If 2021 gave me anything, it was the time to truly get into listening to podcasts. With my hubby away for the majority of the year, I kept myself entertained (and company) by listening to hours and hours of podcasts – even my annual Spotify wrap up was impressed (or embarrassed- who knows) with the amount of hours I spent listening to podcasts!

Now just like my music and reading tastes, my podcast listening is rather eclectic at times. Every few months I’ll do a round up of my favourite podcasts to share with you all. Here’s some gems I found last year that I recommend adding to your list, if you haven’t already!

1. The Drop Out – Elizabeth Holmes on Trial

Strap yourself in ladies and gents, this podcast is one hell of a ride.

The Drop Out: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial is about (yep you guess it) Elizabeth Holmes and the billion dollar scam that was her medical company Theranos. This is a deep dive into the absolute shit-show that was Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes and that deep af fake voice, and how she conned millionaires and billionaires, well respected government officials and Walgreens to rise to be one of the most influential and talked about ‘young entrepreneurs’ of the century only to have it all come crashing down around her.

If you’re looking for a podcast that will have you saying “what the f*ck” more often than not – this one is for you.

2. Operator

Calling all horny dads.

Introducing probably one of the most sexiest podcasts of 2021, Operator is about the 1-900 phone sex operating giant American Telnet and is an eight part series exploring the “big ambitions, Shakespearean-level corporate backstabbing, men and women at the cutting edge of technological revolution…and on the front lines of a sexual one”.

Now before you get your panties in a knot about a podcast that explores sex work, what American Telnet did back in the 90’s in the phone sex industry was truly revolutionary – and you’d be surprised the type of technology that was created specifically for the phone sex industry that has been integrated into the wider community (hint: you’ll need to listen to find out!).

Expect to be drawn in by the humour, humanity and the very frank and honest discussions around sex and sex work. I am literally OBSESSED with this podcast.

3. Man in the Window

This one is for all my true crime, serial killer obsessed podcast listeners.

Man in the Window uncovers never before revealed details about one of America’s most terrifying serial rapist’s and serial killers. He’s known by many names including ‘The Original Night Stalker”, “The Visalia Ransacker”, “The East Area Rapist” and recently (and probably most infamously) “The Golden State Killer”.

It’s weird to say you enjoy listening to a podcast that is about some of the most heinous things a human being can do to another human – however, the hosts do an amazing job at laying out the evidence that is so easy to follow (unlike some true crime podcasts that can jump all over the place), and giving the surviving victims or family members of the victims, plus the officers involved in the four decade long case a platform to share their voice and perspective (which can sometimes be overshadowed and the focus shifted more to the perpetrator). Spoiler alert: you even hear from Bonnie (if you know, you know).

Warning: don’t listen to this at night on your own. This is definitely daytime listening.

4. Suspect

It’s Halloween and an apartment complex hosts a massive party with costumes and themed party rooms. Sounds like an amazing party until – well, it wasn’t. By the end of the party, one guest will have been brutally murdered and everyone is a suspect – with (spoiler alert) one suspect being wrongfully convicted.

Suspect focuses on the unsolved murder of 24-year-old Arpana Jinaga, an intelligent software engineer who immigrated from India to America. By all accounts she was a happy, positive person who was loved by everyone who met her. She was also a volunteer with animal shelters and was keen motorcyclist that she even joined a casual motorcycle club. From everything this podcast shares about Arpana and her life, she seemed like someone who was always upbeat, kind and the kind of friend everyone should have in their life. So why was this smart and care-free woman with so much life brutally murdered? I’d love to say this podcast solves the crime, but they don’t. But it is an interesting insight into the intricacies and difficulties of criminal investigations and how DNA is not necessarily the smoking gun we think it is for murder cases.

Hopefully someone out there can help give the police the lead they need to put the right person behind bars.

5. Shandee’s Story

From the guy who brought us Teacher’s Pet comes his new podcast Shandee’s Story. If you had the chance to listen to Teacher’s Pet, then you already know that Hedley Thomas is THE guy for investigative journalism of unsolved cases.

Shandee’s Story is about the unsolved brutal murder of 23-year-old Shandee who was walking home from work one night. She was set upon by an unknown person, stabbed 20 times, her voice box slashed so she couldn’t scream and then left in the gutter to die. This crime is truly horrifying.

Hedley takes us on a journey back to the night of Shandee’s murder and details the lengthy investigation with never-before-heard interviews, 000 phone calls and police recordings. I’ll admit, some of the audio is so raw that it can be quite confronting at times and there is one episode that is difficult to listen to if you have ever been a victim of domestic violence, but it helps to paint a more detailed picture of Shandee, her life and the people in it.

As the podcast has just recently dropped, I’m not sure how many episodes this series will have but as of writing this blog post I’m currently up to the latest episode and can’t wait for the next one to be released next week.

I truly hope that this podcast brings together new evidence that can bring Shandee’s killer to justice and give her family some peace.

6. Harsh Reality: The Story of Miriam Rivera

Harsh Reality: The Story of Miriam Rivera is a six-part series that explores the life of Miriam from her early childhood knowing she was trans, her ‘won’t stop’ attitude that saw her rise to reality TV stardom and the cruel and exploitative reality of reality TV for trans people back in the early 00’s. This podcast has only recently dropped and as of writing has 3 episodes.

I remember Miriam Rivera and the reality TV show she was on “There’s Something About Miriam”. It was 2004 and whilst reality TV wasn’t really a new thing (it had actually been around for decades), reality TV shows had exploded onto our TV screens. I remember it felt like you couldn’t turn to a channel without some kind of reality TV show and their unscripted yet kind-of scripted scenes playing back at us.

But I distinctly remember this reality TV show for all the wrong reasons. I might have only been 18-years-old at the time, but I had an uneasy feeling that this show was exploitative and that it wasn’t going to end well. The premise was a gorgeous Mexican female model was searching for love and 6 male contestants would all try to out-man the next to win her love. But there was a catch – Miriam wasn’t born a female. She was born a male and is trans. But the contestants wouldn’t know this until the very end – like….winner announced game over end. To me, it felt like it was more about how these heterosexual men would react to being ‘duped’ by a trans woman rather than it being a platform for trans people to be represented. And this podcast so far is only confirming that.

This is definitely a podcast to add to your listening list. It’s a behind-the-scenes look into the dirty and cruel side of reality TV and exposes the lengths the media will go to for ratings – with little to no concern of the very real human lives it will impact or the consequences.

7. Unravel True Crime – Blood on the Tracks

Another one for the true crime fans. Unravel True Crime – Blood on the Tracks explores the unsolved and suspicious death of 17-year-old indigenous teenager Mark Haines who was found dead on the railway tracks in Tamworth back in 1988.

I grew up near Tamworth in mid 80’s until the mid 90’s in a small country town called Gunnedah. I would have been only 2 years old when this all took place, but knowing this happened in a town close to where I grew up I was instantly drawn to learn more.

Was it a hate crime or a night out gone horribly wrong? What was Mark doing out at the train tracks? Was his body dumped there?

It’s sad to know that over 30 years later we’re left with more questions than answers but this podcast does an amazing job at exploring Mark, his life and the many theories surrounding his last night in this world.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4odyludWTKAt8h7GNJgo60?si=jdKbc7H8R4ygi88PmHoBtA

Much love,
Lara X

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