Top New Non-True Crime Podcasts Right Now - September 2024
Here are the best non-true crime podcasts that I have been listening to lately on the rare occasions that I am not binging all things true crime!
1. Inconceivable Truth - By Matt Katz - Wavland.
In this first non-true crime podcast, join host and investigative reporter Matt Katz on his search for his biological father. Matt Katz has been searching for his biological father since he was a child but:
“… it wasn’t until his 40s that he realized he was on the wrong journey altogether. The true story is wrapped in confusion and secrecy, and in the end it upended the truth about who he is – raising questions about identity, fatherhood, medical ethics and what family really means.” (Source here).
There is a big revelation at the early stages of this story that you won’t see coming and it will take you more than a moment to process! Following this new discovery, Matt Katz heads overseas to try find more answers … he goes all the way to CORK, Ireland! Another unfathomable twist in this true story. Honestly, I could not stop listening, what a journey Matt Katz (and his family) have been on.
All eight episodes are already available so get listening now!
2. Hysterical - Hosted By Dan Taberski - Wondery & Pineapple Street Studios.
In Hysterical we visit a high school in LeRoy, New York, where a mysterious illness is spreading among a group of young female students. The cause of this mysterious illness is unknown and so of course the cure is also unknown, if one even exists?!
“What is causing their sudden, often violent symptoms? Is there something in the water or inside the school? Or is it “all in their head?”.” (Source here).
Many believe the illness to be:
“… the most severe case of mass hysteria since the Salem Witch Trials.” (Source here).
Host Dan Taberski sets out to solve this mystery and discusses other similar “inexplicable events” that have occurred in the last few years.
I found this podcast really interesting. There is great value added when we hear from some of the girls who had the mysterious illness and their quest for a solid diagnosis and cure.
All seven episodes are available now.
3. The Hollywood Hack - Hosted By Brian Raftery - The Ringer.
In November 2014, Sony Pictures found itself at the centre of very well executed cyber attack. This attack had far reaching consequences, not only for Sony Pictures but threatening artistic freedom and all that goes with it. In addition:
“… the hackers hadn’t merely humiliated Sony. They’d also released a message threatening to harm the company’s employees and their families.” (Source here).
The cyber attack was traced to North Korea and was carried out as a protest/warning against a new Sony Pictures movie which was about to be released entitled “The Interview”. The reason this new movie sparked so much hatred and disgust from North Korea? Well, in the movie, Hollywood actors James Franco and Seth Rogan are recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
This three part podcast series examines:
“… a rare moment in American history when the worlds of showbiz, politics, the media, and technology all collided.” (Source here).
While I had a little knowledge about the Sony Picture cyber attack, overall I didn’t know too much about it. In this podcast, the whole story is told so well from start to finish. There is loads of insider information about what happened “on the ground” at Sony Pictures (some staff members are interviewed) when the cyber attack took place and in the months that followed. The impact that the cyber attack had on the movie at the centre of this attack, as well as on the actors, producers and all involved in the making and promoting of this movie is also covered. I really loved this podcast and binged all three episodes in one go.
4. The Competition - Hosted By Shima Oliaee - Wondery.
In this podcast, host Shima Oliaee takes us:
“… behind the scenes of one of America’s most lucrative scholarship programs for high school senior girls.” (Source here).
Adding to the story of this podcast, the host Shima Oliaee was actually a competitor in this same competition, when she participated as Nevada’s contestant in 2001. Now, over twenty years later, Shima Oliaee is back in Alabama, back at the competition but this time as a judge!
“50 teenage girls, one from each state, gather in Mobile, Alabama, to embark on two of the most intense weeks of their lives. Everybody wants the same thing: to walk away with a $40,000 cash prize and the title of Distinguished Young Woman of America.” (Source here).
I had never heard of this competition before I listened to this podcast. In the podcast, we follow seven of the competitors as they:
“… experience the highs and lows of competing against the best and brightest, away from home and under the most high-stress circumstances. What can two weeks with 50 of the country’s most ambitious teens tell us about girlhood in America?.” (Source here).
WOW - what a intense and controlled environment these girls enter when they join the competition and they seem SO young and innocent. They have all worked so hard to get this far and they are not stopping now, pushing themselves and their bodies to the limit. From solo talent performances to panel interviews and an intense fitness routine, this competition is not messing around!
Across six episodes we get to know each of the featured seven competitors as well as the judges and other key players in this competition. Finally, we learn who wins the grand prize! I found this podcast entertaining and engaging and recommend you check it out!
5. The Bachelor of Buckingham Palace - Hosted By Scott Bryan - Wondery.
So it turns out back in 2013 there was an American TV show called “I Wanna Marry “Harry”” which involved flying twelve unsuspecting women/contestants to a “sumptuous Elizabethan estate in the heart of the Berkshire countryside” where they would compete to win the attention of the then 29 year old Prince Harry; the world’s “most eligible bachelor” at this time. Well… of course it wasn’t actually Prince Harry but a look-alike that the women were really competing for but as they say, never let the truth get in the way of a good story, or in this case, in the way of a good reality TV show.
“The Bachelor Of Buckingham Palace tells the gripping, entertaining and unsettling story of how Fox duped a group of women into believing they were dating a man who was fifth in the line to the British throne.” (Source here).
Honestly if you are looking for an amusing, somewhat bizarre but easy to listen to podcast then this is the one for you. Hearing the stories of some of the women who took part in the TV show, what happened behind the scenes and all the drama that took place was right up my street. I also LOVED that we got to hear from “Harry” too! I flew through all six episodes.
6. Terribly Famous: Hugh Grant’s Nice Guy Act (Season 15) - Hosted By Anna Leong Brophy & Emily Lloyd-Saini - Wondery.
This isn’t the first time I have featured this non-true crime podcast on the blog, its actually one of my “go to” podcasts for some great short entertaining material. The latest season is covering all things Hugh Grant and I am loving it.
I did not know he had such a, shall we say, “complicated” love life. Honestly, episode three (Daddy Issues) where the hosts are discussing the timeline of his children being conceived/born had me in stitches. They are just such great hosts with a fantastic fun vibe that can’t help but have you smiling so check it out!
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