My love of Unsolved Mysteries is pretty well known in my circle—and has been documented here on this blog. As I’ve written about before, Unsolved Mysteries brings a lot of warm memories to mind of time spent with my dad. Also, it definitely sparked my curiosity in all things creepy like ghosts, aliens and the unexplained.
Needless to say, when Netflix rebooted the series last year, I was over the moon. No, it’s not the same without Robert Stack, but it was still a worthy revival and one I enjoyed immensely. Of course, I went through those episodes fairly quickly. I figured I’d just have to wait another year or so until Netflix produced another season to get my Unsolved Mysteries fix.
(And before you ask, I’m just not really into traditional true crime. I found it interesting in the past, but after a bit, the whole genre seemed sort of exploitative and disrespectful to grieving families. So now I definitely prefer historical crime stories—mostly for the history—and unsolved true crime because it seems sort of useful.)
OK, back to it. I figured I’d just wait on a new season of Unsolved Mysteries to come to Netflix, but it turns out I didn’t have to wait at all because there’s a new Unsolved Mysteries podcast! And it really is terrific. Dare I say it rivals the show.
Why Unsolved Mysteries Works as a Podcast
What made (and still makes) Unsolved Mysteries so compelling is the element of the unknown.
Many of the stories presented are mysterious in so many ways, including the lack of visual elements. For unsolved crimes, there’s often no video footage. Tales from long ago often don’t have good pictures or visual evidence. And that story about a swamp monster or haunted grave? Well, you know there are no photos!
But what all these types of mysterious stories do have are people that loved the person that’s gone missing or witnesses that passionately believe in whatever cryptid they saw or whatever phenomenon they experienced. And that’s all you need for a podcast: vivid stories, passionate testimonials and first-hand narratives.
(And that theme song. Unsolved Mysteries wouldn’t be the same without that creepy theme.)
In the podcast, the guests all tell their stories brilliantly. These first-hand accounts are woven together really well with narration by host Steve French.
In 30 minutes, I get my fix of mysterious stories, creepy vibes and the perfect listen for a neighborhood walk. It’s the ideal podcast.
The Best Episodes of the Unsolved Mysteries Podcast
This podcast is still in its early days—there are currently only 10 episodes—but there are a few standouts that you should queue up:
- The Creatures of Hockomock Swamp: I love a good cryptid story. That’s all you need to know diving into this classic Unsolved Mysteries tale.
- Lost in the Ashes: A house fire blazes in Tennessee. After the dust settles, only two of the home’s four inhabitants are found. What the heck?
- The Sudden Departure of Granger Taylor: This one was so detailed, it was a two-part episode. The gist: a mechanical whiz from Canada has vivid dreams predicting he’ll be abducted by aliens and returned to the earth 100+ years later. And then he disappears exactly as his visions predicted.
Alright, everyone, happy listening! Let me know your favorite episodes in the comments.
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