• Lifestyle • 5 Podcasts I have LOVED

5 of the best podcasts || Jane Wonder Blog

Hiya everyone 

My latest obsession - podcasts! My iPhone was on its last legs and wouldn't store any music (no matter how many times I downloaded the bloody song) and I have been so over the radio lately, so I popped onto social media and asked which podcasts my friends would recommend. I had never listened to a podcast before so I really was at their mercy.

Another question piqued my interest - why on earth did they call this type of audio a podcast? So, nerdy li'l ol' me went to investigate. The word arose as a portmanteau of "iPod" and "broadcast", so I am guessing the first podcast was probably broadcast on an Apple device. I decided that, in that case, the Podcast app on my iPhone would do.

5 of the best podcasts || True Crime || Jane Wonder Blog

The first podcast which I ever listened to was Serial, season 1 is a 12-part series on a murder in Baltimore. It really was super riveting and does feature as one of my favourites, but it didn't make the list because season 2 didn't grab me nearly as much as season 1.

S•Town is bought to us by This American Life - the same people who bought us Serial. I heard about it on the Serial show and thought it would, too, be a murder mystery.

Turns out it wasn't. But boy, am I glad that I carried on listening! John B McLemore contacts Brian Reed and says that there is a young man from his small town in Alabama that is bragging about getting away with murder. Brian is intrigued and after a year of exchanging emails and several months of conversation with McLemore, producer Brian Reed traveled to the small town in Alabama to investigate. I won't give anything away but Brian tells us about hanging out with John and other characters, learns about antique clocks, sundial mottos, mercury poisoning, garden mazes, hidden treasure and a death. 

I cried like a small child when I finished the show, Brian did an excellent job at humanising all of the characters, it felt like I knew them personally. 

You can listen on the Podcast app on your iPhone (where I listen) or HERE

5 of the best podcasts || Jane Wonder Blog

I stumbled across Ctrl Alt Delete purely by chance. Emma Gannon is an author, writer, blogger and podcaster from the UK. She had interviewed Estee Lalonde, who I follow on YouTube, Insta and Twitter, so I think I must have seen a link to Emma's podcast there.

Every episode she has a guest, ranging from Zoella to Mara Wilson (Matilda) to Lena Dunham to Matt Haig to Tavi Gevinson to Henry Holland, where they discuss their relationship with the internet. She covers topics like blogging and social media, mental health and anxiety, motherhood, and feminism. There's something for everyone, with over 100 episodes there are plenty that will appeal to you and some that you may skip. 

More: 5 Short Term Fixes for Anxiety

They are easy-listening episodes and I have learnt so much whilst listening to them. I highly recommend!

You can listen on the Podcast app on your iPhone (where I listen) or HERE


I am a huge fan of true crime podcasts. I have tried to not fill this post with them in case they're not your thing (but I promise I could do a whole post dedicated to true crime podcasts). I was utterly obsessed with Up & Vanished once I listened to the first episode. I came across the name of this podcast, as well as a few other awesome true crime podcasts, on a Buzzfeed article that had shows recommended by the Buzzfeed community.

Up & Vanished is hosted by Payne Lindsey, a documentarian turned amateur investigator. This may sound weird, but I really liked listening to his voice. He always sounds very mysterious which lends a hand to the eeriness of the content. 

He explores the unsolved disappearance of Georgia beauty queen and high school teacher, Tara Grinstead, an 11-year-old mystery that is the largest case file in Georgia’s history. Payne visits Ocilla, Georgia, speaks to her family and friends, gets insight into the suspects, visits the crime scene, and then, to all of our shock, there is a huge break in the case - spurred on by Payne's investigation over 10 years after her disappearance! 

You can listen on the Podcast app on your iPhone (where I listen) or HERE (beware there are spoilers on the website)

5 of the best podcasts || Jane Wonder Blog

After being diagnosed with severe post natal depression in 2011, Brooke embarked on a one-woman mission to cut out the excess in her life and reconnect with what was really important. She learnt about minimalism and simplicity, immersed herself in the Slow Living philosophy and discovered the beautiful benefits of living with less.

Some of the topics covered in the Slow Home Podcast include slow living and social media, disconnecting, collaborative learning, boundaries, mindfulness and meditation. 

You can listen on the Podcast app on your iPhone (where I listen) or HERE

5 of the best podcasts || True Crime || Jane Wonder Blog

I loved that this podcast wasn't really what I expected. It's a true-crime story bought to you by the LA Times and is a first hand account from John's wife, Debra, and her family. The narrator, Christopher Goffard, also spoke to investigators and attorneys and reviewed thousands of pages of court documents, police reports, restraining orders and prison records, as well as text messages and emails.

You won't believe the kind of ish that Dirty John gets up to, the lies he tells, and how manipulated his wife is, blinded by love. 

The only part that disappointed me? There are only 6 episodes! 

You can listen on the Podcast app on your iPhone (where I listen) or HERE

Please let me know if you want any more podcast recommendations - I've listened to so many in the last few months that I have loads :) 

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