Like millions of people around the world, I discovered podcasts when I kept hearing about this one called Serial. I don’t remember where I first read the name or how I figured out where to find the podcast app on my phone, but I downloaded the episodes and started listening—and I just couldn’t stop.
Although talk radio has been around for decades, podcasts offer something special that makes the all-audio format feel fresh and contemporary for 21st-century listeners. True crime is especially addictive. There’s something engrossing about following a presenter as they dig into the nitty-gritty of a case, trying to turn up new leads or find clues that law enforcement may have missed. It feels scandalous, like we’re participating in a process that was previously reserved only for people with a badge.
With the case pumping through headphones in our ears, we are part of something. We are investigators. We are keen observers of the truth. And we can help solve this thing, damn it.
There are many kinds of amateur sleuths in the modern world, of which the true crime podcast host is only one. But they are my favorite kind, and that’s why I chose it as the role for the main character of my debut novel Girl, 11. Elle Castillo has made a name for herself hunting child killers in Minnesota, and her latest season is dedicated to the biggest case yet. The Countdown Killer established a pattern of kidnapping and killing young women and girls, each a year younger than the last, until he abruptly stopped with an eleven-year-old victim and disappeared. Elle is convinced he’s still alive, and she’s determined to unmask him once and for all.
About a quarter of the novel is told in podcast transcripts, which were heavily influenced by the many shows I consumed over the years while writing this novel. Here are five of the true crime podcasts that inspired Girl, 11.
1. Someone Knows Something
Almost without a doubt, anyone who has listened to SKS would be able to see the fingerprints of David Ridgen’s incredible Canadian investigative podcast on Girl, 11. From the sound of crunching snow to the steady, determined voice of the host, SKS is an atmospheric, addictive podcast that aims to turn up new leads on a specific cold case in every season.
2. In the Dark
With a first season set in Minnesota, it’s no surprise that In the Darkbecame one of my most influential podcasts. But the setting is just the beginning. Host Madeleine Baran takes listeners on a deep dive into the corruption, incompetence, mistakes, and misconduct of our criminal justice system and shows how all of the above impact not only victims of crime and their families, but those of the wrongly accused as well.
3. Truth & Justice with Bob Ruff
Originally inspired by the Adnan Syed case from Serial, T&J is one of those shows where an ordinary, everyday person got so obsessed with a case that he started a podcast with only a cheap mic and the determination that I can do this. Seven years later, Bob Ruff hosts one of the most popular crowdsourced investigative podcasts running, focused on finding cases of wrongful conviction and getting justice for both the victim and the innocent person incarcerated. The crowdsourced aspect makes his podcast especially unique, as his hundreds of thousands of listeners lend their own ideas and expertise to the investigation, participating in online discussion forums and emailing theories to the show for Bob to look into.
4. Undisclosed
Another offshoot of Serial, Undisclosed has become a powerhouse of investigating wrongful convictions in the years since its first season. Hosted by three lawyers (including the family friend of Syed who originally brought the case to Serial host Sarah Koenig), Undisclosed is unmatched in my view as a podcast that gets results for its subjects. Through a mixture of short and long seasons, the hosts tackle different cases of potential wrongful conviction that have been brought to their attention, which has led to several wrongly incarcerated people being released after years—sometimes decades.
5. Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad
While this podcast came out late into the drafting stages of Girl, 11 it still provided a lot of my favorite ideas for Elle’s character and investigative process. One of the cohosts, Billy Jensen, developed a system years ago to help police solve cases by using targeted social media ads to request the public’s help. With a philosophy that the more eyes on a case, the better, Billy Jensen and retired criminalist Paul Holes delve into a different case each week and ask for the listeners’ help to search for clues and find the identities of both victims and perpetrators.
Amy Suiter Clarke is a writer and communications specialist. Originally from a small town in Minnesota, she completed an undergraduate in theater in the Twin Cities. She then moved to London and earned an MFA in Creative Writing with Publishing at Kingston University. She currently works for a university library in Melbourne, Australia. Girl, 11 is her debut novel published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the USA, Text Publishing in Australia, and other publishing houses all over the world.
I enjoyed the book Erin, and reviewed it on Murder in Common Sunday: https://bit.ly/3tNjQRY