8 Top New True Crime Podcasts of February 2025
Today I am bringing you eight brand new true crime podcasts that I have been binging on since my last true crime podcast blog in January 2025.
1. Fractured: Melanie Reid Investigates (Season 2) - DELVE & newsroom.co.nz.
Melanie Reid is back with season two of her excellent true crime podcast Fractured. I featured season one in my 11 Top New True Crime Podcasts of October 2024 blog and if you haven’t already listened then I advise you do before listening to season two!
Season one primarily focused on one family that received a medical diagnosis for their young daughter, a diagnosis which led to allegations of child abuse. This in turn led to the mother being charged with, and imprisoned for, child abuse. Host Melanie Reid questioned this medical diagnosis and the “evidence” presented. Reid went even further when she took all of the information to international specialists and asked:
“… whether a common diagnosis helping to convict parents all over the world is flawed.” (Source here).
So, in season two, Melanie Reid is taking her investigation global and she uncovers a wide scale issue affecting innocent families all over the world. Reid’s investigation reveals:
“… a chilling phenomenon that could have far-reaching consequences worldwide.” (Source here).
According to Reid, season two will:
“… leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about medicine, justice and the devastating power of a single diagnosis. What if a single flawed medical hypothesis has led to innocent parents being accused of unimaginable crimes? What if the institutions meant to protect children are instead fuelling a system of wrongful separations and imprisonments?” (Source here).
The first episode is out now.
2. Blink: Jake Haendel’s Story - Corinne Vien & Jacob Haendel.
OK, I really do not want to say too much about this true crime podcast because you will hear the full detailed story directly from Jake Haendel, the man at the centre of this story, throughout this podcast series. So, I am just going to give a brief synopsis and let it unfold for you as you listen. I have listened to the first six available episodes and truly this is one hell of a crazy true crime story!
In 2017 American Jake Haendel was diagnosed with acute toxic leukoencephalopathy. It is believed that Jake’s illicit drug use led to his illness. This is a neurological disease and the prognosis depends on how advanced it is when the person is diagnosed. For Jake, his prognosis was not good and he was given six months to live. When Jake finally slips into a coma something unusual happens, Jake can still hear everything that is said to him (but no ones know this) and while Jake is on his presumed “death bed”, his devoted wife makes a series of confessions and so:
“… the scariest thing in the room is no longer the potential of dying, but rather, the person sitting right next to him.” (Source here).
This is definitely a binge worthy true crime podcast. The first six episodes are already available and new episodes are released weekly so get caught up before the next episode drops!
3. Guilt: Who Killed Dave Davan? (Season 5) - Hosted By Ryan Wolf - Brevity Studios.
I have featured some of Ryan Wolf’s previous true crime podcasts such as his excellent mini true crime series entitled What Happened To Lachie? in my Top 8 True Crime Podcasts of May 2023 blog. I also featured season three of Guilt, Finding Heidi in my Top New True Crime Podcasts of August and September 2023. Ryan Wolf is now on season five of his true crime investigative podcast Guilt and this time he is investigating the murder of 67 year old Dave Davan.
Honestly, this true crime story is heart breaking. There is a common thread throughout all the interviews that Ryan Wolf has conducted and that have featured in the available episodes so far and this is that Dave Davan was loved by many, he was a guy with a big heart who had a close circle of friends and was highly respected in his local community. So, who would want Dave dead? - well this is where the heartbreak kicks in and when you listen and learn who the biggest suspect in this case is, I anticipate that you too will be shocked, saddened and heart broken. I am not going to tell the story here, its so well told in this true crime podcast I could not do it justice.
I expect you will find this true crime podcast hard to turn off once you start listening so clear your schedule and hit play!
4. Word of God - Hosted By Ben Lewis - BBC Radio 4.
I have yet to listen to one of these true crime podcast series from BBC Radio 4 that I didn’t like or that didn’t grab my full attention - they are all so enthralling. This latest series Word of God is no different.
In this true crime podcast:
“A billionaire family’s mission to amass ancient biblical treasures leads to them getting caught up in an international web of looted artefacts, forgeries and criminal networks.” (Source here).
Join host Ben Lewis as he uncovers how:
“… the Green family - owners of America’s Hobby Lobby craft stores - spent millions racing to gather biblical manuscripts and artefacts. Their unprecedented collecting spree - 40,000 items in just three years - triggers a government investigation and alarms biblical scholars worldwide.” (Source here).
I found this true crime story really interesting and it makes a nice break from some of the “heavier” true crime podcast content that I usually listen to. This true crime podcast is well put together and packed full of interviews, expert opinions and twists!
The first four episodes available now.
5. Impact Podcasts: Who Killed Annalise? (Season 3) - Hosted By Brendan Duggan - DC Thomson.
From same team that brought us the excellent true crime podcast Vanished: The Arlene Fraser Murder which I featured in my Last Top True Crime Podcasts of December 2023 blog comes this brand new true crime podcast reinvestigating the 2018 unsolved murder of 22 year old Annalise Johnstone in Perthshire, Scotland.
In Who Killed Annalise? host Brendan Duggan interviews many of those who were involved in this case initially and for the first time, we hear from Annalise’s brother Jordan who was accused, charged and later acquitted of her murder:
“According to Jordan, he only took part in the cover up because he was being blackmailed by ex-girlfriend and former co-accused Angela Newlands.” (Source here).
This is a really complex and terribly sad true crime story that will demand your full attention when you listen.
There are four episodes available so far.
6. Murder in the Moonlight - Hosted By Keith Morrison - NBC News.
This certainly isn’t the first time host Keith Morrison has featured on the blog and I can almost guarantee it won’t be the last. I am not sure what it is about Keith that I love but it must be his voice ;-)! In this latest true crime podcast series from NBC News host Keith Morrison:
“… takes us to a quiet farmhouse on America’s Great Plains, where Sharmon and Wayne Stock have just celebrated Easter with their big, loving family. That night, under a pale moon, the couple is shot to death in their bedroom. The investigation includes four suspects, spans three states, and comes down to a single shiny clue: A gold ring found at the scene of the crime.” (Source here).
Having listened to all six episodes, what stands out to me the most is that the murders of Sharmon and Wayne Stock were absolutely senseless, reckless and callous. The apparent “motives” for the murders are shockingly frivolous.
7. The Binge: Baby Broker - Hosted By Anthony Scalia, Alex Schuman & Peter McDonnell.
Really, what is wrong with people! How could anyone even think to scam “want/soon to be parents”, people who have spent years trying to adopt a much longed for baby… well in Baby Broker we meet the loathsome Tara Lee who did just that:
“Imagine if you were about to become a parent and someone ripped away your dream. Tara Lee ran an adoption company called Always Hope and matched families with babies in record time. But what these adoptive parents didn’t know was how she was manipulating their lives for her gain. This is a shocking tale about a criminal with a cold heart who pulled off an unimaginable scheme, and the parents who banded together to take her down.” (Source here).
We hear from many of the couples who used Tara Lee’s adoption company and the heartache that they suffered at her hands. We also learn about her cruel treatment of some of the mothers who were giving their children up for adoption; the promises Tara made that were never fulfilled. This is one true crime podcast that will pull at your heartstrings. There are six episodes available now.
8. Scam Factory - Hosted By Denise Chan - Wondery.
This true crime podcast has gotten some very mixed reviews online. Having listened for myself, I think the story told is really interesting and insightful. However, I do agree that some people in this story are painted in a somewhat “positive” light, when in reality they were trafficking human beings. I am including this true crime podcast though, as overall, when you hear the stories of the victims of human trafficking that feature in this true crime podcast, their experiences and words are important, powerful and deserve to be heard.
We all receive scam messages from time to time, but did you ever stop to think that:
“… the person behind that message might be trapped inside a “scam factory” on the other side of the world and forced to scam others against their will.” (Source here).
In this true crime podcast we get an insider view of these “scam factories”, the working conditions, the people who operate them, where they are located and why, and of course, just how hard it is to leave these “scam factories”.
The first four episodes are available now on Spotify but I have listened to the entire series on Wondery+.
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