Do you enjoy stories that send shivers down your spine? You're not alone! The popularity of crime themes has been growing like mushrooms after the rain lately. Discover true crime podcasts that you will listen to with bated breath!
Do you remember the Crime Magazine 997 with Michał Fajbusiewicz and the introductory music that set a sinister mood? Or perhaps programs such as Anyone Who Saw, Anyone Who Knows and the even older, Television Investigative Office with brutal reconstructions of events and authentic photos from crime scenes?
These types of programs were aired after 10 p.m., but even if you were a child then, you certainly know the distinctive jingles and themes for them. In the 90s, with the rise of crime in Poland (both petty and organized), these shows were very popular, and viewers called the studio, helping to solve cases by sharing their knowledge, reflections, or suggestions. In one episode, the crime reconstitution even featured the perpetrator himself. However, these types of programs were not particularly liked by the police, who considered them a mockery of the profession of investigators. They often showed the ineptitude of the newly formed and severely underfunded police force.
The popularity of these types of crime programs eventually diminished in favor of shows such as Big Brother or Bar, but in recent years, criminal mysteries have returned – this time as online true crime podcasts. After all, who doesn't like to occasionally read a crime novel and embody the role of a "couch detective," puzzling over dark mysteries?
The difference between Jo Nesbo's or Agatha Christie's stories and such podcasts is huge – true crime podcasts have a documentary character. With respect for the victims, but often in a fictionalized way, they discuss real crimes. Why, paradoxically, do we "love" such topics? Broadly understood evil (the dark side of man, described as the so-called dark triad) is fascinating from a psychological perspective. This is studied by, among others, Philip Zimbardo, the infamous head of the Stanford experiment, for which he was heavily criticized by other psychologists.
Criminal profilers, including the most popular one in Poland, Bogdan Lach, and experts from the Polish X-Files, are currently gaining great popularity and recognition (although at the beginning of their specialization, they were trivialized and treated by the police as fortune-telling). As the popularity of the crime format increases, more and more creators appear in podcast applications every day. Especially for you, we have singled out the best true crime podcasts. Tune in.
Top 10 Best Crime Podcasts
Meet the 10 true crime podcasts whose creators you can trust and subscribe to on podcast apps or on YouTube. Among them, you will find not only the most popular ones but also the most interesting ones, about little-known cases, or the most specialized and investigative ones, with journalistic character.
1. Fifth: do not kill (Justyna Mazur)
Justyna Mazur started with a blog, and not even a crime-themed blog, but rather a lifestyle one. For over 2 years, she has been running the channel Fifth: Do Not Kill, where each highly anticipated episode is listened to by several hundred thousand fans. For Justyna, as she says herself, cases related to the intricacies and dark corners of the human psyche are particularly close. She mainly deals with Polish cases (e.g., the double murder of parents from Rakowiska or the case of Szymon from Cieszyn), detailing the psychological portraits of the perpetrators and victims. Her true crime podcasts, warm radio voice, and respectful approach to victims set a benchmark for other creators.
Recently, she has been experimenting and in addition to running radio dramas, she started conducting interviews with book authors, publication authors, and experts in the field of criminology. In creating her materials, she undertakes journalistic work, also talking to families related to the case. In addition to Fifth: Do Not Kill, she also has a radio drama channel. Let's talk about life.
2. Kryminatorium – Marcin Myszka
Previously known as Nondiegetyczne (discontinued channel), Marcin Myszka now appears more frequently under his own name and the Kryminatorium brand. On his channel, he deals with both Polish and foreign cases. There is also a lot of content for those interested in historical crimes, e.g., about Karl Denke, a 19th-century cannibal who sold "meat" derived from his victims at the market. His crime podcasts are filled with the voices of various narrators and sounds – they are almost like audiobooks.
3. No, don't talk
This podcast also stands out from others with its humor – although the cases that Grzegorz and Kamil discuss are usually not amusing. The authors tackle various topics, often reaching for cases from the Polish People's Republic (their distinguishing feature) and the Polish countryside, touching on the contemporary customs and mentality of the so-called "homo sovieticus". Want to find out what can result from the combination of vodka, Poles, wedding music, and pickets, or how to effectively get rid of an unwanted colleague while being together at a polar research station? You definitely have to listen to Don't talk.
4. Crime Scenes RMF FM
In Crime Scenes, Kamil Dyki and Rafał Barnowski comprehensively and briefly, yet substantially and specifically, discuss very heavy topics, including the world's youngest murderers, the worst parents abusing their children, aces of the Polish mafia, or Japanese gangs and their peculiar "customs". The hosts are not afraid of any topic. The duo complements each other perfectly, and each episode lasts about 20-25 minutes. You will have time to listen to it while washing dishes or vacuuming, and you won't even notice when the next one starts.
5. Murder (not) perfect
The channel is run (with impeccable diction) by Tomasz Ławnicki. You probably haven't heard about Angel of Death from Poznań – a nurse who raped and killed with injections his patients yet. The journalist also talks with authors of books and publications about very known cases, including the Krakow case of Katarzyna Z. codenamed Skin, which was even investigated by the FBI. He also updates the listeners' knowledge on other crimes, talks with prosecutors, journalists, and experts.
6. Poland on the facts - not only crime stories
This podcast appeared relatively recently, but it is definitely worth attention. The author, not rushing, discusses less known Polish cases, including e.g., the murder in the Lower Silesian Philharmonic. Poland on the facts is distinguished by sensitivity to harm, empathy, warmth, and disgust at the psychopathic traits, nonsense, often lack of logic in the actions of perpetrators, or simply stupidity and short-sightedness characterizing many crimes, each time.
7. Stanowo
Among the best crime podcasts, there must also be their precursor on Polish YouTube. Stanowo, also known as Jasmin, has been living in the United States for years, dealing exclusively with foreign cases, but oh, in what style! If you want to listen to the famous mystery of the Dyatlov Pass, the mysterious case of children from Kurim, which still raises questions about child trafficking, or about the murderer of Gianni Versace in a comprehensive but not devoid of sarcasm and irony way, this podcast is for you.
Jasmin intelligently smuggles in her radio dramas, always standing on the side of the victims. The author is currently on a break, but it's worth going back to her earlier crime episodes. Two hours pass like a moment.
8. Crime Scandinavia
Another "regional" podcast is Crime Scandinavia, run by Monika. If you want to find out what's going on in Swedish criminology, this is the best address. Monika has been living in Stockholm for years. In a cold, matter-of-fact, and emotionless way, she talks mainly about cases from that region. You probably don't know 99% of them yet. After listening to a few episodes, you will certainly get rid of the illusion that no one commits crimes in Sweden or Norway.
9. Polish X-Files
The channel is unique on Polish, and perhaps even global YouTube. Its creators are the founders of the Polish X-Files, including Bogdan M., head of the Krakow branch, which is successfully solving so-called cold cases (officially closed by the police but still unsolved cases). On the channel, both old cases are analyzed, and, in interviews with the creators, the secrets of the "archivists'" work are revealed, including knowledge about profiling.
10. Aga Rojek
Simply Aga Rojek. If you love cats, Canada, stories of mysterious disappearances, and long and in-depth analysis and hypotheses, definitely "grab some booze" (as the author says), put on headphones, and turn on Aga's podcast. Aga often dissects in her hour-long podcasts interesting disappearances – especially those when someone disappears practically without a trace, leaving only a car with keys inside. Each time, she also asks for contact with local services, if someone saw or knows anything – through her podcast, she also wants to help spread information about the missing.
Regardless of the reasons why you listen to true crime podcasts – whether for "entertainment" (quite an unfortunate word, but you know what I mean), or out of a desire to understand the motives of perpetrators, human psychology, or because of the ambition to solve a criminal mystery, remember that true crime concerns real people and their dramas, and comments under movies or podcasts can be read by the victims' relatives. With this in mind, it is good to consume this "cold blooded" and think twice before posting a comment blaming the victim for any crime. As the industry saying goes, "the killer is often in the first volume of the act" – and only he is to blame for the evil he has done.
