We have officially reached past the half way point of the year, and it is time to say goodbye to summer. Before you move on to the next season and start preparing for cooler autumn days, here are a few of the best podcasts this summer had to offer.
Blood and Water (20/20 and ABC Audio)
In this six-part series, ABC News host Stephanie Ramos investigates an older cold case, a deep dive into the murder of Leslie Preer, who was killed in her home in an affluent suburb of Washington, D.C., in 2001. Investigators initially “set their sights on Leslie’s husband” as the prime suspect, until “bombshell DNA evidence” revealed the presence of an unknown male at the scene, said ABC News. Using original police recordings and interviews with the cold case detectives assigned to the case, Blood and Water examines how they secured justice for Preer’s daughter. (ABC Audio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)
It Was a Book First (Independent)
Book adaptations are relatively common, but with the recent controversy swarming Christopher Nolan's version of The Odyssey, “thousands are rushing to share their thoughts on the blockbuster’s faithfulness to the original epic poem,” said Podcast Review. It Was a Book First is “perfectly primed to answer the question.” Culture reporters and former colleagues Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg host the podcast, which covers “new releases like ‘The Sheep Detectives’ and ‘Project Hail Mary’” and “will appeal to bibliophiles.” (Apple Podcasts, Spotify)
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Latest Videos FromThe Week
Search Engine: A Road Trip Through the Data Center Debate (Independent)
Data centers were a “hot topic of political conversation” this summer, but stories that “suddenly enter the national discourse” can arrive “lacking the context necessary to understand where they came from,” said Vulture. The show is about the work of Jasmine Sun, a tech worker turned independent journalist, who spent 10 days traveling through Wisconsin and Michigan investigating data centers.
Her trip, chronicled on her Substack, “produced a vivid picture” of how people are “dealing with major tech companies bulldozing through their communities” to build massive data centers to serve their “highly lucrative AI ambitions,” said Vulture. Sun’s reporting has been picked up by other platforms, but Search Engine’s treatment is the “most interesting and revelatory,” incorporating “raw tape from Sun’s interviews” and recordings from local City Council meetings. (Apple Podcasts, Spotify)
Paper Trail (ProPublica)
Independent nonprofit newsroom ProPublica believes that “investigative journalism can change the world,” said Podcast Review. Its newsroom covers topics on “criminal justice, politics, education and environmental issues.” Now they are adding the new podcast Paper Trail, which “covers some of their most important long reads,” such as a piece about “whether people who kill their abusers should walk free.”
Host Jessica Lussenhop “acts as a guide” as “new leads are followed, sources are interviewed and truths are revealed.” Each episode is a stand-alone case, so if you’re a fan of investigative journalism but “lose interest over a longer series, this format will be a refreshing alternative.” (Apple Podcasts, ProPublica, Spotify)
Where the River Took Us (Texas Monthly)
This docu-podcast covers the tragic flood that occurred on July 4th, 2026, when the Guadalupe River “consumed vast stretches of riverbank” and destroyed homes and summer camps as the “floodwater swept across a previously idyllic area in Texas,” said Podcast Review. In this “beautifully crafted, yet distressing series,” Texas Monthly senior editor Aaron Parsley tells a story that “begins with a peaceful family holiday and ends with the death of his nephew.”
Where the River Took Us is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning magazine feature written days after the tragedy. If you are familiar with Texas Monthly’s podcast slate, you can “expect more of the publication’s signature narrative storytelling,” said Podcast News. (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Texas Monthly)
