends On A Theatric And Disturbing Note
Israel Keyes was a seemingly well-to-do war hero, business owner, and father, but that mask of normalcy was hiding a disturbed serial killer. After Keyes was arrested for the murder of Samantha Koenig in 2012, the extent of his violence was brought to light. Keyes made "kill kits", filled with money, guns, and disposal materials, and left these all over the country, sometimes years before he actually used them. His killings were suspected to have begun in 2001 and Flowers and Prawat go over in meticulous detail his cold responses to the police investigation.
When the hosts investigate Keyes' suicide in prison, the episode becomes even more mysterious. The serial killer took his own life while awaiting a trial and left a note with satanic drawings and phrases that have fascinated and unnerved investigators ever after.
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2 Murdered: The Watts Family
A Brutal And Senseless Domestic Series Of Murders
"Murdered: The Watts Family" discusses one of the most shocking and tragic instances of domestic violence in American history. On August 13, 2018, a pregnant Shanann Watts and her two children, Bella (4) and Celeste (3), went missing. After a failed polygraph test, it didn't take long for the police to suspect Shanann's husband, Christopher, of being the culprit. Unable to keep his story straight for very long, Christopher ended up confessing to strangling his wife, suffocating his daughters, and hiding their bodies.
Flowers' and Prawat's description of the neighbor's camera footage of the evening is haunting and showcases just how good they are at creating an uncomfortable and shocking atmosphere just by explaining the chain of events. It's a bald-faced and brutal murder, and it's even more confusing in that there has been little reason ever given for the familicide.
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1 Serial Killer: The Green River Killer
DNA Solves A Decades-Long Criminal Case
Crime Junkie delves into Gary Ridgway's crimes in the 1980s Pacific Northwest in "Serial Killer: The Green River Killer". Flowers and Prawat do an excellent job of setting the stage in this episode, painting a picture of the time period, and then slowly inserting the 49 known murders committed by Ridgway into the story. Ridgway patrolled Washington state and primarily targeted young women who were sex workers or unhoused so that he could entice them back to his home where he would kill them.
The Crime Junkie hosts go over the polygraph test Ridgway passed that cleared him of any wrongdoing in 1984, allowing him to operate for nearly 17 more years. Their discussion on the breakthrough DNA technology that eventually led to Ridgway's capture and incarceration is a thrilling and captivating look at how science and police work have only recently come together to solve some long-standing and terrible cases.