Dirty John: This one has all the makings of a great noir movie: a glamorous protagonist whose thirst for love gets her into deep trouble at the hands of a dangerous man. But rest assured, it’s a lot more than that. Brilliantly structured, it kicks off with a shocker of a police scene and repeatedly throws you off balance, culminating in a final episode that’s a true jaw-dropper. The interviewing is wonderful too: I felt as though I knew all the people involved in this shocking story—and often wanted to shake some sense into them.

You Must Remember This: Charles Manson’s Hollywood: I’ve long been obsessed with old Hollywood, so this podcast—which explores Tinseltown tales like nothing else—is one of my favorites. And this season, which devotes itself to the con-artist-turned-cult-leader, is, in my opinion, the best one of all. Specifically, the thirteen-part season focuses on Manson as a music business wannabe, the surprising connections he made among Hollywood’s elite, and how all of it led to some of the most horrific murders the town has ever known. It’s completely absorbing, and completely terrifying.

S * T o w n : This utterly original podcast kicks off in classic true crime fashion: producer Brian Reed gets a call from a man by the name of John McLemore, asking him to investigate a murder in his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama (which he less than affectionately calls Shittown). Though the murder itself is questionable, McLemore himself turns out to be a fascinating and brilliant character, full of secrets and contradictions. His life story— and Reed’s exploration of it—proves to be as mysterious, twisted, and heartbreaking as any work of crime fiction.

Happy Face: How would you feel if you found out your father was a serial killer? This twelve-part podcast from How Stuff Works answers that question as it follows Washington state writer Melissa Moore—who learned, as a teenager, that her truck-driver father, Keith Jesperson, was the notorious Happy Face Killer. Brutally honest about her difficult upbringing and the traumatic revelation that’s taken her years to process, Moore provides listeners with unique insight as to how violent crime affects the families of everyone involved.