Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC has been a staple of network television crime reporting for decades, and the podcast version delivers that same polished investigative journalism straight to your headphones. With over 800 episodes — yes, eight hundred — and daily updates, this is one of the most prolific true crime shows out there. The roster of correspondents is what makes Dateline feel different from indie true crime podcasts. Keith Morrison's dramatic, almost theatrical delivery has become iconic enough to inspire Saturday Night Live parodies. Andrea Canning brings steady, empathetic reporting, while Lester Holt anchors the bigger stories with gravitas. Each correspondent has their own style, so the show never feels monotonous despite the enormous episode count. Episodes pull from both current cases and classic Dateline investigations, giving you a mix of fresh reporting and archival deep cuts. The format tends toward longer narrative pieces — usually full episode-length investigations with interviews, evidence breakdowns, and courtroom drama. Some episodes are standalone, while others unfold across multiple parts for particularly complex cases. The 4.4-star rating across 39,000 reviews puts it slightly below some smaller podcasts, partly because the sheer volume means not every episode lands with the same impact. But when Dateline is at its best, the combination of NBC's resources and seasoned correspondents produces some of the most thorough crime reporting available in podcast form.