10 Podcasts like S Town
Although S-Town started out as a more cut-and-dry true crime investigative series, it quickly morphed into a genre all its own as the story of the mysterious John B. McLemore unfolded. Created by the producers of Serial and This American Life, S-Town broke boundaries for what was possible within the podcast format, with an investigation that is deeply moving and human. Ultimately, host and co-creator Brian Reed takes the listener on a journey through the life of one man, yet it’s message is as universal as it is personal. With all that being said, there is a lot that makes this series so special, and it can be hard to find podcasts similar to S-Town that evoke the same humanity and emotion. But this list of podcasts like S-Town — curated with the help of the Podyssey community — will help you recapture the feeling of listening to the podcast for the first time. We hope that other beautiful shows like Constellation Prize and Heavyweight will have you considering the vastness, diversity, and connectedness of the human experience.
Last Updated: Jan 5th, 2022
1. Stay Away from Matthew MaGill
When Matthew MaGill died alone in the woods on the Florida-Georgia border, he left behind a box filled with the artifacts of an incredible life: from Broadway in the 1970s, to a 747 hijacking, to the culture of drugs and luxury cars in 1980s Florida....Show More
Most Recommended Episode
33:10 | Apr 13th, 2021
2 RECOMMENDATIONS
A strange man arrives in a small town. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit http...Show More
2. Constellation Prize
Feeling down about the human condition? Consider the spiritual dilemmas of a school crossing guard, a documentary filmmaker, an artist who likes belts, and more. Constellation Prize, a podcast from The Believer magazine, talks to subjects about their...Show More
Most Recommended Episode
38:18 | Jul 14th, 2020
8 RECOMMENDATIONS
Bianca goes looking for a stranger and meets Sophia, a school crossing guard. They spend six months together. Featuring: Sartre, twists, and organ music.
3. Jungle Prince
For 40 years, journalists chronicled the eccentric royal family of Oudh, deposed aristocrats who lived in a ruined palace in the Indian capital. It was a tragic, astonishing story. But was it true?
Most Recommended Episode
Chapter 1: The Railway Station
31:03 | Dec 23rd, 2019
15 RECOMMENDATIONS
The story passed for years from tea sellers to rickshaw drivers to shopkeepers in Old Delhi. In a forest, they said, in a palace cut off from the city, lived a prince, a princess and a queen, said to ...Show More
4. To Live and Die in LA
In Feb 2018, an aspiring actress vanished from her Hollywood apartment. Rolling Stone journalist Neil Strauss was asked to help the family get answers. Together, they found them...sometimes at great personal risk. Now the award-winning true crime pod...Show More
Most Recommended Episode
31:25 | Feb 28th, 2019
4 RECOMMENDATIONS
When a 25-year-old aspiring actress and model vanishes from outside her Hollywood apartment, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Neil Strauss finds himself at the center of the investigati...Show More
5. Finding Natasha
In the early 70s, Debbie Gayle was one of Britain’s most promising young ballerinas. At the age of 17, she was chosen to go to the Soviet Union and become the first Westerner to train at Russia’s finest ballet academy. It was a dream come true for he...Show More
Most Recommended Episode
29:55 | May 18th, 2021
2 RECOMMENDATIONS
Jake Warren explores a family myth about a mysterious woman in his mum’s past, and begins his search for her. Debbie Gayle recounts her difficult childhood and her dreams of ballet stardom. Learn mor...Show More
6. Unread
One December evening in 2019, Chris Stedman noticed a new message in his inbox from his friend Alex, sent at exactly 7 p.m. He and Alex hadn’t talked in a while—was Alex writing to tell him off for being a bad friend? But it wasn’t that. “listen,” th...Show More
Most Recommended Episode
37:59 | Jun 10th, 2021
3 RECOMMENDATIONS
A scheduled goodbye email raises as many questions as it answers.
7. Trail Weight
A podcast about hiking outdoors and the lessons learned along the way… Travel with Andrew Steven as he journeys outdoors and explores the soul, investigating, questioning, and examining the nuance and complexity of figuring out how to navigate our wa...Show More
Latest Episode
8. California Love
California Love is a blend of memoir, pop culture analysis and oral history. The newest season, K-pop Dreaming, is about the rise and history of K-pop in the United States, as told from the point-of-view of the Korean diaspora in Los Angeles. Host Vi...Show More
Most Recommended Episode
11:16 | Jul 9th, 2020
3 RECOMMENDATIONS
Host Walter Thompson-Hernández returns home to L.A. and reflects on how much the city has changed since he was a child. California Love sponsors include: Stream We Are Freestyle Love Supreme ...Show More
9. Heavyweight
Maybe you’ve laid awake imagining how it could have been, how it might yet be, but the moment to act was never right. Well, the moment is here and the podcast making it happen is Heavyweight. Join Jonathan Goldstein for road trips, thorny reunions, a...Show More
Most Recommended Episode
40:57 | Nov 9th, 2017
14 RECOMMENDATIONS
Four years ago, Jesse was hit by a car and nearly died. Now he wants to find the driver. And thank him.CreditsHeavyweight is hosted and produced by Jonathan Goldstein.This episode was also produced by...Show More
AUDIO REMOVED: The podcast creator has removed the audio for this episode.10. Dead Eyes
Actor/comedian Connor Ratliff (The Chris Gethard Show, UCB, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) embarks upon a quest to solve a very stupid mystery that has haunted him for two decades: why Tom Hanks fired him from a small role in the 2001 HBO mini-series, Ba...Show More
Most Recommended Episode
1 - He's Having Second Thoughts
32:58 | Jan 23rd, 2020
4 RECOMMENDATIONS
In the year 2000, actor Connor Ratliff is fired by Tom Hanks from the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers for supposedly having "dead eyes". Two decades later, Connor talks about it with his friends D'Arc...Show More