Domestic terrorism, scams, cults, bad love affairs and murder—all these have become the stuff of podcasts, and for nine of my favorite series, women have taken the lead, all with a layered premise. Whatever evil may or may not have transpired, there is always a complicated past behind it. These podcasts all explore women’s deep, dark secrets.
Not a Very Good Murderer (Audible)
While this had me at Ronan Farrow reporting—it is Cece Doane’s story that kept me hooked. She’s a wealthy socialite in Paradise Valley, Arizona who also allegedly concocted murder plots against two of her husbands. Her wild past, wealthy lifestyle and the trouble she makes along the way is absolutely fascinating. Farrow gets all the good tea from her decades of bad behavior, and Doane’s story will be turned into a documentary next year.
The Drop Out
Elizabeth Holmes and her start up company, Theranos, was the darling of Silicon Valley. The promise of a simple blood test seemed like it could change the way the medical industry works. ABC News’s Rebecca Jarvis breaks down how the woman once celebrated as the next Steve Jobs found herself serving an 11-year sentence in federal prison. And in a recent twist, her husband is raising millions for a new biotech testing startup, and she is consulting with him from prison.
Debutante (Audible)
Carole Howe is a socialite, debutante and adopted daughter of an extremely wealthy family who was associated with domestic terrorists like Timothy McVeigh. He was tried, convicted and executed for carrying out the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. But did he act alone? Host Jon Ronson seeks to find out if Carole was an advocate or maybe even an FBI informant. Host and Journalist Jon Ronson recently released an update on Carole with new, fascinating information since the series was released in 2023.
A trio of female best friends head to the Appalachian woods for some fun, but only two come back. This is the story of teen cruelty and angst and how social media keeps bad-behavior receipts. The situation rocks the community and continues to horrify everyone close to it. With Gen Z internet culture and important shows like Adolescence, this series feels more relevant than ever.
Scamanda
Amanda is a one woman “Make A Wish” enterprise—a Christian influencer with cancer whose blog provides daily life inspirations and solicits donations to help others. But of course, things aren’t what they seem when friends and online fans are fleeced out of a lot of money. There’s a Hulu/ABC documentary series on Amanda, but the podcast is where it all started, and it’s much better.
Infamous: The Truth About Ruby Franke
Ruby is a “Momfluencer” with millions of fans on YouTube who shared her strange and strict parenting tips. But of course the internet is never what it seems. She and her partner were arrested and charged with child abuse. This series breaks down how they became so famous and what ultimately brought them down. It also presents a bigger question of why there are no regulations on how parents can profit from kids as content creators.
Believable: The Coco Berthman Story
A social-media influencer becomes the poster child of anti-sex-trafficking causes, but Coco Berthman claimed she’d been trafficked multiple times with minimal evidence to back it up. The podcast alleges that a lot of it is a grift, and she is not who she says it is. There’s even a crazy Celine Dion storyline. Turns out you can make this stuff up.
Sympathy Pains
Sarah Delashmit spent the past 20 years scamming people into believing she has cancer, muscular dystrophy, a variety of injuries and other random illnesses. She latches on to charity message boards to find friends/victims. The scams are so convincing at first, it’s hard not to believe her. It’s a bonkers situation that makes you wonder what drives someone to manipulate others this way. Host Laura Beil (Dr. Death, Vaping Fix) attempts to figure out why.
Bad Bad Thing
When Jennair Gerardot found out her husband Mark was having an affair with his boss, she stopped at nothing trying to catch the two in the act. You’ll hear about how Jennair spied on them, sent messages to his mistress and made their lives a living hell. Jennair then writes a suicide letter outlining a menacing plan for vengeance. Real audio and video documents all of it. This true story examines how desire, betrayal and revenge drives some past the edge of disaster.
But wait, there’s more! Here are a few other terrific notable shows on this topic: Women and Crime, Snapped: Women Who Murder, Criminal Broads and Sistas Who Kill.
In other news, The Golden Globes announced that they are adding a podcast category to their awards show. Here are two new series I’d nominate:
Bone Valley Season 2 Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter/author Gilbert King investigates the case of Leo Schofield, who was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife Michelle. Her body was found in a Lakeland, Fla., phosphate mining pit back in 1989. Schofield maintains that he did not commit the crime. King’s investigation leads him to a string of events where the criminal justice system failed. Each episode reveals new information that could potentially carve a path to his freedom. A lot has developed since this podcast debuted in 2022, which is how it led to a riveting second season. I don’t want to spoil too much so don’t google it before you listen.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler These days we all need a good laugh and Amy Poehler gives you all of that and more. The show starts where she finds friends or family members of the person she’s interviewing. They give fun insight and backstories and even suggest questions. The chat itself is relaxed, honest and of course hilarious. It helps that she has famous friends like Martin Short, Tina Fey and Katherine Hahn to start off the series. In a sea of celebrity interview podcasts, this one is worth the hang time.
