The Not so Boring Ride

Clearing your mind on the way to or home from work might mean listening to your favorite jam or to nothing at all, but for my true crime obsessed self, it means podcast time. Weirdly or maybe not weirdly enough, podcasts completely help with my anxiety too. I drive everywhere for work so anything to make my drive more enjoyable is exactly what I’m going to do. I’ve always been interested in true crime and honestly it’s also helped me be more aware of my surroundings. People are crazy and it’s better to be safe then sorry. So SSDMG (if you don’t know then you’re not doing it) and take a listen to my top murder podcasts for all the time spent in the car. All titles are linked to their site.

Crime Junkie

This podcast might be the frontrunner for me, at least for now because as you can tell I switch back and forth depending on my listening mood. If you’re looking for a new crime every episode (for the most part) and want to skip the small talk and dive in, then this is the one for you. Host Ashley Flowers tells you just enough detail without going gruesomely overboard and she talks about both sides of the story, which if you’re a true crime junkie, that’s what you want. What I love most about listening to this podcast on my commute is they label the episodes by crime topic (missing, serial killer, murdered, captured, update, infamous, etc.) so that you can easily pick exactly what you want to hear.

My Favorite Murder

I get it, sometimes too much murder podcasts can take your mind overboard, which is why this podcast is the perfect mix of murder, comic relief, and story-telling (just listen, you’ll understand). Hosts Georgia and Karen alternate each episode between them each sharing a crime and them reading true crime stories that listeners send in. If you’re in the mood to get into the details of a crime then play episodes labeled with a number. Want something still murderess but also maybe just funny, creepy, but still always interesting? The MFM Minisodes are your answer. This podcast created such a community as well and you really feel like part of the #murderino family, because you are. So SSDGM and take a listen.

True Crime Garage

Don’t know Nic and The Captain? Well go grab a beer (or coffee for your morning drive) and take a listen. The hosts go into the details of murders and missing cases over a 2-3 episode span. They break down the cases and keep it interesting for the listeners. I like how they include theories of what might have happened for cases that haven’t been solved yet. They get into the well-known cases but also share ones you definitely have not heard of.

Missing Maura Murray

Sometimes I’m in the mood to listen to one case and really dive into what happened. Podcasters Tim and Lance take you step by step through Maura’s mysterious disappearance that unfortunately is still unsolved today. Maura was just 21 when she vanished from New Hampshire after crashing her car. The details of the accident are still of course fuzzy today. A resident living close to the crash site saw and spoke to her but she disappeared before authorities got on site. Podcasters take you through each development of the case and even breakdown Oxygen’s short series on it, which they were also a part of.

Up and Vanished (season one)

Just like Missing Maura Murray, season 1 of Up and Vanished takes you through the case of missing former pageant queen and teacher Tara Grinstead. She grew up in one of those small southern towns where everyone really knows everyone and if you’re not from around there, you’ll be picked out instantly. Just as a lot of murder shows start by saying, the victim was loved and admired, no enemies or juicy gossip, sweet as can be, and then gone. Small towns don’t talk and that’s the problem here, until.. well just take a listen and host Payne Lindsey can tell you the rest. What I liked most about this podcast is that Payne really takes you with him for the ride in helping to solve this case. I felt like I was really there exploring the town of Ocilla (yup, super southern) trying to help find out what the hell happened to Tara. You can binge this podcast in time for the trial, which hopefully is going to start in 2020.

Written by Eva Gerrits