I truly believe that anyone who listens will agree that phoebe and Lauren are magic. I have never revisited podcasts or shared other than Criminal, This is Love and Rumblestrip. Love it.

Criminal is flawless. Never change.

I listen to a couple dozen different podcasts on the reg and Criminal is always in my top 5 rotation. Absolutely LOVE!!!

I’m confused. In the beginning of the story it was a baby boy. Then at about 30 minutes in…it’s a baby girl???

If this episode doesn’t infuriate any parent… the lack of accountability where there should be the most accountability!!! The family will be traumatized forever now.

I used to love the show, and I still like it a lot sometimes, but in every episode, it feels like 50% of the episode is ads. Now that they have the criminal plus tier, they actually released part one of an episode three and then pay the other half of the episode. Rude and offensive to long time listeners. Also advertising a new episode and then pulling a bait and switch and having it to be an episode of another podcast. So rude.

Phoebe is such a wonderful storyteller and so relatable! I love her interviews. Her personality is all over this podcast. If you hear her describe how she puts together a show, she is so dedicated!

I’ve listened to this podcast for years and enjoyed it. But I just finished listening to Tabatha and I just had to take a minute to tell you how much I loved it!

I love Tabitha. I had a doula. I wasn’t in jail. But she has such a sweet heart.

To Phoebe and the whole team at Criminal- wow. Just wow. I’ve been listening for the last few years. This past year has been one of the best. Every episode is a hit. Just listened to Tabatha. What a beautiful, feel good story. Highly impressed with all that you do. Thank you!!

Just listened to the Tabitha episode, currently bawling at my desk.

thoughtful, compelling, and incredibly well produced!!

I absolutely love this podcast, it’s so interesting, and can really open your eyes to real life issues. Criminal is a life saver on long trips, and whenever you have to do something annoying, listening to an episode makes it more interesting. Phoebe has such a soothing voice, and explains things incredibly well. I went to one of their live shows, and it was so great! The stories were so interesting, and it was wonderful. Keep up the good work!

Criminal has been my favorite podcast for years. Absolutely love the tone and pace of the stories and look forward to every episode. Just finished the Roofman and I think it might be my favorite so far!

I love the wide variety of topics covered, and love the way Phoebe presents them! I thoroughly enjoy starting an episode and not knowing where it’s going, but learning and enjoying it every minute along the way! My only complaint is pleaseeeeeeee have more merch!! I need another Criminal crewneck!! And would love stickers or more postcards!!

Been listening since the very beginning. I did sign up recently for plus because I’ve been listening for so long and the work they do is so valuable that I want to support it. It’s good for everyone… like PBS. That said, as a brand experience professional i genuinely rec ditching the bait-and-switch approach (2-part episodes with 1st 1/2 free, 2nd 1/2 paid) to get more plus signups. First off, it diminishes the show’s credibility. Secondly (but equally important) people are now numb to these drive-by tactics, and are more likely to write you off than sign up. Introducing fascinating content and then *disappointing* your listeners is just… wildly bad strategy.

I absolutely love Criminal. I find true crime fascinating but think a) its not great for my mental health and b) can be very exploitative and sensationalized; however, episodes of criminal are thoughtful and always feel like there’s more to the description of the crimes than just entertainment. They’re educational and make me more thoughtful about crime and our criminal justice system. My only “complaint” is that, since there’s such a wide range of intensity levels, it can sometimes take me by surprise. I kind of wish they had some kind of scale in the description to say where its a fun, lighthearted one or a scary one. I know that obviously that would be very subjective but I think it’d be a good idea. Because I went from listening to the one about the funny Australian shipping himself as cargo from England to listening to the one about the serial killer nurse which was quite the whiplash.

This lady has such a great way of understanding of being honest asking the hard questions and people answering truthfully You are an amazing human being and sure taught me a lot I’ve always believe everything begins at home that where we teach our children self love and respect and to respect others some are funny some are very sad and some are awful but you have laid all stories out clearly and got straight to the point

I’ve held off writing a review for years…because I wanted to be clever, witty, grammatically correct, and transformative to match the clout of the show and its creator’s. I’ve realized I’ve got nothing more than this…it is simply the best. The most creative, compassionate, unique, and human approach to storytelling, journalism, and podcasting that is out there. 10 stars out of 5. Criminal+ is equally as stellar. Please come to Nashville in the next tour!!!

I’ve been listening to Criminal & That’s Love for years. LOVE the tone of your voice and flow of the story lines. Such good stories too. Thank you.

Dropping my review because requiring people to pay for a part two is shady. I would have never listened to part one. OG review: The topics are varied and wide reaching so it's always fascinating and I always feel like I learn something! I listen to a lot of podcasts and the words "oh my gosh! I listened to this podcast today and..." comes out of my mouth the most frequently about this one. An unbelievable amount of research and information is packed into each episode. I love it, I'm always left wanting more, episodes can't come out fast enough!

I love this and idk what ppl are talking about when they say they hate it it is such a beautiful story and every episode I’d so good

i’ve listed to thousands of podcasts from > 50 podcasters over the last 12 years. none compare to what phoebe, lauren, nadia, katie and crew produce. simply the best. i’m now in my second round of listening to all 420+ episodes of “this is love” and “criminal.” i estimate i’m saving about 30 hours of ads (420 episodes x 4ish minutes of ads) by paying the small subscription price. that’s not the only reason i’m a criminal plusser though. the exclusive offerings (bonus episodes, bi-weekly chats btwn phoebe and lauren, live events, discounts, etc) are gold! so yeah, i’m nonplussed if you’re a fan but not a criminal +’er.

Love this podcast. Could you put in a episode about animals

Radical left political propaganda, and the narrator talks like a robot.

Phoebe is the best story teller. The topics are interesting and it's simply the best podcast out there. Thank you!

I enjoy all the zany and quirky stories about everyday humans! Phoebe and Lauren are fantastic hosts!

This is a good podcast. Some eps are downright gripping. Some less so. Content- and production-wise, it's a solid 4 stars. But the downside is a pervasive one. It is the delivery of Phoebe, the creator/narrator. You can hate me if you want; I get it, a lot of you love her. But i'm sorry- as a student of human behavior, I see her as the walking definition of "affectation." Every little stammer, every pause, every overly enunciated syllable... it's all so overdramatic and measured for effect. If there were an Oscar for Podcast Narration Pretentiousness, this woman would be a heavy favorite. I understand that what I call "affectation" is heard by some of you as an urgent, interesting narration style. But to me it is affectation all day, and affectation equals phony.

Just a question do you just hire women to work on your show love the podcast

I started listening just because I really enjoyed the variety of stories. I keep listening because I love learning about the early history of our country, and hearing the stories many of us have never heard. Thank you for using your platform to make these stories heard.

I love the variety of the stories and tell everyone about the stories I learn from here!

Like the show if you stay away from politics. I’m unfollowing after listening to about 10 seconds of your latest episode. I’m disappointed to miss out on your content I enjoyed but I’m done hearing political opinions.

First couple of minutes are all ads!

Start listening and you will be hooked! Storytelling at its finest and it gives you the opportunity to learn something new about the world, change the wya you think, or discover a piece of history.

I love Criminal but after buying i’m very disappointed. I’m still waiting on the Friday episode when the free criminal subscribers have already had theirs released. It’s already Friday night and I still don’t have criminal plus version. I am definitely not renewing my subscription. Silence all the time. The regular criminal comes out before the plus version. I’ll go ahead and keep listening to the regular criminal, but it doesn’t seem worth it to get a subscription. But I should say two people who don’t want to support criminal because they vote Democratic are you really that daft? It’s pretty obvious. Intelligent people aren’t Maga. Remember: the opposite of woke is asleep.

I have been listening to Criminal for years. It’s podcasting perfection. Plain and simple. Story telling of the best kind. Interesting, succinct, and with heart. This past year a became a paid subscriber and love the chatty Criminal + episodes. My work day companions. Criminal is a shining example of what podcasting can and should be!

Greatest podcast on the air!!!

This podcast is great; it discusses topics that are so original. I wonder how you find out about these things, it’s endless. Anyway, keep writing about these unknown and interesting topics!

Absolutely amazing! Wish they let us learn some of this important history in school.

It is truly lovely to listen to this podcast. It even helps me mentally as I work towards being the best version of myself. Seeing that I have to pay and fund her abundant life when I’m doing my best living paycheck to paycheck for 30+ minutes of a reprieve is sometimes disheartening. I know my message won’t be seen. Who pays attention to anything less than 5 stars? It just saddens me. But, such is life, right. As an aside, Phoebe, you pronounce “.com” as “.calm”. Common Phoebe. Please tell me us you truly know there is no “l” in “com”? Love you work. Wish you’d grown this many years later.

In one of the best podcasts out there, Phoebe and company illuminate our ever-changing definitions of what’s considered a crime and who’s considered a criminal, with top notch narration, production, music - and even illustrations! I’ve been listening for years and am always excited to see a new episode drop.

This is my favorite true crime podcast. Phoebe’s voice is just so nice and she makes the ads sound genuinely interesting. Also I have never enjoyed podcasts that are all on one case unless they are super well executed and I love that all of the episodes are on something different. Also they get people that are involved in the case which I truly enjoy. Anywho, this is a great podcast and any true crime fans should listen to this :)

Production, hosting & story telling quality are top notch

The quality has remained top notch for years. I love you Phoebe! And Lauren! And the whole team. What a treat you all provide us with. Thank you.

Everything is political. Keep up the good work Phoebe and team. When the 47cult members are complaining, you’re doing it right ❤️❤️❤️❤️

as is the fake reviews claiming that the show has become more "woke" are full of it. nothing has changed, the podcast hits the same diverse topics it always has. it's unfortunate that some people are such snowflakes that they don't want anyone, anywhere discussing issues that make them uncomfortable.

Judge is really just another a woke, liberal social justice warrior who would rather alienate the majority of the country than keep her radical political beliefs to herself. This ideology and insistence for people like Judge to cram it down peoples throats is why the country swung back to the right. Keep it up, Phoebe, the conservatives appreciate your service!

I listen to this first whenever a new episode shows up in my feed. This is not your typical true crime podcast - it’s rarely the kind of true crime most people seek out. Criminal focuses on historical and offbeat stories that have some crime element to them. It’s very well researched and the storytelling is excellent. I saw the live show a few months ago and was impressed with the level of craft that went into the visuals, too.

One of the best pods out there. I never miss a show.

I’ve been listening for years but lately the stories are less interesting. Some of the narration from actual people being interviewed are painful like the Dexter episode. I had to bail on that one. Hoping the content will get a lot better in 2025. Love Phoebe always regardless.