Although admittedly riveting, I tend to stay away from the true crime genre when indulging in my podcast addiction. Typically I find the genre exploitative, with narrators using cheap thrills while forgetting that the bodies they speak of are real people with real families, missing their loved ones.
However after having drained the ocean of my favorite podcasts, while awaiting new episodes, I stumbled upon Crime Junkie, an Indiana based podcast that releases new episodes weekly. The hosts are empathetic and intelligent, which are qualities the genre usually lacks. I hate to say their recountings of horrible crimes are entertaining, but I can say they are certainly engrossing. The two hosts, Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat delve into heinous crimes, while being advocates for the victims of cold cases that have remained unsolved, while also helping the listener to become an advocate for their own safety.
The podcast hasn’t failed me yet, every episode I’ve binged recently has been well done and has haunted me in some way or another. I recommend starting with two of the most recent ones, that delve into the serial murders of the Colonial Parkway in Virginia, which is where I started. The first episode can be found here.
Also, the theme music is killer. No pun intended.
