Best True Crime Podcasts for Road Trips

We’ve been road-tripping regularly since 2019, and somewhere along the way, true crime podcasts became a fixture in the car. Why do we do this to ourselves? Who knows. There’s just something about good storytelling that makes the miles fly by. Once, we recommended a “great road trip podcast” to friends, and forgot to mention it was true crime. Let’s just say it wasn’t quite the vibe they had in mind.

So we’ll be clear here: this list is for the true-crime crowd. We tend to choose stories that lean thriller over horror, and there are definite rules: no rest-area stories, nothing that feels too “close to home,” (we won’t listen to Park Predators on our way to Yellowstone, for example) and once the sun sets, we’re switching to audiobooks!

💡 Pro Tip: Download episodes before you go. Service can get spotty in remote areas, so queue up your favorites while you still have Wi-Fi.

Table of Contents Show

1. Serial

One of the first podcasts we ever listened to on a road trip. Serial set the bar for binge-worthy storytelling. It’s well-produced and ideal for long stretches of highway.

2. Crime Junkies

If you like your true crime in one-off episodes (instead of season-long stories), Crime Junkies is a must. Each episode covers a different case, so you can pop in and out depending on your drive. We love this one because it’s easy to pick up anytime. You can listen to a single episode when you need a change from the radio or want something more engaging for a stretch of highway.

3. Dr. Death

This shocking true story follows a neurosurgeon whose patients suffered devastating outcomes. Disturbing but impossible to pause.

4. The Shrink Next Door

The unsettling true story of a psychiatrist who manipulated one of his patients for decades.

5. Morbid

Two friends tell true crime stories with a mix of humor and empathy. It’s less formal than some shows and works well if you want something lighter but still interesting.

6. The Vanished

Each episode focuses on a missing person case, often one you haven’t heard before. It’s handled respectfully and brings attention to real families still looking for answers.

7. My Favorite Murder

A mix of true crime and conversation. Hosts retell murder cases in a casual, storytelling style that feels like chatting with friends on a long drive.

8. Accused

Each season covers a single case, usually one that was mishandled or overlooked. It’s reported by journalists from The Cincinnati Enquirer and told from start to finish.

9. The Dropout

Tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. It explains how a promising startup turned into one of Silicon Valley’s biggest fraud cases.

10. The Teacher’s Pet

An Australian podcast that re-examines the 1982 disappearance of Lyn Dawson. The investigation led to real-world action years after the case went cold.

11. Over My Dead Body

Each season tells a new true story, from courtroom battles to revenge plots. You can listen to each season as its own complete story.

12. Your Own Backyard

An investigative series about the disappearance of college student Kristin Smart. It’s carefully researched, easy to follow, and reaches a real conclusion.

13. Bear Brook

Explores how a decades-old mystery in a New Hampshire state park led to one of the biggest breakthroughs in forensic science. Each season looks at a different case shaped by technology, justice, and persistence. It’s detailed but easy to follow, with clear conclusions and satisfying storytelling for listeners who like mysteries that get solved while listening.

14. Bone Valley

An investigative podcast where each season examines a wrongfully solved or unresolved crime. Each season is a self-contained narrative you can binge in a single ride, with strong storytelling, investigation arcs, and new chapters of the case unfolding.

15. Someone Knows Something

Each season looks at one cold case, led by journalist David Ridgen. The pacing is calm and steady, making it easy to follow on long drives, and each season tells a complete story from beginning to end.

16. In the Dark

An investigative journalism podcast with complete seasons. The first covers the mysterious abduction of Jacob Wetterling, and the second examines Curtis Flowers, a man tried six times for the same crime. Each season is self-contained, so you can binge it during one long drive. A season of this podcast is ideal when you don’t want to hop in and out of episodes and prefer a complete story you can finish before arrival.

17. Dirty John

A true story about a con man who deceives and manipulates his way into one woman’s life. It’s a short, complete series that feels like a true-crime movie (and was actually turned into a TV show on Netflix).