The Art of Crime

This podcast is my special treat. During most of my “normal” life, all I do is work, clean the house, take care of kids, etc. With so much going on, I sadly listen to chatty, low-stakes podcasts about gossip and true crime. I can turn them on and listen to them in the background while I’m vacuuming or cooking dinner. But this is the podcast I reach for when I have quality time alone for myself. It’s so thoughtful and detail rich that it has to be savoured and thought about. There is a great diversity in the subject matter and tone of the episodes, which I appreciate as well. Some are funny and madcap, others tragic, others mysterious and unsettling. I’ve loved all the seasons, especially the current one about New York City, where I used to live. Outstanding research and writing.

This has become one of my favorite podcasts. Each of the richly detailed episodes is accompanied by a webpage with exquisitely curated images. I really appreciate the amount of work that obviously goes into the show, which does such a great job of bringing the past to life. I was also pleased to discover that it covers all the arts, not just painting. The host is witty and doesn’t waste your time with pointless banter or true crime sensationalism. A class act.

This is an excellent history podcast. Gavin writes smart, engaging scripts and delivers them in a personable but no-nonsense way. The current season, which is about art-related and art-adjacent crimes in New York City history, builds on the strengths of previous seasons. It gets better with each one. I think it’s also important to note that this is a tiny, independent podcast that consistently turns out thought provoking, minutely researched episodes about a range of interesting historical topics. There is nothing flashy about it. It’s just quality history told reliably and well.

This podcast takes deep, deep dives into crimes and art each season. A moment of crime expands in the most fascinating directions. The creator and host, Gavin Whitehead, provides new perspectives on what you thought you knew abouut many historical events and the way they have been depicted, often taking you to sometimes mind-blowing places and revelations. The website is itself an archives of this collision between art, crime, and popular culture. Each installment is a piece of work in itself.