23 Best Investigative Journalism Podcasts

1. Serial

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Our newest podcast, 'The Last 12 Weeks' is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. Serial Productions makes narrative podcasts that have transformed the medium. Sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter to find out about new shows, get behind the scenes stories, and see photos and videos you can't see on a podcast. To get full access to Serial Productions shows, and to other New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts...more Hosts Sarah Koenig, Dana Chivvis
Producer/Network Serial Productions & The New York Times
Email ****@nytimes.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1M+
Apple Rating 4.5/5Apple Reviews 103.3KFacebook 422.1KTwitter 264.9KInstagram 63.2K Avg Length 39 min Format Medium form Since Oct 2013 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. Reveal

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Reveal's investigations will inspire, infuriate and inform you. Host Al Letson and an award-winning team of reporters deliver gripping stories about caregivers, advocates for the unhoused, immigrant families, warehouse workers and formerly incarcerated people, fighting to hold the powerful accountable. The New Yorker described Reveal as 'a knockout … a pleasure to listen to, even as we seethe.' A winner of multiple Peabody, duPont, Emmy and Murrow awards, Reveal is produced by the nation's first investigative journalism nonprofit, The Center for Investigative Reporting, and PRX...more Host Al Letson
Producer/Network The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX
Email ****@revealnews.org
Estimated Monthly Listeners 250k-1M
Recent Guests Bryant Kagay, David Hogg +6 more
Apple Rating 4.7/5Apple Reviews 9.8KFacebook 161.5KTwitter 83.4KInstagram 24.9K Avg Length 42 min Format Long form Since Sep 2013 Get Email Contact

3. Uncover

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How did a small town Canadian boy allegedly become a narco kingpin? Ryan Wedding was once a promising young athlete, a snowboarder who went all the way to the Olympics. Now captured after a decade on the run, he's accused of running a deadly international drug trafficking empire. In this new podcast from CBC and the Toronto Star, host Michelle Shephard and reporter Calvi Leon trace Wedding's descent into a violent criminal underworld...more Producer/Network CBC
Email ****@cbc.ca
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1M+
Recent Guests Rachel Browne, Allison Mack
Apple Rating 4.5/5Apple Reviews 38.2K Avg Length 31 min Format Medium form Since Mar 2018 Get Email Contact

4. True Sunlight

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Previously known as the Murdaugh Murders Podcast, (which inspired Hulu's Original Series ⁠Murdaugh: Death in the Family), True Sunlight is the intersection of True Crime, journalism and systematic corruption. Celebrated journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell are taking their style of reporting beyond Alex Murdaugh and his co-conspirators. We expose the truth wherever it leads giving voice to victims like Mica Francis, Sara Lynn Colucci, and Christa Bauer Gilley, while still pursuing justice for all the victims you've met so far like Stephen Smith, Dallas Stoller, and others...more Hosts Mandy Matney, Liz Farrell
Producer/Network LUNASHARK MEDIA
Email ****@lunasharkmedia.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1M+
Recent Guests Kate Thomas, Angie Solomon
Apple Rating 4.4/5Apple Reviews 34KFacebook 71.6KTwitter 79.7KInstagram 74.3K Avg Length 55 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

5. Embedded

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NPR's home for audio documentaries brings untold stories to light through deeply reported narrative series. We go to hidden corners of the headlines to explore what's been sealed off, undisclosed, or overlooked and the people at the heart of those stories. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You'll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including early access and sponsor-free listening for Embedded (Embedded perks may vary between seasons).more Host Kelly McEvers
Producer/Network NPR
Email ****@npr.org
Estimated Monthly Listeners 250k-1M
Apple Rating 4.7/5Apple Reviews 13.5KTwitter 7.8MInstagram 8.4M Avg Length 36 min Format Medium form Since Mar 2016 Get Email Contact

6. In The Dark

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In the Dark, hosted by Madeleine Baran, is an award-winning investigative-journalism podcast that started in 2016. Its first season looked at the mysterious abduction of Jacob Wetterling in rural Minnesota and the lack of accountability that sheriffs face when they fail to solve cases. Season 2 examined the case of Curtis Flowers, who was tried six times for the same crime. In 2020, In the Dark released a special report on the coronavirus pandemic in the Mississippi Delta. In 2023, In the Dark joined The New Yorker and in 2024, it released 'The Runaway Princesses,' a four-part series that asks why the women in Dubai's royal family keep trying to run away...more Host Madeleine Baran
Producer/Network The New Yorker
Email ****@apmreports.org
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1M+
Recent Guest Sam Wolson
Apple Rating 4.6/5Apple Reviews 35.4KFacebook 22.6KTwitter 26.4K Avg Length 39 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

7. You Didn't See Nothin

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The Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning 'You Didn't See Nothin' follows Yohance Lacour as he revisits the story that introduced him to the world of investigative journalism. Part investigation and part memoir, Yohance examines how its ripple effects have shaped his life over the past quarter-century.In 1997, Lenard Clark was beaten into a coma by a gang of older white teens simply for being Black in a white neighborhood. One of Lenard's attackers was from a powerful Chicago family...more Host Yohance Lacour
Producer/Network USG Audio
Email ****@yjlacour.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Recent Guest Johnnie Veal
Apple Rating 4.8/5Apple Reviews 1.3K Avg Length 33 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

8. The FRONTLINE Dispatch

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FRONTLINE Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath sits down with journalists and filmmakers for probing conversations about the investigative journalism that drives each FRONTLINE documentary and the stories that shape our time. This work matters. At a time when deep-dive reporting is more vital than ever, your support ensures FRONTLINE can continue to hold power accountable. Join our community of supporters here by making a contribution to keep this work going. Produced by Joel Patterson at FRONTLINE's headquarters at GBH and powered by PRX...more Host Raney Aronson-Rath
Producer/Network GBH
Email ****@wgbh.org
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Recent Guests James Bandler, A.C. Thompson +1 more
Apple Rating 4.5/5Apple Reviews 1.2KTwitter 54KInstagram 148.8K Avg Length 33 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

9. Document

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Document is a narrative-driven reporting project committed to long-form, enterprise and investigative journalism.More at nhpr.org/document.
Hosts Lauren Chooljian, Jason Moon
Producer/Network NHPR
Email ****@nhpr.org
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Apple Rating 4.1/5Apple Reviews 959Twitter 45.1KInstagram 29K Avg Length 30 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

10. Dig

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Dig is an audio series from Louisville Public Media's Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. Our team of reporters go deep on issues that affect you, your community and your commonwealth. KyCIR is an independent, nonprofit news organization committed to serving the public interest. Here, you'll find journalism that holds powerful people accountable, builds trust, and shines a light on Kentucky.more Producer/Network LPM Featured Podcasts
Email ****@wfpl.org
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Apple Rating 4.5/5Apple Reviews 1.1KFacebook 22.2KTwitter 20.9KInstagram 9.7K Avg Length 31 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

11. Untold: Opus Dei

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Financial Times reporter Antonia Cundy uncovers how a little-known group within the Catholic Church has come to wield outsized cultural and political influence in America. Opus Dei exists to help people get closer to God, but some members say they found other agendas and unexpected harm entangled in that spiritual mission. In this series, Antonia hears stories from insiders who describe how boundaries within Opus Dei are often blurred: how guidance becomes control, how privacy becomes secrecy and how spiritual belief becomes political ideology. Hosted on Acast...more Host Valentina Pop
Producer/Network Financial Times
Email ****@ft.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Apple Rating 3.8/5Apple Reviews 1.3K Avg Length 29 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

12. The Diamond King | Telegraph Investigates

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The Diamond King The rise and fall of Nirav Modi, accused of India's biggest ever bank fraud and how The Telegraph caught him. Nirav Modi was a billionaire diamond tycoon whose jewellery was worn by Kate Winslet and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. But in 2018 he was charged with masterminding a £1.3 billion fraud. Now one of the world's most wanted men, he disappeared. Where was he hiding and would he face justice? Telegraph Investigates: Discover The Telegraph's most gripping and hard-hitting investigative journalism, all in one place...more Producer/Network Telegraph
Email ****@telegraph.co.uk
Estimated Monthly Listeners 10k-50k
Recent Guests John, Katherine Rushton +5 more
Apple Rating 4.6/5Apple Reviews 446 Avg Length 45 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

13. ProPublica Narrated

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ProPublica's best long-form investigations, narrated. ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force. We dig deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust — and we stick with those issues as long as it takes to hold power to account. On this podcast, you can listen to important new investigations alongside our most compelling journalism from the archives. Support our journalism by donating at propublica.org/donate.more Producer/Network ProPublica
Email ****@propublica.org
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Apple Rating 4.8/5Apple Reviews 94 Avg Length 30 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

14. The Bureau Podcast

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Investigative Journalism. Anti-Corruption. Counter-Disinformation. Whistleblowers. Sunlight. Connecting the dots on The Bureau's big stories with Sam Cooper and guests. www.thebureau.news
Host Sam Cooper
Email ****@substack.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Recent Guests Jason James, Brian Lilley +8 more
Apple Rating 4.8/5Apple Reviews 80 Avg Length 58 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

15. Untested: A true crime podcast

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He terrorized women. He slipped through the cracks. But one detective refused to give up. Untested, a free true crime podcast, is hosted by crime reporter Gina Barton and rooted in investigative journalism from USA TODAY. Untested: A true crime podcast brings listeners along on this detective's quest to use untested rape kits to bring an alleged serial rapist to trial. But she knows that when it comes to criminal justice, a guilty verdict is never guaranteed. Binge the entire season of Untested: A true crime podcast for free starting Sept...more Producer/Network USA TODAY
Email ****@usatoday.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Recent Guests Marshawn Curtis, Annie Harrison
Apple Rating 4.3/5Apple Reviews 76 Avg Length 21 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

16. Open Record

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FOX6 Investigative reporters Bryan Polcyn, Jenna Sachs and Amanda St. Hilaire break down the big stories and what it took to get them. 'Open Record' takes you behind the scenes of the investigative reporting unit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It's the details the reporters couldn't tell you on T.V.more Hosts Bryan Polcyn, Jenna Sachs, Amanda St. Hilaire
Producer/Network © FOX6 Milwaukee
Email ****@fox.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Apple Rating 4.5/5Apple Reviews 37 Avg Length 46 min Format Long form Get Email Contact

17. Listen Frontier

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Listen Frontier is a podcast exploring the investigative journalism of The Frontier and featuring conversations with those on the frontlines of Oklahoma's most important stories. At The Frontier, our mission is to hold public officials accountable, give a voice to the powerless and tell the stories that others are afraid to tell, or that illuminate the lives of people in our community. We will shine a light on hypocrisy, fraud, abuse and wrongdoing at all levels in our community and state...more Host Ben Felder
Producer/Network The Frontier
Email ****@readfrontier.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Apple Rating 4.9/5Apple Reviews 19Facebook 22.6KTwitter 15.5K Avg Length 27 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

18. Long Story Short

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Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit news organization specializing in investigative journalism. Long Story Short, a weekly podcast, lets you hear directly from our journalists as they provide deeper insight into their recently published stories.more Host Shaun Witt
Producer/Network Oklahoma Watch
Email ****@oklahomawatch.org
Estimated Monthly Listeners 100-1k
Apple Rating 4.6/5Apple Reviews 13 Avg Length 18 min Format Short form Get Email Contact

19. On Background with Susan Crabtree

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On Background with Susan Crabtree , a Government Accountability Institute podcast, exposes corruption and government mismanagement through hard-hitting investigative journalism. Hosted by veteran reporter Susan Crabtree, alongside GAI's Vice President Eric Eggers, the podcast leverages confidential 'on background' insights to uncover truths behind political headlines.more Producer/Network Government Accountability Institute
Estimated Monthly Listeners 100-1k
Recent Guests Anna Giaritelli, Ryan Tucker +4 more
Apple Rating 4/5Apple Reviews 8 Avg Length 31 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

20. Inside Investigator

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Connecticut Inside Investigator (CII) is a nonprofit newsroom on a mission to inform the people of Connecticut through investigative journalism and inspire the public through engaging stories.We envision a better Connecticut where corruption has been rooted out.more Hosts Conner Drigotas, Tricia Ennis, Katherine Revello, Marc E. Fitch, Brandon Whiting
Producer/Network Connecticut Inside Investigator
Email ****@insideinvestigator.org
Estimated Monthly Listeners 100-1k
Apple Rating 5/5Apple Reviews 6Facebook 9.1KTwitter 4.6K Avg Length 29 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

21. The Fourth Estate

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The Fourth Estate Podcast takes you beyond the headlines of Ghana's most impactful investigative journalism.Produced by The Fourth Estate, a non-profit public interest project of the Media Foundation for West Africa, the podcast opens up the reporting that has triggered investigations, prosecutions and difficult national conversations about power, accountability and justice...more Producer/Network The Fourth Estate
Email ****@gmail.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 100-1k
Apple Rating 5/5Apple Reviews 2 Avg Length 24 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

22. Smoke Screen

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Smoke Screen: Love, bribes and spies in the tobacco industry.Victoria Hollingsworth tells the true story of corrupt practices behind the scenes at British American Tobacco. We hear from the very people who were caught up in this world as we sink deep into the dirty underbelly of the tobacco industry in South Africa.BAT says its actions were simply to combat the illicit trade in tobacco products...more Producer/Network Auddy
Email ****@auddy.co
Estimated Monthly Listeners 1k-10k
Apple Rating 4.9/5Apple Reviews 91 Avg Length 29 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact

23. The Tip Off

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Welcome to The Tip Off- the podcast where we take you behind the scenes of some of the best investigative journalism from recent years. Each episode we'll be digging into an investigative scoop- hearing from the journalists behind the work as they tell us about the leads, the dead-ends and of course, the tip offs. There'll be car chases, slammed doors, terrorist cells, meetings in dimly lit bars and cafes, wrangling with despotic regimes and much more...more Host Maeve McClenaghan
Producer/Network The Tip Off
Email ****@gmail.com
Estimated Monthly Listeners 50k-250k
Apple Rating 4.6/5Apple Reviews 909Facebook 206Twitter 2.6KInstagram 56 Avg Length 25 min Format Medium form Get Email Contact