As I may have mentioned in a previous post about how to stay sane during the pandemic, I am an avid listener of podcasts. I play them constantly, while doing laundry or working on articles and going on walks. My tastes in podcasts are varied, with a heavy dose of true crime, so I wanted to share some of my favorites that you might want to download. I’ve also mentioned favorite episodes for those that are episodic.
Celebrity Interviews
Armchair Expert
If you’re looking to learn more about your favorite celebrities, this series by actor Dax Shepherd and Monica Padman is for you. They also have an “Expert on Experts” series with experts in various fields, including scientists, therapists, and more.
Favorite Episode: Vincent D’Onofrio or Keith Morrison
Dolly Parton’s America
I am an avid fan of Dolly, having grown up in the South and visited her theme park, Dollywood, a number of times. But I learned so much more about her personality through this series, which features interviews with Parton and the meaning of her songs.
Favorite Episode: Sad Ass Songs
Longform Podcast
I heard about the Longform podcast from a blog post about resources for writers. The podcast has been around since 2016 and has interviewed some of the world’s most incredible writers and longform journalists to discuss their work and processes.
Favorite Episode: Ta-Nehisi Coates (any of the many appearances!)
Comedy
Absolutely Not
I am always trying to support my hometown folks and Heather McMahan is no exception. I first heard of her on the Girls Gotta Eat podcast (see below) and immediately started following the actress and comedian. She recently launched her own podcast about what’s bothering her or making her laugh and features interviews with her closest friends and family.
Favorite Episode: Italian Stallion Pipes Up
Girls Gotta Eat
I followed GGE host Ashley Hesseltine back when she lived in Atlanta so when I heard about her comedy dating podcast with food blogger Rayna Greenberg, I gave it a download. It’s one of the handful of dating podcasts that I listen to. Their guests give great advice for modern dating.
Favorite Episode: F**k You Carrie Bradshaw!
Trashy Divorces
One more for the Atlanta crowd! I saw Trashy Divorces listed in the Apple Podcasts store and knew I had to give it a listen. Hosts (and couple) Stacie and Alicia break down celebrity and historic divorce and breakup stories told with humor. They’re also some of the nicest people!
Favorite Episode: Any and all featuring the royals
History
Disgraceland
If you love music as much as I do, this is the podcast for you. I never knew just how many musicians and bands had ties to true crime and bad behavior. The host has also launched The 27 Club, another podcast about the group of musicians that all died at the same age.
Favorite Episode: Jerry Lee Lewis: The Killer and Getting Away with Murder or Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes: Hit Me Again and I’ll Burn Your House Down
Slow Burn
My degree is in political science, which seems humorous now, but I find it interesting to learn more about the scandals over the years. Slow Burn is a fascinating look into the biggest ones over the years. The first season covered the Nixon presidency, which has many echoes into today, as well as the Clinton impeachment, which hearkens to #MeToo. The third and fourth seasons covered the deaths of Tupac and Biggie as well as the election of KKK member David Duke.
Favorite Episode: best listened to as a whole
Inspirational
Becoming Wise
Start your day with empowering interviews with spirituality experts talking about different aspects of everyday life. All episodes are under 10 minutes so it’s the ideal listening for while you’re making your morning cup of coffee.
Favorite Episode: The Everyday Gift of Writing: Naomi Shihab Nye
Going Through It
Produced by the folks at Mailchimp, this series interviews with people going through a hard time both personally and professionally and how they “got through it.” The episodes are no more than 30 minutes usually, so it’s a low commitment.
Favorite Episode: Rebecca Traister Went Freelance and Almost Went Broke
Life Kit
This NPR podcast has short episodes on different aspects of daily life, ranging from how to ask for a raise to how to raise your kids in a pandemic. They have special series on topics like coronavirus, race, money, and health, as well as a kids-focused Life Kit Sesame Workshop.
Favorite Episode: Anxiety is Overwhelming. Here’s a Mindfulness Tool That Works
Magic Lessons
This podcast was a one-season promotion before Elizabeth Gilbert’s hit book Big Magic. In it, she explores different elements that are covered in the book, helping people find creativity through interviews with experts, many of which are her friends. She followed it up with a second season.
Favorite Episode: Ann Patchett’s Counter-Advice: “Dive Into That Well”
Travel
How Not to Travel
I’d heard of the travel blog How Not to Travel Like a Basic B*tch before and this is the follow-up podcast. In it, host Kiona focuses on how to travel responsibly in regards to respecting native cultures, acknowledging your passport privilege, and how social media affects where we go.
Favorite Episode: Travel Privilege
Let’s Go Together
Created by Travel + Leisure, this podcast is hosted by pilot and Travel Channel personality Kellee Edwards. It focuses on amplifying lesser-heard voices in travel, including people of color, LGBTQ+ travelers, those in wheelchairs, and more.
Favorite Episode: Climbing Machu Picchu in a Wheelchair
NC Travel Chat with NC Tripping
My friends at NC Tripping are experts in the state of North Carolina, covering every aspect of travel in the state. Their new podcast interviews different experts around the state, including farm owners, the owner of a famous Hunger Games filming location, and a barbecue fanatic.
Favorite Episode: From the Mountains to the Sea with Jason Frye
Very Amusing
If you follow the work of theme park journalist Carlye Wisel, you know just how obsessed she is with all things Disney. Her new podcast interviews fellow Disney fans and breaks down aspects of news related to theme parks in general.
Favorite Episode: It’s a new podcast but so far I love both episodes!
True Crime
Believed
Content warning to those who have experienced sexual assault. This podcast covers the Larry Nassar/USA Gymnastics trial. What’s most frustrating is hearing how a family friend told her parents about the abuse she suffered many years before Nassar became involved with the Olympic athletes.
Cold
I’ve listened to a lot of true crime stories but this one still stays with me. It’s a haunting series on the disappearance of Susan Powell and the tragedy that rocks her family afterward. There are so many disturbing elements of this story including a father-in-law that sends explicit messages.
Criminal
If you’re dipping your toe into true crime, this episodic podcast covering unique crime stories is for you. Sometimes the stories are light and funny while others are heart-wrenching. I also find host Phoebe Judge’s voice to be so soothing.
Favorite Episode: Carry A. Nation
Gangster House
I knew the story of Atlanta legend (and pornographer) Mike Thevis because of my family. One of my family members is still close friends with his daughter. But listening to this one-season true crime story was fascinating, especially hearing the locations where the crimes happened.
Happy Face
Stories about serial killers rarely take the perspective of the family members, but this true-crime podcast is told by his daughter. The criminal in question killed dozens of women while working as a long-haul trucker. The second season is about a child adopted by a female murderer.
Hit Man
This tale has twists, turns, and connections to the music industry, thus the double entendre name. It follows the crimes that came from a book that served as a guide on contract killing.
Monster
The Tenderfoot TV’s follow up to the hit Up and Vanished was this three-season series. The first is Atlanta Monster, based on the Atlanta Child Murders, followed by one on the Zodiac Killer, and the DC Sniper that plagued the capital in the 2000s.
My Favorite Murder
The original true crime comedy podcast changed the genre for its ability to use comedy to deal with truly terrible events. Each episode features two crimes. Other episodes are recordings of live shows, featuring the beloved “hometown murders” and minisodes, where listeners email about crimes and weird occurrences.
Over My Dead Body
A husband is found murdered in his garage during the middle of the day and suspicion immediately turns to his wife. She claims no wrongdoing, but further digging shows her family’s suspicious connections to organized crime. The second season was Joe Exotic, which became the hit Netflix show Tiger King.
Racket
Another local, this podcast digs into Atlanta‘s infamous Gold Club. The strip club and nightclub was where celebrities hung out, including athletes, politicians, and actors. But it was raided by the feds with claims of embezzlement, prostitution, and a litany of other charges.
Root of Evil
If you’ve always been fascinated by the Black Dahlia murder in Los Angeles, this podcast is an even more unbelievable story about the real-life family connected to it. Produced in association with the show I Am the Night. The series investigates their dark past with suspect George Hodel.
Swindled
The show, hosted by an unnamed “Concerned Citizen,” features episodes on scam artists, con men, and swindlers. Some stories have made headlines, like Love Canal, while others aren’t as well known.
Favorite Episode: Jim Bakker
The Catch and Kill Podcast
Writer Ronan Farrow made headlines for his coverage of Harvey Weinstein and other powerful people who have been accused of sexual assault. This podcast is a deeper dive on Ronan Farrow’s book on the suppression of stories about sexual assault in media.
The Dream
If you’ve ever gotten random Facebook messages from high school classmates about buying products from them or “becoming your own boss,” you might like this podcast. It covers MLMs and the unregulated health and wellness industry.
The Fall Line
This true-crime podcast focuses on the underrepresented communities in the Southeast, including children kidnapped from an Atlanta hospital, murdered transgender people, and hotel employees that die under suspicious circumstances.
The Lost Kids
I’d heard about the “tough love” boot camps industry before but this one-season podcast was eye-opening. One of these youth programs was responsible for a number of disappearances from the children in their care.
The Missionary
This podcast documents the events that followed a young American woman’s time running a malnutrition program in Uganda, following God’s calling. But there was one problem: she had no medical training. When the children in her care started dying, government agencies became involved.
Uncover
The incredible Canadian true-crime podcast features deep dives into different cases, including the NXIVM cult, an airplane bombing, and a serial killer in Toronto‘s Gay Village. The most recent is on the Satanic Panic that hit small-town Canada in the 1990s.
Up and Vanished
I was an early listener to Up and Vanished, as I know the creator, and quickly became fascinated at how a small-town beauty queen and teacher could go missing. The case unraveled in real-time, with two suspects later arrested. It’s since become a television show and a second season about a missing woman in a hippie town in Colorado.
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