Top 9 New True Crime Podcasts of October 2023
A very busy month with lots of new true crime podcasts to get through so without any further delay, here are my top picks and I hope you like them!
1. Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University - Hosted By Laura Beil - Wondery.
Laura Beil is back with another excellent true crime podcast, yet another shocking medical scandal brought to light. I have featured Laura’s other true crime podcasts, her most famous is probably Dr.Death (Seasons 1 & 2) but other excellent podcasts from Laura Beil that you should definitely check out are Bad Batch, The Vaping Fix and Sympathy Pains. So, you could certainly surmise that I am a fan of her work and I was very excited to get stuck into her latest true crime investigative podcast Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University.
As the title suggests, in this true crime podcast series Beil’s focus is on Columbia University and specifically on a OB-GYN working for the hospital associated with this Ivy League School, Dr Robert Hadden:
“Dr. Robert Hadden assaulted hundreds — perhaps thousands — of unsuspecting patients. When it looked like no one would be held accountable, the survivors engaged in a decade-long fight for justice.” (Source here).
I do not want to get into the details of the story here, it is one that unfolds over the course of the series and my words could not do justice to the victims, you will hear from them directly throughout. However, prepare yourself for some shocking revelations, episode four is particularly noteworthy with the introduction of a new victim and some very old but extremely critical evidence is uncovered.
I loved this podcast and waited eagerly weekly for each episode to drop! Now all five episodes are available so you can binge the lot!
2. Disappeared: The Bradley Sisters - Hosted By Pam Childs - ID.
Disappeared: The Bradley Sisters is a true crime podcast series hosted by retired police detective Pam Childs. Childs is re-investigating a twenty-two year old unsolved cold case that took place in Chicago; the disappearance of sisters Diamond and Tionda Bradley on July 6th 2001. Childs has recruited some other retired detectives to assist her in her investigation.
As you would expect, due to Childs experience as a detective she leaves no stone unturned, she is meticulous, logical and thorough throughout her investigation. Honestly, I am not sure what it is about her, but I could listen to her speaking forever!
We learn all about Diamond and Tionda Bradley and the extended Bradley family. Childs speaks directly with some family members and old tips and leads are re-examined. The whole way through you will find yourself asking “Is this it? Have they found the key to solving this case?!” - you won’t want to stop listening, so intriguing!
There are eight episodes available now so if you have some free time coming up, queue up these episodes and hit play!
3. The Crossbow Killer - Hosted By Tim Hinman & Meic Parry - BBC Radio Wales.
I stumbled upon this true crime podcast and I was so glad I did, it is absolutely gripping! The Crossbow Killer tells the story of:
“… a brutal and baffling murder in the lonely Welsh countryside.” (Source here).
When a crossbow kills 74-year-old retired lecturer Gerald Corrigan outside his remotely located home in Anglesey, Wales, in 2019 everyone is shocked and baffled. Who would want to kill Gerald? and why?. Well, this is what the hosts of this podcast set out to uncover and we are taken along on their quest. I do not want to give away the story but suffice to say it is enthralling and mind-boggling!
All five episodes are available now so if you want to know how this investigation unfolds get downloading and clear your diary!
If you do listen to and like The Crossbow Killer podcast then consider checking out the excellent (previously featured) eight-part true crime podcast The Nobody Zone which is also hosted by Tim Hinman.
4. Murder in Apartment 12 - Hosted By Keith Morrison - NBC News.
Well if you have followed this blog for a while, you will know I love Keith Morrison, another person whose voice I could listen to indefinitely! I am delighted he is back with a new true crime series.
Murder in Apartment 12 deep dives into the December 2005 murder of Nona Dirksmeyer. Nona Dirksmeyer was a few days shy of her 20th birthday when she was brutally murdered in her off-campus college apartment. Fingers were quickly pointed at one person, her long-term boyfriend Kevin Jones. In this true crime podcast:
“… Keith Morrison tells the story of three trials, two suspects, and one small town where things are not always what they seem.” (Source here).
There are three episodes available so far and they are packed full with interviews, theories and possibilities. New episodes are released weekly.
5. The Trial - Hosted By Michael Wright - Stuff NZ.
OK, so this podcast was actually released from March to June 2023… but I only discovered it last week and I basically binged the whole thing so it is definitely worthy of featuring on the blog (even if its not brand new this month).
In May 2017 builder Michael McGrath disappeared from the area in which he lived in Christchurch, New Zealand. Despite extensive searches, no trace of Michael McGrath has ever been found. While McGrath was somewhat of a recluse, living a frugal life and shunning modern technology and comforts, he always had weekly dinner with his mother (and sometimes his brother Simon) so when he failed to turn up one evening in May 2017 and was subsequently uncontactable, he was reported missing by his new partner Joanna Green. This is where the story gets very interesting - Could McGrath’s disappearance be in some way connected to Joanna Green? Well she seems to think so and thus begins a sequence of events and investigations that last over six years.
I am keeping this all very vague as I do not want to give away any spoilers! All six episodes of The Trial are available now but I am fairly certain, given recent develops in this case, that more episodes will have to be released!
6. Mother’s Guilt: The Kathleen Folbigg Story - Hosted By Jane Hansen - True Crime Australia.
This podcast was also released in full in June 2023 but I only listened to it this month and once again, it had to be included!
Mother’s Guilt is a true crime podcast telling the story of Kathleen Folbigg. Kathleen Folbigg was “jailed in 2003 for a minimum of 25 years for the murder of her three children Patrick, Sarah and Laura, and manslaughter of a fourth [child] Caleb.”.
“… a mother found guilty of smothering her 4 infant children over two decades ago, sentenced to 25 years, she has spent the last 19 years in jail.” (Direct Quote from podcast)
This podcast tells the complete story of Kathleen Folbigg, from her early life right up to her imprisonment and eventual pardoning, there is so much to cover:
“The Mother’s Guilt podcast traces the case from the 1960s, starting with Kathleen’s tragic start to life, through her childhood and teens and into her marriage to Craig and their four separate losses.” (Source here).
At the heart of this story is a loving mother who lost four children over a ten year period and instead of being able to grieve her losses she was instead accused of killing her beloved children and sent to prison. This is a terribly sad story that in many ways echoes the case against Lindy Chamberlain which was covered in the previously featured podcast A Perfect Storm: The True Story of The Chamberlains.
This is a heart-wrenching podcast so definitely have some tissues within reach when you listen! As aforementioned, all eleven episodes are available now.
7. Chameleon: Gallery Of Lies (Season 6) - Hosted By Bijan Stephen - Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment.
A brand new series of Chameleon has landed! This season Chameleon: Gallery Of Lies investigates the work of art dealer Helge Achenbach who was highly respected and esteemed in his field but had a pretty rapid fall from the world of art when he was found guilty of committing art related fraud and sent to prison for six years.
Host Bijan Stephen conducts a number of interviews with Helge Achenbach to get his version of events before widening his interviewing circle to include those who knew Helge in the past, had dealings with him both professionally and socially and some who are still friends with him today. Through these interviews we get a better understanding of the person he is, the crimes he committed and answers to the “why” of these crimes. But, what strikes me the most is the contrast between the person Helge presents himself as versus the version others portray of him - he is a chameleon!
“Bijan attempts to solve the riddle of who Helge really is — and who he might become.” (Source here).
The first five episodes are out now.
8. Earwitness - Hosted By Beth Shelburne - Lava for Good Podcasts.
In this new eight-part true crime podcast Earwitness host Beth Shelburne sheds light on the dreadful world of wrongful convictions in the USA by highlighting the case of Toforest Johnson who was sentenced to death in Alabama for a crime that he did not commit.
In 1995 Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was shot and killed behind the Crown Sterling Suites hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, where he worked security (in addition to his day time job as a Sheriffs Deputy). Despite at least ten people giving Toforest Johnson an alibi for the time of the shooting (proving he was elsewhere in the city when the shooting took place) Toforest was accused of the murder and later convicted and sentenced to death.
When the host begins her in-depth examination of the case and of the evidence against Toforest Johnson she makes some shocking discoveries. There was:
“No eyewitnesses or physical evidence tied Toforest to the murder; the state tried to convict a different man for the same crime; and perhaps most disturbing of all, Toforest’s conviction relied on an ‘earwitness’ – a woman who claimed to have eavesdropped on an incriminating phone call, a woman whom prosecutors paid for her testimony, in secret.” (Source here).
Honestly this podcast will have you screaming internally (or externally if you can get away with it) at the injustice of this case. Toforest Johnson has spent over 25 years in prison, on death row, for a crime he did not commit, it is heart breaking.
There are four episodes available so we are only half way there - I cannot wait to learn the outcome of this case!
9. The Shell Lake Massacre - Rawlco Radio Ltd.
On August 15th 1967 nine members of the Peterson family were brutally murdered in their home in Shell Lake, Canada. In this new six-part true crime series we learn all about this horrific crime and we hear directly from the only surviving member of the Peterson family, Kathy Hill.
This shocking crime “… still stands as one of the worst random mass murders in Canadian history.”.
Shell Lake was a small community and the murders left the community terrified:
“With no apparent motive and no indication as to who the killer was, people locked their doors and loaded their guns… terrified that their family would be next.” (Source here).
This podcast is very interesting and somewhat unique as not only do we hear from Kathy (of the Peterson family) we later hear from the person responsible for these murders, his account of the day and his mental state at the time of the murders are discussed. It is not often we get to hear the perspective of the killer.
All six episodes are out now.
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