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but bonus aren't TOO depressing
So let's be clear here - just because they're popular, doesn't mean they make the cut if they are too upsetting. So no Making a Murderer, Staircase or The Keepers. Like, the below are intriguing and can be upsetting (I mean, if I included murders and said they weren't upsetting, that would be weird), but not soul-destroying, devastating, or shake you to your core-can't stop-thinking-about-it-crushing. I couldn't sleep after The Keepers! So, here's 10 I was into, this is in no way objective, fine with it. Add in what you reckon we should all be watching, reading and listening to!
Arguably the one that started it all. The launch of Sarah Koenig's podcast Serial, created by This American Life in 2014, focuses on the true story of Adnan Sayed, who was found guilty of the murder of Hae Min Lee when they were both high school students in 1999. Maintaining his innocence, this podcast explores the events, people and details that led toward his conviction - and will leave you in heated debates over whether he is truly guilty. Impossibly well executed, Serial Season 1 is must-listen for anyone venturing into the crime sphere.
The best thing you can do before watching The Jinx, is nothing. Don't Google it, don't ask about it, just watch it, because the final episode is INSANE, and you don't want anyone or anything to ruin that for you. It's amazing. All you need to think is Making a Murderer - in reverse...
Okay, I'll admit this one can be upsetting, but it's just so damn intriguing, I had to include it. In 1997, Australian mother and teacher Marion Barter sets off for time abroad to teach in the UK - and after a few months, is never seen or heard from again. Was she murdered? Did she choose to disappear? What seems like a simple yet heartbreaking missing person's tale takes a dramatic turn with tales of romantic affairs, celebrity marriage, sexual misconduct, cults and a mysterious newspaper ad seeking for love from Luxembourg. The plot thickens...
You'd be hard-pressed to find a female in Australia who hasn't listened to this one. With over 28 million downloads worldwide, The Teacher's Pet unfolded in real time, looking at the seeming 'missing person' case of Lyn Dawson in the 1980s. Lyn appeared to have it all - a husband, house, and two daughters (I mean, the 1980s version of having it all. She didn't have a slanket and night cheese). But her football star turned PE teacher husband was busy hooking up with 16 year olds at school - even moving one into their marital home days after she mysteriously 'disappeared'. Tales of creepy twin vibes, sexual misconduct, a school rife with grooming by teachers and a 'boys club' mentality, the tragic missing case of Lyn Dawson has made the papers - with a court trial still looming in 2020. A must-listen.
The only one on my list not to count murder (I need to take a hard look at my interests) Who The Hell Is Hamish focuses on perhaps one of the biggest sociopaths of the 21st century. An Australian man who duped millionaires around the world with fake names, accounts, possessions and business deals into taking their life savings; the podcast features real-life interviews with people Hamish affected - even going as far as to marry, cheat on, and then steal from his own wife and her parents. Basically, I hate this guy. But the story is insane.
I mean, let's be real - who seriously has not watched this yet? Perhaps the Amish? The only thing getting us through isolation, Tiger King states it is about 'murder, madness and mayhem' which pretty much sums it up, because, well - how can you sum this up? Are there tigers? Sure. but is there also a gay throuple, a gun-toting, bleached mullet-having, silk-shirt wearing singer slash tiger park owner? A woman whose millionaire husband mysteriously disappeared? A bona-fide sex cult, drug kingpin and a one armed tiger tamer? Friends, that's only the half of it. Get ready for the ride of your life.
In Evil Genius, say what you want about Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, but you have to admire her full-blown commitment to her outrageous and insane lies. This short series focuses on the 'collar bomb' or 'pizza bomber' bank robbery case in 2003 in the USA. Was the man in the collar bomb part of the heist, or an innocent victim? Who else was involved? Could police have done more? Who is telling the truth? You decide.
'Foxy Knoxy' as she was dubbed in the press, is at the centre of this documentary that focuses on her imprisonment for the death of her roommate Meredith Kercher whilst both were on exchange in Perugia, Italy in 2007. Originally found guilty, Knox served four years in an Italian prison before her sentence was overturned and could return home to the USA. You may go in thinking one way and come out another, but it is a documentary that explores murder, sexual deviancy, police corruption, race, blind patriotism and trial by media in the 21st century.
I am putting this here not because it is the best documentary about this case, but just for those who have never heard of it, because I mean - if you are intrigued by crime, this is like, the OG of murder mysteries right here. Jonbenet Ramsay was only 6 when she was found dead in the basement of her family home, and the killer has never been found. Many options have been explored - as a child beauty queen, were there men obsessed with her? Her mother enraged with her? Her brother jealous of her? Everyone has a theory...
Not sure how much traction this gained, but as someone who didn't grow up during this crime, it was a real eye-opener for me. The Menendez Murders is a dramatised miniseries about two brothers who murdered their parents and ended up with life in prison. The question is not if they did it, but why - and do you believe them?
BONUS: ** it doesn't matter what version, but if you're alive, you do need to know about the Mystery of Madeleine McCann...
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What else should we all be watching, reading or listening to? Let us know in the comments below!
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