Crack history’s most fascinating cases with these true crime listens

Crack history’s most fascinating cases with these true crime listens | Audible.com

There’s something especially enthralling about true crime from the annals of history. When deeply researched and told against the social, cultural, and investigative backdrops of their eras, these stories offer a fascinating glimpse into the past while giving important context to criminal justice today. Another benefit is that, unlike more recent cases, works of historical true crime are less likely to involve subjects and communities still grappling with fresh trauma and active investigations that could be complicated by a contemporary telling. With the perspective only time can bring, these listens blend the scholarship of historical nonfiction with the undeniably engrossing appeal of true crime, making them perfect for anyone seeking a complex yet captivating deep dive.

This Audible Original true crime history podcast investigates the strange and mysterious case of a murder that happened in Britain more than a century ago. Who was the victim—and who was the murderer? How did the crime involve scones and weed killer? And how did this case inspire the queen of whodunits and bestselling writer of all time? Hosted by The Shrink Next Door's Joe Nocera, Agatha Christie and the Dandelion Poisoner is purely pause-resistant.

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The brutal killings perpetrated by followers of cult leader Charles Manson rocked America during the already volatile 1960s. That turbulent decade is the focus of this gripping historical true crime book. In Chaos, journalist Tom O’Neill transports listeners to that transformative period in American history, offering a fresh look at the Manson murders, the emergence of the CIA, and the sinister forces lying beneath the surface of sunny Los Angeles.

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The Devil in the White City takes listeners deep inside the 1893 World’s Fair held in Chicago, Illinois. Acclaimed author Erik Larson zeroes in on two men—Daniel Hudson Burnham, an architect who was instrumental in designing the World’s Fair, and Henry H. Holmes, a young and twisted doctor who profited off the visitors drawn to the White City, luring young women to his hotel, which contained a secret torture chamber, complete with its own crematorium. As pulse-pounding as any thriller, this narrative work of true crime is a triumph.

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The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865, launched a 12-day manhunt to find murderer John Wilkes Booth. In Manhunt, narrator Richard Thomas brings to life the nation’s extreme agony and anxiety over capturing Booth while author James L. Swanson’s breathless pacing will have you on the edge of your seat. The inspiration for a gripping new AppleTV+ series starring Tobias Menzies, Anthony Boyle, Hamish Linklater, and Patton Oswalt, this thrilling account of one of America’s most shocking crimes and greatest political tragedies is one you don’t want to miss.

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Though the events detailed in Shahan Mufti’s American Caliph are truly chilling, the facts of this case remain unknown to many. In March 1977, terrorists coordinated a number of simultaneous attacks in Washington, DC. The group galvanized the public, took hostages, committed murder, and made demands. But who were these men—and what, exactly, did they want? Mufti seeks to answer that question in this must-listen work of historical true crime.

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Amidst the revolutionary sentiment of the 1960s, thousands of followers moved to a utopian community in Southern India called Auroville that still exists today. Author Akash Kapur’s wife, Auralace, was the daughter of two influential leaders who helped establish the township and 20 years later, were found dead under suspicious circumstances. Kapur explores Auroville’s deviation away from the optimism that fueled its founding and how Auralace’s parents met their untimely end. Acclaimed narrator Vikas Adam brings this story to life with a gripping performance.

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The gruesome 1947 slaying of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, often referred to as the “Black Dahlia,” is perhaps the best-known unsolved murder in American history. Even now, seven decades later, the killing continues to intrigue those fascinated with true crime. In this Audible Original podcast, host Douglas Laux, a former CIA case officer, uncovers fresh revelations that lead to shocking implications for the case while bringing to life the era during which the murder occurred.

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This gripping true crime biography tells the remarkable tale of Doris Payne, who became the most prolific jewel thief in the world. Growing up in the Great Depression, Payne faced racial and gender discrimination, which further fueled her desire to settle the score with those who had doubted and dismissed her. Diamond Doris illuminates the changing historical forces that shaped Payne’s drive to steal across six decades. Sit back and let narrator Robin Miles expertly recount the story of Payne’s extraordinary life in an audiobook performance you won’t want to miss.

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In Detroit, 1982, the murder of Chinese American Vincent Chin at the hands of two white men sparked outcry and protests from the Asian American community. The aftermath of Chin’s death led to the formation of the American Citizens for Justice, a civil rights organization that fought for tougher policies to protect minorities across America, including key efforts to define hate crimes as illegal. Author Paula Yoo thoughtfully navigates the anti-Asian tensions simmering in Detroit at the time of Chin’s murder in this stirring listen, while narrator Catherine Ho adds further depth and compassion.

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Take a trip back in time to Jazz Age America in Karen Abbott’s The Ghosts of Eden Park. This absorbing historical account tells the astonishing story of George Remus, who started a lucrative whiskey-trafficking business during Prohibition. Meanwhile, attorney Mabel Walker Willebrandt, known as the “First Lady of Law,” sought to prove herself in the Justice Department where she worked. Willebrandt set her sights on bringing down Remus, an ambition that became complicated when her top investigator began an affair with Remus’s second wife—a tryst that had deadly consequences. Dual narrators Rob Shapiro and Cassandra Campbell excel in capturing every twist and turn of the story’s intriguing plot.

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This absorbing historical true crime podcast focuses on the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Featuring new interviews with witnesses and other revelatory information, The MLK Tapes takes a deep dive into the tinderbox of a racially divided America in the 1960s that ultimately gave birth to the circumstances of King’s death. Rest assured, with credits including Atlanta Monster and Monster: D.C. Sniper to their name, the team behind this podcast has an expert eye for telling true crime stories with sensitivity and nuance.

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Award-winning journalist Leon Neyfakh (Slow Burn) shines a light on the gritty lore of 1980s New York in the Audible Original Fiasco: Vigilante. The podcast dives into an infamous subway shooting and resulting media circus in 1984, when a meek-looking white man named Bernard Goetz ruthlessly gunned down four Black teenagers on a downtown train, escaped via the tunnels, and was unexpectedly hailed by some as a dispenser of vigilante justice. The dramatic story comes to life via the era’s intrepid tabloid reporters and heartbreaking interviews with the victims’ families, exploring the outsize role that fear plays in crime and punishment—a theme that resonates just as strongly today.

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As much a deeply compelling saga of The Troubles, an era of discord that rocked Ireland for decades from the 1960s through the late 80s, as it is a pause-resistant work of crime writing, Say Nothing is a triumph. Bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefe weaves the story of Jean McConville’s 1972 disappearance with the larger context of the bitter conflicts that seized the country. In his natural Irish brogue, narrator Matthew Blaney immerses listeners in a world brimming with every scale of horror imaginable—from the brutal murders of individuals to bombs that brought entire communities to their knees.

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In The Invention of Murder, author Judith Flanders sets her eye on Victorian Britain. During that time, sensational murders were soaked through the pages of bestselling fiction and newspapers alike. Meanwhile, the emerging profession of investigative work, formally established with London’s Scotland Yard, found a fanbase too. Audiences devoured the works of authors like Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the popular fictional detective characters they created. Flanders pulls readers back in time, examining why this historic moment, in particular, birthed the popularity of both crime and detection in the public imagination. Jennifer M. Dixon’s superb narration makes history come alive.

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In 1887, just outside Philadelphia, a shocking discovery was made in the form of a disembodied torso floating in a pond. Quickly, a pair of people were named as suspects in the gruesome murder—freed Black woman Hannah Mary Tabbs and her accomplice, George Wilson. The trial that followed captured the nation’s attention. In this suspenseful work of true crime history, author Kali Nicole Gross takes readers back to the post-Reconstruction years, showing how this grisly crime exposed an undercurrent of anxiety that shaped the way white American law enforcement and legal professionals treated Black victims and suspects—and persists today.

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Lizzie Borden is among America’s most infamous criminals. But what really happened when she allegedly brandished an axe and murdered her parents in August 1892? That question fuels Cara Robertson’s mesmerizing account of Borden’s trial. Robertson takes readers inside the courtroom, highlighting the efforts of the prosecution and defense, while also exploring the impact of reporters and eager followers who tracked the case in the press. Buzzing with energy, Amanda Carlin’s performance brings new life and fresh nuance to this legendary case.

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In 1969, Jane Britton, a 23-year-old graduate student in Harvard's Anthropology Department and the daughter of Radcliffe's Vice President, was found bludgeoned to death in her Cambridge apartment. When Becky Cooper came to Harvard as a student four decades later, she could not shake her interest in the unsolved case. A compelling author-narrated listen, We Keep the Dead Close digs deep into the "cowboy culture" of Harvard at the time to demystify this brutal killing and honor the victim, a brilliant young woman lost to history.

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Dive deep into some of the most captivating historical crimes in Buried Bones. Spanning decades, the cases that the show’s hosts—journalist Kate Winkler Dawson and retired investigator Paul Holes, the legendary detective who was instrumental in cracking the case of the Golden State Killer—discuss and dissect a variety of stories that will pull you in and refuse to let go.

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In the 1920s, the Osage Nation was home to the richest people per capita in the world, thanks to huge stores of oil beneath their land in Oklahoma. Then suddenly, the Osage began dying off, one by one, without explanation. When outsiders were called in to investigate, they too met mysterious ends. As the death toll climbed into the dozens, J. Edgar Hoover, director of the newly established FBI, sought out the help of a former Texas Ranger. Working tirelessly and fearlessly, Tom White and his undercover team exposed one of the most chilling conspiracies in the history of the United States. David Grann's historical true crime bestseller, Killers of the Flower Moon is a riveting listen, performed by Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee, and Danny Campbell, and the inspiration for a Martin Scorsese epic.

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A freelance librarian, Sarah S. Davis, MFA, MLIS, writes about books on Book Riot, Electric Literature, PsychCentral, and others. She is the blogger behind Broke by Books and, under the pen name Minerva Snow, has published Finding My Voice, a work of cat fiction for adults.

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