True Crime & Cocktails

The concept of the True Crime & Cocktails podcast is simple. Two Canadian-born women have a liquid refreshment or two while discussing true crime. Lauren Ash and Christy Oxborrow say they are "cousins by birth, but sisters by life." Lauren is an actor and voiceover artist. She costarred in Superstore and Chicago Party Aunt. Christy is a skilled researcher. The two like both true crime and cocktails, so they have combined them in this show. Lauren jokes that she is the Flavor Flav to Christy's Chuck D and her skills. But much like Public Enemy was better with both artists, this podcast works because of the two hosts.

Lauren and Christy do the show via a video call each week. This is the audio version of the True Crime & Cocktails podcast. And it provides the same laughs and insights as the video one. (Audio listeners won't see the hosts' matching outfits, though.)

It can be tricky to combine true crime, cocktails, and humor in a show like this. An awkward joke can make podcasters seem disrespectful to the victims. But the True Crime & Cocktails hosts are careful to empathize with the victims discussed.

The hosts reveal both well-known and obscure facts about cases. For example, Boston mobster Whitey Bulger was an infamous killer on the run for 16 years. True crime followers may know that federal authorities arrested Bulger in 2011. But this show points out that the fugitive being kind to a cat led to his capture. The woman who turned him in spotted Bulger feeding a stray cat several times near their apartment building. Those kinds of details make this show compelling listening.

The True Crime & Cocktails hosts do episodes on popular subjects, like Drew Peterson. They also talk about lesser-known cases, like missing person Tiffany Valiante. Most episodes are around 2 1/2 hours, but the time goes by fast, even without a cocktail in hand.