In an attempt to fill the podcast void that Serial has put in my life, I downloaded Criminal. I found Criminal by the iTunes recommendation from Serial and proceeded to download it purely because I was attracted to the sleek, one word podcast cover (I have to admit, I didn’t really even read the description).
At the time of download (and this post), there were 14 episodes, with an episode released once a month. As is my nature with podcasts, TV shows etc., I binge-listened to all 14 episodes and had heard them all within a week of downloading them.
Each podcast ranges in length from 10 to 20 minutes and are independent of each other so although I listened to them in order, you could quite easily pick and choose which one to listen to. They are all quite fun and interesting, and are true cases or stories of ‘criminals’. I think the tagline of the show is something along the lines of ‘stories of those who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle’.
The criminal theme is throughout the series but episode content ranges from child pornography, owls/animals as murderers to accounts of using PMS as a defence for murder. As with Serial, Criminal has real-life interviews with people who were involved and that is something that I have found I appreciate.
My favourite episode so far is Episode 8, which is about the murder of an African-American woman back in 1964 by 4 white men and how the evidence for the case seems to disappear and no one is charged with her murder.
Although I found Criminal through a recommended link from Serial, I would say they are very different and the only thing they have in common is the theme: crime. Criminal is much more fast-paced (it is half the time of an average Serial episode) and tends to give you resolutions and answers in each episode. As mentioned above, each episode can be thought of as a stand-alone episode so you don’t have to remember what happened in the last episode etc. I also like the real-life cuts of interviews and hearing first-hand peoples recounts of incidents.
The topics of the podcast can be quite bizarre or contain sensitive topics, but I feel that the Criminal team are able to remain neutral on opinions and deal with difficult topics in a non-offensive, informative and entertaining manner.
I really enjoyed the episodes of Criminal that I have heard, and look forward to hearing more!
You can listen to Criminal via their website or download it from the website or the AppStore.
Useful links:
Criminal podcast:
Kayleigh Pirie 