01 · THE ANGLE
The case matters less than the angle
The famous cases have been covered hundreds of times. New shows win with a fresh angle: a place, a period, a profession or a part of the system. Whatever you choose, these are real people with families who may hear your show. Read how to start a true crime podcast for sourcing, defamation basics and how to treat victims with care.
02 · LOCAL
Local and overlooked cases
- Cases from your own county, researched through local newspaper archives
- One unsolved case per season, with updates as records come in
- Cases that got little press at the time, told with public records
- Crime in your city's history, one decade per episode
- Missing persons cases, made with families who want attention on them
- Small-town cases that changed a local law
03 · HISTORY
Historical cases
Older cases are rich in court records and newspaper coverage, and carry less risk of hurting people who are still alive.
- Victorian and Gilded Age crimes told from the court transcripts
- Prohibition-era crime in one city
- Famous trials that changed the law
- Crimes from a single historical event, like a gold rush or a world's fair
- Historical frauds and impostors
- Old cases reopened with modern forensic science
04 · THE SYSTEM
How the justice system works
- Forensics explained: what DNA, fingerprints and fibers can and cannot prove
- Wrongful convictions and how they were overturned
- A show hosted by a former detective, lawyer or court reporter
- One court procedure explained per episode, with a real case as the example
- Cold case units: how old cases get solved
- Life after prison: interviews with people who have served their time
05 · CONS AND HEISTS
Lighter crime: cons, scams and heists
- Famous heists, told step by step
- Online scams and how to spot them
- Art forgeries and the experts who caught them
- Corporate fraud explained for non-accountants
- Con artists and the people they fooled
- Bizarre crimes and failed criminals
06 · FORMATS
Formats that stand apart
- Two hosts: one tells the story, one hears it for the first time
- A narrative limited series with a full script
- A book club for true crime books, one per month
- A show that fact-checks popular true crime documentaries
- A comedy-light format about the weird details, never the victims
- A listener-submitted local cases show
Plan the story, then record it.
Draft your script, record and edit by transcript in Hilite.