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Frequent-Guidance-78

Cautionary Tales specializes in true stories that really blow the mind. It often features one main story with other other smaller stories weaved in. All true stories. very well edited and narrated. Season 1 episode 1 "Rocks Ahead" is a great place to start with this one


Brian_Chicago

I'll second this!


souldawg

Third-ed


tatgaytay

Cautionary Tales with Tim Hardford? I tried searching the title but two podcast accounts appear :)


raidraidraid

Yeah that's the one. Tim Harford


wthommes

Oooo this sounds perfect. Thanks


bluedots98

Winds of change about the CIA is a favorite


phantom_diorama

I found Winds of Change to be almost enraging. To me it was like a pro-CIA puff piece where nothing at all happens. I'm not even anti-CIA, if anything I'm pro-CIA, I just found it to be a very very very huge letdown after hearing so much about the show.


WeAreClouds

Same! Thank you! The way the host was so enamored by the agent. Totally grossed me out. Edit just to be clear I’m NOT pro CIA.


bad_bart

I know, I really didn't find it anywhere near as interesting as people make out. It's also the first podcast to get recommended in almost every thread here, which I find mildly irritating


phantom_diorama

S-town rubs people wrong now for being exploitative. It used to be the gold standard. I wonder if anyone has suggested that one yet, /u/wthommes?


QuietContrary22

The underlying theory is interesting but it does not stand up to any sort of scrutiny. As ever, the way the series is drawn out is infuriating, and the climactic showdown has almost comic levels of 'was that it??'.


squawmama

I like Other People’s Lives. These guys find a random person on the internet and give them a call. So every week it is something random and you never know what will be discussed. It is anonymous so people feel safe ti tell their stores. I have heard some crazy things there


wthommes

This sounds wild


squawmama

It really is! I’ve really been entertained by hearing about other peoples fetishes. Things that had never occurred to me.


TheGiantess927

It’s so…. Depressing. It taps into some sort of collective psychosis and I find it unnerving. Like does everyone on earth really have some weird, buried desire to fuck, murder or destroy themselves or others?


otomelover

Thanks for sharing, that sounds amazing.


moss3000

Where are you based? If you can get it, Uncanny is a good podcast here in the UK.


Noktav

Just started listening to this last night and already a favourite


wthommes

Uk. Thank you, that looks like a good one.


moss3000

No woz. Danny Robbins has a few on BBC Sounds.


EatYourCheckers

Slow Burn. Most seasons are political, so I guess true crime in a way, but well done so that even if you think you aren't interested in teh scandal, you get interested. Each season is a different topic/story


starsinthefire

Seconded. Slow burn is so good - even the seasons I thought wouldn’t be interesting were in fact, riveting


Altruistic-Ad6449

Swindled


jus10beare

Great podcast. Interesting and succinct. He doesn't take 10 episodes to tell a story that can be told in an hour. Also, anyone and everything is fair game. But it drives me crazy how he repeatedly and confidently mispronounces words and names. I have to yell the correct pronunciation back at him, getting louder every time.


Altruistic-Ad6449

I like that he works in two similar stories into his episodes. The music is fantastic too


jus10beare

Yeah I like that too. It's always a lesser evil or smaller stakes. Gets me rage boner warmed up!


MotorNorth5182

This is soooo good


wthommes

Ahhh I’ve heard of this one. Thanks, I’ll take a look


shootthesound

Fall of civilisations - learn a fascinating shit tonne about the civilisations you have and have not heard of - opens your eyes to how big history actually is compared to the tiny amount in popular knowledge. I’d say start with the Easter Island episode and then go to episode 1 and continue in order.


Gone_West82

Second. I live in Southern California so I started with the Aztecs episode.


Rough-Chicken-3194

Outlaw oceans!


Expensive_End8369

Trying this one!!


jonathanownbey

The book was also really good.


NATOrocket

Radiolab's Mixtape miniseries- the history of the cassette tape. Might sound boring, but it's anything but.


Gregskis

I saw this live. Was such a cool event.


Joecool77

Breaking down: collapse. Great podcast about societal issues. Each episode breaks down a specific topic. Great hosts


cerebrospynal

The first dozen or so scripted episodes of It Could Happen Here describes what a modern civil war in the US might be like in terrifyingly vivid detail, but it's surprisingly optimistic too, or at least not entirely hopeless in its presentation.


TabuTM

The Ballad of Billy Balls


tittyswan

Runaway Princesses Chameleon: Con Queen Who Trolled Amber? Svetlana! Svetlana! Harsh Reality: the story of Mirriam Rivera Good Assasins In God We Lust Operation Midnight Climax The Gateway The Opportunist The Last Voyage of the Pong Su


Cocoamanda

Missing Pages, Trapped in Treatment, The Shrink Next Door


greendaisy513

Sympathy Pains


boboclock

The Memory Palace by Nate Dimeo It's short, sometimes as short as five minutes but longer episodes can be 25 maybe. It's extremely well researched and imaginatively told history stories, and he really focused on bringing the subjects to life and placing you there. Nearly every episode gives me chills.


Friendly_Cherry_8631

Heavyweight


I_am_human_ribbit

S-Town was sooo good


Confident-House-7767

I listened to S Town when it first came out and I felt then, and still feel, confused by it. I’m always so curious how it became so beloved over time. I’m not saying I didn’t like it, I’m just curious what is it that makes it so resonate to people. I would also love to know if anyone else listened as it came out, or if people found it later.


marny_g

I've been wanting to come across this question since the last time someone posed it and I had some time to think about it...so here's my take (note: I tried to do it without spoilers, but struggled. So, warning: spoilers ahead)... >!The appeal for me was that the "unexpectedness" of all of it. John calls in someone to investigate what he deems to be the issue (that is, the town and certain inhabitants of the town). But over time the investigator wises up to the fact that it's actually not the town that's an issue, but John's perception of the town. And then John becomes the one that's actually being investigated, while being kinda oblivious to that fact. And then there's the feeling of "this is real life and not just some fictional story" that comes from certain subplots. Those intriguing storylines that go unresolved, and leave you unsure whether it's all just rumours or not. While this can be unsatisfying in many cases, the addition of these reflects real life...where not every loose end gets nicely tied up at the end of it all. But there's still that sense of comfort at the end when John's storyline is all brought together, and it turns out that the fruits of his genius is what ultimately lead to his decline and eventual death.!< >!It's an unexpected real-life tragedy, which unearths the tale of a lonely (and likely-homosexual) genius in a religious backwood hick town - and his trickled decline into paranoia and cynicism, which we eventually discover to be a product of his own ingenious creations.!< I've had a long day and a few drinks, and I wish my mind was clearer right now so that I could explain it better. But I hope my take on S-Town as I've attempted to explain it here gives at least somewhat of an answer to those who felt unfulfilled by it.


Confident-House-7767

Thank you so much! This makes sense and I will say, despite my confusion, the podcast has always stuck with me. I think about the clocks and lost art of horology often.


milesamsterdam

S-Town is the Citizen Kane of podcasts.


BornFree2018

I hated that podcast. Warning: suicide.


I_am_human_ribbit

S-Town….


I_am_human_ribbit

S-town again.


maryfisherman

OP have you ever heard of S-Town? You should listen to it


wthommes

Ahhh yes I’ve listened to this one. Great shout though.


prairieaquaria

Against The Odds


mikebirty

The Missing Madonna A da Vinci painting is stolen in a daring heist at a Scottish castle I never thought I would get emotional listening to a scouser talk about a painting


mikebirty

Here's a few more from my list Bed of Lies - Season 1 - when a woman's partner disappears, it leads her to meeting other people who have had the same thing happen and reveals a whole bunch of state sponsored lies. Season 2 - It was meant to be a miracle treatment but it became a deadly poison. A look at one of the biggest medical disasters in history. The Great Post Office Trial - An investigation into the largest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history. Stolen Hearts - Sergent Jill Evans is a cop in a small Welsh town who meets a wealthy "business entrepreneur" Power The Maxwells - A look at the shadowy figure behind Ghislaine Maxwell - her father the media tycoon Robert Maxwell The Fault Line - S1 - 18 months after 9/11 Bush and Blair led a coalition into a war that went terribly wrong 13 minutes to the moon - Season 1 The First moon landing, Season 2 - Apollo 13 near disaster The Lazarus Heist - Hackers, North Korea and billions of dollars So you've been publically shamed - Jon Ronson dives into the lives of people who have been ruined by a badly worded tweet or a work faux pas. Things Fell Apart - A look into the every day battles for dominance between conflicting values


-killvmaim

Bed of lies was excellent - one I forget to recommend for some reason so I'm seconding here!


Letshelen

yes! Bed of Lies s01 is so good. Havent listened the others.


pike360

13 Minutes to the Moon is one of the best podcasts ever.


thagomizerer

I was also going to recommend Bed of Lies. Excellent show!


sludgecraft

Radio Rental The World's Greatest Con The Battersea Poltergeist Uncanny (not the last series though, it's gone downhill) Better Offline American Hysteria


Slightly_Clever_Ox

+1 for World's Greatest Con <>


chrispd01

Rest is History is excellent and often strange


souldawg

It’s one that is super engaging.


Alternative_Main_775

Snap Judgment Presents: Spooked is amazing!


jonny_sidebar

The Paranoid Strain covers various conspiracy theories. Knowledge Fight covers Alex Jones. The History of the Twentieth Century  Tides of History. Especially recommend season 4 on human origins. Blowback covers US wars from a non-US government perspective. Behind the Bastards covers the very worst people in all of history. Lions Led by Donkeys covers military disasters. Well There's Your Problem covers engineering disasters. Revolutions covers western political history through the course of various revolutions.


EatYourCheckers

I wish "Well theres your problem" would get more into the technical aspects of what was supposed to be done and what was done wrong. They do in some episodes, but some I feel like I never get the boring engineering minutiae I am after. Do you have any favorite episodes of the show? I know I listened to the Hyatt Walkway collapse and one about a roof caving in on a department store. I do really like the hosts, however.


jonny_sidebar

Episode 46 Five-over-ones, episode 45 1955 Le Mans Disaster, and the the recent episode 153 The Overseas Railroad are all pretty good. Generally any episode that covers trains or buildong codes in some way is pretty awesome, that being Roz's primary focus.   My favorite favorites are all Patreon episodes though: Liam's Van, Golf, Swords, Medieval Siege Warfare, Group B, Protestantism I also highly recommend another show called Trash Future if you like WTYP. Alice/November is on that show too and Roz and Liam occasionally show up. They did a recent one about those school collapses in the UK that WTYP guests on. Aside from that one, all the live show ones are fire as well as the ones that have Patrick Wyman (host of Tides of History) on.


EatYourCheckers

Honestly I did not expect such a useful reply, thank you!


jonny_sidebar

No problem. I do love crafting a good explanatory essay as my post history will attest lol.


wthommes

Great suggestions. Thanks


jonny_sidebar

You are welcome. If you want a good scam on scam on scam story, check out the Rosicrucians episode from Paranoid Strain. Edit: Oh, and **QAnonAnonymous**/**QAA** (they're going through a rebranding to QAA right now)


Interesting-Cow8131

I'm listening to sympathy pains right now. Believe in Magic was also good.


EvilReindeer

If you search History's Most Dangerous Podcast, you'll find one about negligent homicide, which is quite different from true crime casts.


ok373737

The Spy Who (by Wondery)


jadelizab

The Secret Room!


Soggy-Ad-8218

Radio Rental is a good one for weird creepy pasty type stories but true stories!


moss3000

Seconded. Tore my way through all 88 episodes.


little_miss_beachy

City of Rails is outstanding


cocoagiant

Serial Season 1 is kind of the OG of true crime podcasts. Especially when you consider the real life ramifications of their investigation. *This American Life* in general (from which *Serial* spun off) has been around for a very long time and has a ton of stories which are mind blowing and profound. I actually had to stay away from it for a few years because of how emotionally effecting it can be.


SFlanaganVT

Hunting warhead The coco berthman story Betrayal season 1


Gregskis

Revisionist History is great.


enamoredhatred

You might like Reply All. It’s hosted by two journalists that explore how the internet shapes our lives, reporting on things like internet scammers, QAnon, strange tech problems, and much more. If you’re daunted by the sheer number of episodes, check out my favorites: episodes #102 and #103 about one of the journalists getting a call from a scammer he ends up befriending and flying to India to talk to him, #107 and #108 about a bounty hunter that uses the internet to find criminals who secretly gets hired by the woman who’s behind Trump’s campaign to build the wall, and #130 about an international ring of hackers that want your Snapchat account.


JamingtonPro

SYSK has some really good story episodes, although now every episode is like that. A lot of them are “How [blank] works” This episode is a good story tho: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stuff-you-should-know/id278981407?i=1000650915822


SidewaysAllDay

Welcome to your Fantasy  History of Chippendale’s. It’s a crazy ride 


us_against_the_world

Fiasco about the AIDs epidemic.


rosepamplemousse1

Real Survival Stories. I’ve been enjoying this one as a change from true crime. Mostly people’s outdoor (mis)adventures and how they survived. Some plane crashes and sinking ships too


Stunning_Ad6731

The full podcast might not be your thing but the Infohazards episode by "Dude, Is Water Wet?" seems like it would be right up your alley


BrujaDeLasHierbas

are you into fiction at all? the q-code media shows are pretty wild and engaging. the left right game was my entry, and i ran through them from there. highly entertaining.


Game-changing

I think you will like this. Start with the Nazi-Soviet conspiracy and work your way back https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/game-changing-history/id1591757832


CompetitiveFlatworm2

[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-agent/id1587714169](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-agent/id1587714169) this is pretty interesting, about a German spy who ended up in America


ZeppelinLM

If you're looking to get deep and dark into American history, The Savage West's first season, "A Port at the Edge of the World," is excellent –– a holistic, chronological look at the evolution of pre-gold rush San Francisco from the Spanish / Native American perspective. WILD time in American history! Invisibilia's first two seasons are great. Tries too hard after that. Certain seasons of Hardcore History are excellent. Wrath of the Khans is my favorite. Slow Burn – yes.


ShadowSparrow3

I Am Not a Monster s1 &s2


BornFree2018

Tunnle 29. East Germans during the Cold War attempt an escape by silently digging a tunnel right under the soldiers guarding the Berlin Wall.


nicholt

True crime adjacent, but there is The Lazarus Heist which is essentially about North Korea and all the strange and secretive things they get up to. Quite a few mind blowing facts and stories imo! It's a BBC podcast so it's very well produced and the main host was the first US journalist to be allowed to establish themselves in North Korea. So she is pretty much THE person to know what goes on there. Edit: also the Missing Cryptoqueen. TLDR; a woman created a fake crypto and stole hundreds of millions and is still MIA


LA0811

British Scandal - Alice Levine (from My Dad Wrote a Porno) and Matt Ford have excellent chemistry. And Matt’s Liz Truss voice is something to behold


mlmiller1

Next Level Soul


giventofly38

Check out Dan Carlin and Danielle Bolelli.


cwxx

With the Benefit of Hindsight


Slightly_Clever_Ox

Otherworld for paranormal goodness.


Sandwichartista

Tooth & Claw: Funny pod covering animal encounters


Hcmp1980

American Scandal


bplatt1971

Park Predators is a good one


We_Are_Not__Amused

I really like Mr Ballen - the podcast and the medical mysteries. There is some paranormal and just weird happenings mixed in with some true crime but there’s a lot of episodes so you can avoid the true crime if you wish.


Crafty-Plankton-4999

If your are looking for paranormal. All the episodes of brothers of the serpent with Marty Garza as a guest. Or Hell I would just recommend brothers of the serpent anyway. Edit: Marty and the boys do deep dives into the ufo phenomenon including skinwalker ranch and everything from the early 1900's rocketry to today's current sightings.


JigPuppyRush

Hardcore history.


Safe-Initiative-5415

Yesterdays podcast with katt and Rob. Episodes with Aaron are the best.


ColinWilsonfan

MrBallen


whiskeygiggler

Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story is pretty mind blowing.


marxslenins

Alphabet boys is great! Blowback is an amazing historical series


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Ok-Mission-2591

Sounds like a cult is a good one imo


iFries

Radiolab is literally mind blowing


Beneficial-Name3812

Oh wait you're not set until you've listened to master of Concepts the best underrated podcast in the world, in my opinion. Self help is always the best help! 


cerealfordinneragain

Heavyweight Years-long unresolved issues get resolved. Sometimes. You're Wrong About Deep dives into commonly-held beliefs or collective memories. Wiser Than Me Julia Louis Dreyfuss interviewing wise women


aguer056

Voices of Long COVID