Stranglers

I did it again: I listened to another true crime podcast. To me, true crime stays appealing, especially because there's a higher chance you won't end up with a podcast dragging the story on and on for seasons upon seasons. There's little you can change about a true story, and I like that.

So, Stranglers. Have you ever seen the Netflix series "Mindhunter"? If that was your cup of tea, chances are you'll also like this podcast.

Stranglers tells the true story about a serial killer hunting in Boston back in the 60s. Each episode follows the investigation as it went on. Most of the people directly involved don't live anymore, though there are still a few relatives around. And Stranglers really invested in high quality interviews with them.

All in all, Stranglers gives you what you might expect from a true crime podcast: one story told week by week — oh, I'm sorry, that's Serial I'm talking about 😅.

There are of course similarities to Serial, as have almost all true crime podcasts. I don't mind though, as long as the story is good, and the podcast isn't over engineered.

With Stranglers, it's on the verge of "over the top", yet not… completely. There's the occasional sound effect and interview reenactment, which personally I don't think adds that much of value. If there's one thing they do, it is to remind you that you're listening to a heavily edited podcast, rather than the story itself.

I haven't come across any true story podcast yet, where sound effects and reenactments actually benefited the story. Luckily Stranglers doesn't overdo it too much, so that it's bearable.

If you're into the true crime genre, I'd recommend to give Stranglers a try. It's a compelling story, and there's little to remark about the quality of the podcast.