19 Best Chicago Crime Podcasts

1. Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders

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In 1982, the nation was living in fear. One by one people in the Chicago area were dying. No one knew why — or who would be next. Law enforcement mobilized to answer the what, who and why. The what was Tylenol, laced with cyanide, placed randomly on store shelves to kill unsuspecting victims. But the who and the why? That would elude investigators for decades.If you think you know the story of the Tylenol Murders, think again. Award-winning Chicago Tribune investigative reporters Christy Gutowski and Stacy St...more Producer/Network AT WILL MEDIA, The Chicago Tribune
Email ****@audiochuck.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Apple Rating 4.7/5Apple Reviews 2.6K Avg Length 30 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact Get access to full database of 2.7M podcastsCreate podcast lists, export in spreadsheet or CSV file with email contacts and start your podcast outreach in minutes.Sign Up for Free with Email Continue with Google

2. Somebody

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When Shapearl Wells's son Courtney is found outside a Chicago police station with a fatal bullet wound, Shapearl immediately distrusts the official narrative. So she launches her own investigation into her son's murder and teams up with journalists from the Invisible Institute to confront the cops and find the truth about Courtney's death. Somebody explores the racial disparities and turbulent relationship between law enforcement and citizens in one of America's largest cities...more Host Shapearl Wells
Producer/Network Tenderfoot TV
Email ****@somebodypodcast.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Apple Rating 4.5/5Apple Reviews 2.3KFacebook 678.1KTwitter 940.2KInstagram 373.3K Avg Length 26 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

3. Crook County

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Ken Tekiela was a celebrated Chicago firefighter and a loving father of two who led a secret double life as a hitman for the Chicago mafia. Is it even possible to keep a life of crime hidden from your wife and kids for two decades? Yes, it is. I know because Ken is my father. In 2013, after a lifetime of deception, he broke down and told me everything, and our whole world changed…CROOK COUNTY is the shocking true-crime podcast about my father's rise through the ranks of the legendary organized crime syndicate, the Chicago Outfit...more Producer/Network Tenderfoot TV
Email ****@howstuffworks.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Recent Guests Holly, Kenny
Apple Rating 4.5/5Apple Reviews 988 Avg Length 24 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

4. 16 Shots

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A podcast about the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald, the trial of Officer Jason Van Dyke, and the troubled relationship between African-Americans and the Chicago Police Department. Brought to you by WBEZ Chicago and The Chicago Tribunemore Producer/Network WBEZ & the Chicago Tribune
Email ****@chicagopublicmedia.org
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Apple Rating 4.6/5Apple Reviews 1.1K Avg Length 18 min Format Short form Get Email Contact

5. BURIED: Inside the John Wayne Gacy Investigation

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Featuring never-before-heard recordings of John Wayne Gacy (The Gacy Tapes) and new admissions from the detectives who investigated him, BURIED is a true-crime podcast that investigates the police investigation, re-examining the John Wayne Gacy case and the police work that uncovered a serial killer.BURIED: Inside the John Wayne Gacy Investigation is Defense Diaries' remastered re-release of The Gacy Tapes season...more Host Robert Motta
Producer/Network Mottafied Sound, LLC
Email ****@defensediaries.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Recent Guests Amirante, Terry Sullivan +6 more
Apple Rating 4.9/5Apple Reviews 888 Avg Length 55 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

6. Candyman: The True Story Behind The Bathroom Mirror Murder

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On April 22, 1987, 52-year-old Ruthie Mae McCoy called 911 to report that someone was trying to enter her Chicago housing project apartment through the bathroom medicine cabinet. Police thought she was imagining things, but when authorities finally checked on McCoy two days later, they found her dead with four gunshot wounds. Candyman: The True Story Behind the Bathroom Mirror Murder, revisits the real-life account of McCoy's strange death one of the inspirations for the Candyman horror film...more Host Dometi Pongo
Producer/Network 48 Hours
Email ****@beonair.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 10k-50k
Apple Rating 4.4/5Apple Reviews 700 Avg Length 25 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

7. Motive

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Chicago gangs: Real people. Real stories. A way forward. The new season of Motive explores violence on the streets of Chicago and the former gang members working to stop it.
Host Patrick Smith
Producer/Network WBEZ Chicago
Email ****@chicagopublicmedia.org
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Apple Rating 4.7/5Apple Reviews 2.6KFacebook 119.8KTwitter 126KInstagram 97.5K Avg Length 31 min Format Medium form Since Sep 2019 Get Email Contact

8. Underbelly: Killing Kurt

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For decades, Kurt Calabrese lived in the shadow of his father, Frank 'The Breeze' Calabrese Sr., one of the Chicago Outfit's most feared hitmen and loan sharks. Raised in a home ruled by violence, paranoia, and control, Kurt grew up knowing that loyalty wasn't a choice, it was survival.In 2007, the Family Secrets Trial exposed 18 unsolved murders and a laundry list of heinous crimes that had terrorized Chicago for decades...more Producer/Network Entropy Media
Email ****@entropymedia.art
Estimated Monthly Listeners 10k-50k
Recent Guests Frank Calabrese Jr., Kurt Calabrese +1 more
Apple Rating 4.9/5Apple Reviews 313Twitter 166Instagram 217 Avg Length 39 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

9. If the Walls Could Talk

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A struggling Chicago hospital did just about anything to admit patients. During the '90s and 2000s, Edgewater Hospital performed hundreds of unnecessary heart surgeries on patients just to pad its bottom line. Multiple patients died. Hear what lengths the government went in order to stop the fraud and why many believe the owner got away with it. Former employees, patients, investigators, and urban explorers recount the tangled history of what happened within the walls of Chicago's Edgewater Hospital.more Hosts Todd Ganz, Stephani Young
Producer/Network Todd Ganz and Stephani Young
Email ****@ifthewallscouldtalkpodcast.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 10k-50k
Apple Rating 4.7/5Apple Reviews 154Twitter 29Instagram 592 Avg Length 30 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

10. Finnigans Take

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The story of the rise and fall of notorious Chicago cop Jerry Finnigan, told for the first time ever by him.
Producer/Network Chicago Crime Chronicles
Email ****@me.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Apple Rating 4.7/5Apple Reviews 144 Avg Length 42 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

11. The Cooley Account

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What started as research for a movie resulted in these recordings. This is the life story of Bob Cooley, a man who accomplished the impossible by decapitating Al Capone's syndicate. In the 1970's Bob Cooley was a young cop who decided to became a lawyer, and ultimately found himself being an insider for the Chicago syndicate. The mob controlled the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois. This multipart conversation details the inner workings of the notorious Chicago crime syndicate called the Outfit...more Host Neal Edelstein
Email ****@gmail.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Apple Rating 4.4/5Apple Reviews 136Twitter 3K Avg Length 43 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

12. Marginalized Murder

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This season of Marginalized Murder we dive into 'The Case of the 51 largest active serial murder mystery in the county. Over the course of twenty years at least 51 women were strangled to death in the South and West side of Chicago . I speak with Thomas Hargrove, the founder of the Murder Accountability Project and the creator of the algorithm that cracked this cold case wide open. We also meet some of the victim's family members like Sharon Pritchett, whose beloved sister Gwendolyn Williams was stolen from her by a killer who the Chicago DA refused to prosecute...more Producer/Network Storic Media Network
Email ****@storicmedia.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Apple Rating 5/5Apple Reviews 80 Avg Length 31 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

13. Crying Wolf

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Crying Wolf is a gripping true crime podcast that follows the story of Lee Harris, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to 90 years in prison after a coerced confession. In prison, he formed a deep bond with fellow inmate Robert, who vowed to clear Lee's name. After two decades of relentless effort, exposing corrupt detectives, prison informants, and with the help of a determined defense attorney, Robert succeeded...more Producer/Network iHeartPodcasts
Email ****@howstuffworks.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Recent Guest Richard Zuley
Apple Rating 4.4/5Apple Reviews 58 Avg Length 28 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

14. Chicago Justice Podcast

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The Chicago Justice Podcast challenges the stories we're told about crime, public safety, and justice. Instead of accepting headlines, political talking points, or conventional wisdom at face value, we dig deeper to uncover what the data, research, and lived experiences actually reveal. Each episode features candid conversations with journalists, researchers, advocates, policymakers, and people working to transform the justice system from within. Together, we examine the policies, institutions, and power structures that shape who is criminalized, who is protected, and who is left behind...more Host Tracy Siska
Email ****@chicagojustice.org
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 100-1k
Apple Rating 4.3/5Apple Reviews 3Facebook 2.1KTwitter 1.4KInstagram 642 Avg Length 40 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

15. Detective Story: True Crime Insights with Mike Hammond and Chris Kafcas

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Mike Hammond, a retired Chicago Police Homicide Detective, leads this True Crime podcast that discusses cold cases, missing persons, and law enforcement insights.
Host Mike Hammond
Email ****@detectivestory.net
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Recent Guests Josh Weitzman, Michael Cain +3 more
Apple Rating 4.9/5Apple Reviews 48 Avg Length 65 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

16. Wearing the Badge with Garry McCarthy

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In 'Wearing the Badge,' former Chicago top cop Garry McCarthy offers a rare look into the inner workings of one of America's most-scrutinized police forces. Beyond breaking down the latest crime trends and the policies that shape strategies, McCarthy and seasoned law enforcement officials share what it really means to wear the badge—revealing both the challenges and rewards of serving on the front lines.more Producer/Network Fox 32 Chicago
Email ****@fox.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 100-1k
Apple Rating 4.2/5Apple Reviews 5 Avg Length 55 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

17. Murderland Chicago: A Deep Dish of Death

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An exploration of how Chicago has created some of the most notorious serial killers and murders in America. Unpacking the 'socio' in 'sociopath,' Jonathan Sanchez Leos and Meridith Halsey investigate how the ecological urban landscape of Chicago provided the perfect background for some of the most heinous crimes ever.more Hosts Jonathan Sanchez Leos, Meridith Halsey
Producer/Network Jonathan Sanchez Leos and Meridith Halsey
Email ****@gmail.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Apple Rating 3.9/5Apple Reviews 34 Avg Length 73 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

18. call edna: a killer on the line

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yes dear...is edna home? Welcome to call edna: a family cold case with ties to America's most infamous gangster, Al Capone. Let's dial in. It's prohibition era Chicago. Dennis Bruce Zeigler, a union secretary and father of 11, was on his way home from work when someone jumped out of a car and shot him in the head. His family ran out. He died a block from his house. Rumors swirled that the mob did it. But no one was ever arrested. New episodes every other Monday 🔪more Producer/Network Lissa Morgans
Email ****@gmail.com
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States
Estimated Monthly Listeners 100-1k
Recent Guests Mike Carrozzo, Danny Cohen
Apple Rating 5/5Apple Reviews 12 Avg Length 37 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

19. Attacking Jussie: The Osundairo Brothers Story

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Attacking Jussie: The Osundairo Brothers Story is a six-part series featuring EXCLUSIVE, in-depth interviews with Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo. Hosted by journalist Charlie Webster.On January 29, 2019, actor and singer Jussie Smollett reported to the Chicago Police that he had been the victim of a hate crime. According to Smollett, two so-called white supremacists attacked him while he was walking to his apartment in the affluent neighborhood of Streeterville, where he lived while working on the FOX series Empire...more Host Charlie Webster
Producer/Network Lionsgate Sound
Email ****@pilgrimmediagroup.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Apple Rating 3.7/5Apple Reviews 90Twitter 1.9K Avg Length 39 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact