Sword and Scale - Podcast Rankings and reviews

I’ve been a loyal listener of *Sword and Scale* for years, and it’s hands down one of my favorite true crime podcasts out there. As someone who practices psychiatry at the WPB county jail, I’ve even encountered a few episodes that have been about my patients. The research his team does on the cases they present is very thorough. Mike’s honesty and dedication to presenting the facts without sugarcoating are what set this podcast apart. The format is compelling, the storytelling is captivating, and the research is complete. It’s clear how much care goes into each episode.

Thank you, Mike, for delivering such high-quality content and for shedding light on the darker sides of humanity in such a thoughtful way. 5 stars all the way!

I absolutely love this podcast. The narrater has the best voice and story telling skills. The sometimes creepy, but always interesting tales of murder, crime, and debauchery keep the audience hooked. I personally love the real audio clips, concise yet detailed stories and even the intros with great music too. It’s a keeper! Keep it coming!

I’ve been obsessed with True Crime since I read In Cold Blood over 20 years ago. (Truman Capote, must-read, the start of it all.)
This pod is as good as it gets. Bordering occasionally on the overly dramatic narrative style, but with his heart in exactly the right place, and overall fantastic. Well researched and documented. With interviews and clips and 911 calls.
#237 brought me to tears, and I pray that their story serves to teach others how dangerous domestic violence is.

I'm pretty comfortable with dark stuff, but I won't deny that this podcast has made me gasp more than a few times. And yet I keep coming back. Not all the episodes are topnotch, but the best ones are absolutely riveting and shocking. If you are fascinated by - and comfortable with - the awful details of heinous deeds, then this is well worth investigating. Update: 02-2020. This show remains the best of its kind. I understand the host was involved in some controversy, but I’m grateful that he prevailed. He is an outstanding narrator, storyteller and producer.
Update 9/13/23: still the best, best production, narration, and most importantly, the best writing.

Don’t subscribe their S&S TV channel! There are only 2 episodes to date… one that was posted April 1 and one that was posted May 1. $19.99/month for one “TV episode”? I can watch a whole slew of true crime TV episodes on Sling/Amazon Prime/Netflix/Peacock/Hulu for a LOT less. Here’s where it gets worse… After I realized this was all I was getting just minutes after I signed up, I cancelled the subscription and submitted a PayPal dispute because they gave no information on how to contact them directly. Instead of being professional about it, they sent me a nasty email: “we understand that you are unhappy with the number of videos that are included in the purchase; however disputing a charge simply because you want more video than what we advertised is not a valid reason to create a chargeback against our company. Your chargeback has violated the terms of service, since you already received the content we offering that subscription, we will counter the dispute and ban the account”. Just save yourself the hassle: either subscribe once more content has been added or don’t subscribe at all (I only watched the first couple of minutes before I fell asleep but trust me, it isn’t the content you’d expect for $20 a month).

It’s like they gave up. Ads come in at random points in the episode - even when the host is mid-sentence! It’s bizarre. Doesn’t anyone care enough to check the program before releasing it? Also - the narration is increasingly a rehash of whatever the detective/criminal/family member just said. This show has gone downhill. I can’t even listen anymore.