Big Brother: North Korea's Forgotten Prince

This limited series from iHeartPodcasts tells the story of Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong-il who was passed over for succession in favor of his younger half-brother Kim Jong-un -- and who was ultimately assassinated with a nerve agent in a Malaysian airport in 2017. Host Eden Lee traces the arc from palace privilege to exile to murder across 10 tightly produced episodes, each running 29 to 49 minutes. The storytelling leans into the thriller aspects of the story, and honestly, it does not need to embellish much. The real events read like a spy novel: a prince raised in luxury who fell from favor after getting caught trying to visit Disneyland Tokyo on a fake passport, years of wandering between Macau casinos and European cities, and a hit carried out by two women who claimed they thought they were participating in a prank show. Eden Lee keeps the narrative moving while weaving in the broader context of how succession politics work inside the Kim dynasty. The show has a 4.8-star rating from 175 reviewers, and multiple listeners flag the research quality as a standout. It works both as a true crime story and as a window into how the North Korean ruling family actually operates behind the propaganda. Once you start, you will probably finish the whole series in a weekend.