The best podcasts for laughing along with true crime

I am Dave Jarry and am one half of Criminal AF, a true crime, comedic-informative podcast. I've been podcasting for roughly 4 years, beginning in 2019, as a hobby to start with my sons. Originally destined to be a sports podcast, specifically surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles, conflicting schedules made it difficult to make a sustainable podcast. So I went with my next two passions, serial killers and psychology. After lots of learning on the fly, we are here in 2023 with Criminal AF, with a couple other soon-to-be released projects in the works. True Crime has always been an interest of mine, since being a young child and closely associated with the family of one of Connecticut serial killer Michael Ross' victims, as well as the psychology behind what makes these individuals do what they do. Were they born this way or was there something in their young lives that changed their destiny, turning them from innocent children to horrific killers? Mostly, I've found, it was the latter, usually spawned by an incessant parent. Having dealt with my own traumas throughout life, I've found the best way to get through them is through laughter, trying to find any flicker of light in a mostly dark situation. It may appeal to some, others, not so much, but I've been drawn to similar podcasts that can bring levity and hilarity, to true crime.

Criminal AF is a (mostly) true crime podcast with comedic tones spread throughout the episode. Occasionally, we add other episodes that are formatted more for general banter and sharing laughs with our listeners, to level the nightmarish atmosphere that discussing true crime brings. Garrett has a knack for tying in current events, movie quotes and other forms of everyday conversational topics to keep the conversation flowing while Dave drives the episodes and adds occasional comments to add shock value.

The following list of podcasts all relate to true crime, and while all the hosts agree that the subject matter is no laughing matter, there are aspects of the story that can be, and I appreciate the open-mindedness of these podcasts to explore the funnier side of true crime, whether it's the criminals themselves or the Keystone Cops who run the investigations, there can be humor found in almost every situation.