There is something unique about the limited series that inspire an even more ravenous audio binge.
One of the best ways to tell a story is through oral traditions. The constraints of a limited series enhance those qualities that can make a podcasts transportive, binge-worthy experiences.
The limited-series podcast is a contained story told over five or more episodes. Many of the people on our list have other seasons to contend with. The best of the best are highlighted.
The genres of true crime and documentary dominate the limited-series podcasting category. We went out of our way to include entries from many different genres.
We guarantee these recommendations will do wonders to pass the time, whether you are looking to binge while deep cleaning, gaming, taking a bath, or just need a distraction.
It is an essential breakdown of January 6, featuring a wide range of perspectives from the people who were there in the lead-up, during the attack, and in the aftermath.
The January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol left many wondering how it could happen. The eight-parter by Pineapple Studios and Wondery does an excellent job of answering the question. The hosts bring a sense of humanity to their coverage of the people who were closest to the attack. Interviews range from concerned family members who warned the FBI about the potential violence they were hearing about to the government officials who tried to send out alarms about the domestic terror threat to even some Trump supporters who attended the rally. Will Be Wild will reveal how much we still need to learn about what happened that day, and what it means for the future of American democracy.
There are eight 40- to 45-minute episodes.
Who it is for is a jaw-dropping and uniquely personal investigation into one of the most notorious murders in American history.
Despite being a fan of gruesome true crime content, I have never encountered anything like Root of Evil before. This murder-story enthusiast audibly gasped and cried after it left him. It is a firsthand account of devastating family trauma and a riveting investigation into the Black Dahlia murder that make up the story of root of evil. The web of fatal lies and horrifying abuses that has haunted the family for decades has been untangled by the sisters. George Hodel is at the center of it all and the sisters are questioning what being born into evil means for the innocent people raised by it. If you find the first couple episodes hard to follow, it is part of the experience of this family saga.
There are eight 35- to 60-minute episodes.
Who it is for is anyone who spends time on the internet and wants to understand how tech is fueling cultural and political divides.
I know what it is. The Gray Lady has not been seen as a publication that is particularly hip to internet culture. Kevin Roose, a New York Times reporter, paints an impressively comprehensive, complex, clear, and compelling portrait of how online platforms are fueling this era of political and cultural chaos. From the rise of the alt-right to the interview with the CEO of YouTube about the role of the platform in radicalizing users, to the interview with the CEO of the platform about the role of the platform in radicalizing users, to the interview with the CEO of the platform about the A lot of post-Capitol coverage of Big Tech underestimated the importance of YouTube. Our Best Podcasts on Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories and Best New Podcasts of 2020 have been adapted.
There are seven 30-minute-long episodes.
Who it is for, and what it is about: People who think that fiction is not for them but love mysteries with feminist themes.
What it is about: Whatever you think you can expect from Soft Voice, think again. We know that it is an absolute trip, even though we are not entirely sure what is going on. It tells the story of Lydia, a woman who lives an ideal life because she always listens to Soft Voice, a little dictator inside her head. One day, it is gone. We will leave it at that, but you should listen to the journey with headphones. There is a warning in the beginning about sensitive topics that might be triggering. Our Best New Podcasts of 2021.
Each part takes about 30 minutes.
Who it is for is those who want to escape to a different planet without being too far away from home.
The Habitat is similar to a season of Big Brother. A group of people choose to participate in an experiment where they are a crew of astronauts living on Mars. For a full year, these six strangers share very close quarters while pretending to be on a remote mountain in Hawaii. Lynn Levy takes us through their experiences using audio diaries. It is a mix of contemplations and reality TV human drama.
There are seven 30-minute episodes.
The people living for the era of true crime are what it is.
There is an Anna Delvey-level fraudster out there who you should hear about. Josh Dean is a journalist who exposes one of the most elaborate, bizarre, wild, and sometimes even heartbreaking scam that preys upon Hollywood's most vulnerable workers. The Hollywood Con Queen is a fake big-time producer who has tricked many gig workers into taking fake jobs in Indonesia. The story contains more questions than answers, but it is full of gripping twists and turns, and examines power dynamics embedded into the industry across gender, race, and status. Money or wealth is not the main goal of this scam story, which is something that sets it apart from other scam stories. This fraudster takes more than just money from his victims, he also takes their dignity and faith in themselves.
There are 10 full-length episodes with two bonus 30-minute episodes.
Who is it for and what is it for?
1619 is the story of modern America and the people who built it through blood, sweat, tears, and hope. It is a version of the story that many of us never hear. 1619 is more than just a show about the history of slavery, it is the beginning of almost every aspect of American society and culture today. By weaving the historical with the personal and the poetic, the Pulitzer Prize-winning project by Nikole Hannah-Jones paints a captivating portrait of Black Americans. 1619 is a story about race and the inequalities embedded into a system. The story is about the people we were then and are now.
There are six 35- to 45 minute episodes.
Who it is for is a reality TV junkie who knows that there is more to early 2000s trash TV than we thought.
You may have missed the 2004 reality TV show There's Something About Miriam, but you cannot miss this Wondery series. The premise of the show was simple and cruel: Six cis male contestants competed for the affections of the gorgeous Miriam Rivera without knowing she was trans, until the producers revealed the information for maximum dramatic effect. The public, media, show contestants, and reality TV producers all abused Miriam. Everyone lost their dignity in the process, except for the glamorous Miriam, who never lost sight of her dream of becoming a star.
As the star of the first dating reality TV show centered on a trans woman,Miriam represented a lot of different things to a lot of different people. She was the earliest intimate exposure to a trans person in mainstream society. She was a double-edged sword in the trans community because of her transphobia. In this series, host Trace Lysette shows her focus is not only on her as a star or pioneer TV personality, but as a human being as well. Filled with gut-wrenching and sobering confrontations with transmisogyny as well as joyous celebrations of her glamorousness, Harsh Reality is a touching portrait of a woman subjected to some of the worst that exploitative 2000s TV had to offer.
There are six 40- to 45 minute episodes.
Lovers of sketch comedy like The Tim & Eric Show and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson.
This Is Branchburg is an experiment into sketch comedy that was co-produced by Tim Heidecker. Each 15- to 20-minute episode offers a glimpse into the lives of fictional citizens from a small New Jersey town, like a milkman contemplating being the last of his kind and pining for the good old days when people used to respect that the government recommended eight glasses of milk. In the same way. It feels like This Is Branchburg could do the same for scripted sketch shows as it did for comedy podcasting.
20 episodes, each abbout 15 to 20 minutes.
It is for Americans who want to know the truth about one of the most misunderstood tragedies in our recent history.
Floodlines shows that America has only reached the surface of its national wound, even if you think you know a lot about Hurricane Katrina. Through interviews with survivors and reporting that addresses the media misinformation and government incompetence around the catastrophe, host Vann R. Newkirk II shows how the storm that devastated New Orleans was part of the same one that has been happening in America for centuries.
Understanding the forces of systemic racism is the most important part of comprehending what happened, and how the system fuels so much of America's past, present, and future. Floodlines were released prior to the country-wide protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. The same issues persist in the news coverage of police brutality. Many media reports focus on pockets of loot rather than the suffering of Black people, with authorities victim-basing them for their own oppression and the total failure of the government to protect and care about the lives of its own people. The Best New Podcasts of 2020 list was adapted.
There are eight 30- to 40-minute episodes.
True crime lovers who think they don't like fiction podcasts are what it is.
Limetown nails the true crime investigativePodcast vibe so thoroughly it's easy to get so immersed you actually start believing this audio drama is real. Lia Haddock is a fictional reporter who goes on a perilous journey to get to the bottom of what happened in a small Tennessee town after a mysterious incident years ago caused the sudden disappearance of all 300 of its residents. We won't tell you anything more about the gripping plot. It's perfect for people who love true crime, but can't get into fictional podcasts. The original story was the most complete in the second season, three years after the first one. The Best Podcasts for Horror Fans was adapted from that.
There are six 30- to 40-minute episodes.
It is a delightfully alternative way of seeing the world.
The Mystery Show turns mundane cases of the unexplained into riveting, hilarious, and deeply human radio. This American Life veteran is a fearless mystery-solver with an endless amount of curiosity and dedication to figuring out the most innocuous unexplained phenomenons that keep her up at night. Gimlet canceled the show before the second season was over, so it's not clear if it will live on another network.
There are six 25- to 60-minute episodes.
This is a story for anyone interested in understanding the melting pot that this nation represents, and is especially close to the heart for Latin Americans.
Anything for Selena isn't just about the beloved Mexican-American singer who was tragically murdered at the height of her career. The beating heart of Latin-American identity is touched on in the podcast. The host combined the cultural context behind Selena's significance to the community with her own personal narrative, seeking to understand more about herself through the pop star who helped many who straddle a multicultural background feel so seen. The English and Spanish versions of each episode of the nine-part series are intimate. Our Best New Podcasts of 2021.
There are nine 45 minute episodes with two bonus episodes.
What it is or who it is for: An unimaginable, fatal tragedy peeled back like layers of an onion to reveal the larger social ills at play.
The car carrying the six adopted Black children of a white lesbian couple was found crashed at the bottom of a cliff on California Highway 1. The adoptive parents of the Hart family did not survive. If that story sounds familiar, you probably watched the fictionalized version of it that was the basis for Atlanta Season 5. By unraveling the events and people that lead to what was later deemed a murder-suicide, the podcast digs into an array of complicated and important social issues we face today. It depicts the real cost of America&s broken foster care system, as well as identity politics, virtue signaling, and even the pretty lies we tell on social media to cover it all up.
There are nine 30- to 45-minute episodes.
Who it is for is anyone interested in one of the biggest cultural shifts in American society in recent memory.
It is hard to remember how much 9/11 changed the U.S. There are a lot of things we need to remember about the post-9-11 decades we're still going through. Re-processing the narratives we were fed for decades is more important than anything else. Our Best New Podcasts of 2021.
There are seven episodes with a couple bonus episodes.
For those who think they know everything about the Manson murders, but are missing the fascinating Hollywood history at its center.
We have seen many different versions of the 1969 Manson murders, from the countless movie and TV adaptations to a plethora of true crime documentaries and books. With all due respect to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, this 12-part podcast series is one of the most refreshingly unique and revealing takes on Charles Manson. The story of the Manson Family is told through the perspective of Hollywood history by host Karina Longworth. Longworth got to the truth of Manson as a fame-hungry grifter with mediocre musical talents. She dives into the California music scene, which had stars like Beach Boy Dennis Wilson who were foolish enough to invite him in. You Must Remember This looks at the unique cultural circumstances behind the tragedy and its impact on the glamour and status of stars.
There are twelve 35- to 60-minute episodes.
Who it is for, and what it is about: exposing the disproportionate under-reported crimes and injustices committed against Indigenous women.
The line between the deeply personal and the all-encompassing is what it is about. The case of a missing or murdered indigenous woman in Ontario, Canada is investigated by a First Nation woman every season. Each victim exposes a chasm of family and generational trauma, historic injustices with ongoing systemic repercussions, and an entire continent's refusal to reckon with the victims they'd rather forget. Both seasons are amazing. The second season of the podcast was told that it was one of the best. The show shows how the blood of First Nation people is still being used to benefit everyone else, while ignoring the suffering of those who survived it. Our Best True Crime Podcasts of All Time list.
There are eight 35- to 60-minute episodes.
It is a cross between true crime and medical scandal.
When it comes to serial killers, we have grown accustomed to straightforward tales of bogeymen who hunt their victims through methods that feel totally removed from everyday life and society. Dr. Death explores how those who are tasked with saving lives can end up taking away more lives than criminals. Laura Beil's show is gripping, but Miracle Man is one of the best. It begins with a love story between an NBC reporter and a world- renowned surgeon. The human cost of a man who wants to play God with patients and who is seductive enough to fool so many others into believing his myths is revealed in a wild, twisted story.
There are six 35- to 45 minute episodes.
Who it is for, and what it is: A must- listen true-crime parody show from Onion Public Radio, perfect for crime and comedy aficionados alike.
A Very Fatal Murder is a satire of the success of the true-crime podcasts. The deeply uncomfortable question of victim is one of the many topics discussed in the Onion's weekly show. A Very Fatal Murder is like an audio version of American Vandal, but with a harsher look in the mirror.
There are seven 10- to 15-minute episodes. There is a fake-out of sorts, but it is just a parody of the phenomenon of second season, born out of nothing but the first story.
Who it is for is anyone who has been pulled into the JFK conspiracy theories or anyone who wants to understand the origins of modern conspiracy theory culture.
This deep dive into the JFK assassination was done by the LastPodcast on the Left. The five-parter will be a definitive source on the details, facts, and countless conspiracy theories that were born from the event. It is an especially poignant topic right now, getting into the psychology of why people love conspiracy theories and why the real answers are often less satisfying than any of that.
They enjoy covering true crime with the ragtag team of comedians who became true crime podcasting monoliths by doing heavily researched deep dives into all things serial killers, cults, conspiracy, and the like. The Last Podcast on the Left is an acquired taste, but they have been doing it for a long time and are the only true crime podcasts that touches with a 10-foot pole. Henry Zebrowski, Ben Kissel, and Marcus Parks take their jobs very seriously, and they don't take anything too seriously.
The Best True Crime Podcasts of All Time and Best New Podcasts of 2020 have been adapted.
The episodes are about one to two hours each.
Who it is for and what it is about: A deep dive into the terrifying power of a figure who some are calling the first YouTube cult leader.
It was a canary in the coal mine of spotlighting the ever-thinning line between influential people with online followings and cult leaders with dangerously devoted followers. The investigative Gizmodo series reveals the sinister side of Teal Swan, a YouTube wellness guru who has admitted to targeting people at their lowest point of suicidal thoughts in order to push her personal ideology that, far from discouraging suicide, sometimes even encourages it. Swan's story continues beyond what this six-parter covers (her following has only grown since), but it is an essential listen for understanding the grey area between online spirituality and dangerous misinformation.
There are six 35- to 40-minute episodes.
The first season of the serial.
S-Town.
Believed.
There are articles of interest.
The dream
The Missionary is a person.
UPDATE: May. 16, 2022, 6:10 p.m. EDT This post was originally published in April 2020 and updated in May 2022.
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