After letting go of Serial, I had some strange yearning to listen to crime stories. I wanted to hear about murder and robbery and weird crap that has nothing to do with my circle of influence.
Criminal feeds that curiosity. It’s not a gratuitous, vulgar unboxing of random evidence but rather succinct synopsis of a crime – bloody and not bloody – with either the people involved or experts on the case. In addition, the host and guest rehash lessons learned and the glaring hindsight that shows up afterward.
For an extra-creepy listen, try Episode 25: The Portrait.
Three things I love: 
- Great audio. The host, Phoebe Judge, has a voice that’s so easy to listen to. Some podcasts do not have this quality, so when a podcast has fluid audio and a female voice with no vocal fry, it’s all good.
- Diverse stories. It’s not just obscure murders or weirdo tales. There’s white-collar crime, multi-generational crime, and more. If you don’t like the bloody stuff, there are other stories for you.
- Short and sweet. Some podcasts require an hour or more from you, but many of Criminal’s stories hover around 20 minutes. Perfect for folks with a short attention span.