Pick of the Podcasts – Deep Cover: Never Seen Again, This is History: A Dynasty to Die For, The Director’s Cut

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Halpern is back with another series of Deep Cover, the show about people who lead double lives, and once again lovers of true crime will be hooked from the very beginning.

While series one followed the story of an FBI agent who went undercover with a biker gang, and the second series detailed why a successful lawyer left behind his life of luxury to bring down the Mob, Halpern’s new instalment follows a small-town cop investigating the case of two missing women living on opposite sides of the country but sharing the same name.

In 1999, Brooke Henson walked out of her home in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, never to be seen or heard from again. In the same year, high-school dropout Esther Reed disappeared from Seattle, cutting off all contact with friends and family. Seven years later, their stories collide and an intrepid detective attempts to uncover the truth.

Detailed across six episodes, all available to stream now, Halpern unravels a complex and often bizarre tale involving a nationwide manhunt for a “highly trained chameleon” foreign spy, a European chess champion, a Columbia University student and one of the US Secret Service’s most wanted – all, inexplicably, the same lost young woman who reveals why she told so many lies and made so many mistakes while trying to outrun her real-life identity.

With more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, the intertwined stories of Brooke and Esther make for fascinating listening and Halpern’s detailed reporting – including first-hand-accounts from all the parties involved – will leave you bingeing every episode in one sitting. We’re already waiting for series four…

Deep Cover: Never Seen Again, Apple, Spotify etc

The Director’s Cut

Offering behind-the-scenes stories from the making of Hollywood’s most talked about films, each episode features a new director interviewed by one of their peers.

Recent guests have included the likes of James Cameron, Darren Aronofsky, Sam Mendes and Alice Diop, all discussing how their films developed from script to screen. If you loved Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All at Once, start with episode 354.

This is History: A Dynasty to Die For

Available from Tuesday, series two of Dan Jones’ popular podcast picks up where listeners left off, delving into England’s longest reigning and most dangerous dynasty, The Plantagenets.

Over 12 episodes, the historian reveals Richard the Lionheart’s mission to find “victory in the Holy Land” during a tumultuous period of plots, attacks and crusades – not to mention an ambitious younger brother with eyes on the throne.