You did a pretty good job researching and presenting the Israel Keys story. But you made all the way to the end. It’s over. Time to move on. The podcast is an embarrassment now. Nobody cares about you or your friends or what you eat or drink or where you vacation. None of that is interesting to anyone nor does it have anything to do with the topic of the podcast. Additionally you have objectively terrible taste in music. I mean honestly some of the worst music I have ever heard. It’s time for you to find something else to do.

Checked out this podcast based on the recommendations by Josh and Dakota from Somewhere in the Pines! This is so well researched and such an interesting listen! Appreciate all the care and work that goes into these episodes and shows!

I didnt change my rating but wanted to add to my previous review. In season 6 the ads have become too much, too often and too long. It feels like every 5 minutes now… Such an interesting story but riddled with obnoxious ads that take away the suspense and awe of the topic at hand. Do better Josh & team.

I appreciated the deep dive on Israel Keyes. It did drag on and got a little boring. I did skip forward when needed. The only thing that really bothered me was him referring to Israel as “Is” very often. It sounded to much like a friend nickname. We don’t want to make someone like this out as a “friend”. Just call him Israel or Keyes.

I recently heard about this podcast while listening to an Episode about Israel Keyes on another Podcast. A viewer asked if follow-up episodes on Israel Keyes, they said there would not be. However they did suggest for a deep dive into Israel Keyes, viewers should check out this Podcast. Although I am a true crime fan I have not heard a lot about Keyes so I was curious to learn more about him. This podcast is INCREDIBLE!!! and has blown me away!! The detail is exquisite and is laid out in a way that allows the listener to easily follow along!! I am still in the first season, and can’t put it down!! The host/producer and his team have put together a story that walks the listener through the diabolical story of a prolific serial killer which chills you to the bone!! Yet he is respectful to the law enforcement, victims and their families, and Keyes’ family. The only criticism from my perspective, referring to Keyes throughout the podcast as “Is”, humanizes this evil, diabolic man, who should not be , nor does he deserve that grace!!! Mary

Hey, let’s play the same gd interview excerpts in every episode. The first couple seasons were really interesting, but has waned as the show went on. And the music is… not great.

For such a thorough and well-researched deep dive into a gripping case, this is One of the most frustrating listens I've had in a while and I'm only on the first season. The interviews with Keyes comprise a large part of the content but the sound quality is lower in volume, hasn't been compressed to equalize to the narrator volume, and since Keyes mumbles anyway it's harder to hear so when the host's narration returns it feels disproportionately loud and clear to the extent that mouth sounds start to predominate. Lots of clicking in there, it's as if someone is eating cheese very quietly underneath the host's recording. It's a hard listen if you're ultra sensitive to things like this which evidently I am. Otherwise it's really superb

Keep up the good work

Weird season. Terrible issues w audio quality & volume. Skimpy episodes. Nothing of real value covered unless you want to hang your whole case on newspapers and some Amish people. The ads dominate and how disappointing for Josh to take money from highly problematic platform Better Help. Ugh. And the music is just an irrelevant vanity project screaming look how obscure and feely my taste is. Finally, I wonder how a different and new Keyes podcast snagged first person interviews with the actual FBI agents on the case and people who knew Keyes when TCB has been going for several years and hasn’t managed to do so. I’m listening in hopes it will get better but I’m not optimistic.

The last few episodes have just been terrible. This is supposed to be a podcast about Israel Keyes, not about the host or the hosts’ friends. Nobody is interested in that. The music is always awful, but lately, the content has been, too.

Not sure how we can have so much discussion about ethics in the true crime community and then bring Bob Motta on as a guest. I thought this podcast was better than that.

So much repetition and he chooses to end every episode with absolutely awful music. I keep coming back to it hoping it will have gotten more listenable. It has not.

I’ve been listening to this podcast for quite awhile now. I’m completely caught up. The subject matter is incredibly sad and horrifically frightening. Josh and his team have done the biggest deep dive on a serial killer that I’ve ever heard or read. While doing so they’ve also been incredibly respectful to all of the families involved, including Israel’s family, which I believe is a very honorable thing to do. I truly hope that through all of their hard work some of these cold cases will be solved and victims brought home to rest. The sound is top notch and the music is great too. If you like to listen to true crime podcasts, this one is definitely worth your time.

Josh has blown my mind

Josh, I was so sorry to hear on your last episode that Beatrice was sick. I’m glad you and your partner plan to spend more time with her and have a plan. I lost my 16 y/o Jack last year and 15 y/o Cheddar the previous year. Just know that she will have friends on the other side! ❤️

Thank you for all you do, Mr. Hallmark. You now (unfortunately) have me reading Koontz and wondering if finding buried orange buckets is possible. TCBS is a real time look into a very detailed investigation of something we have never encountered before. The timeline of Keyes travels is so important to solidify and definitely on edge to listen to the next episode each week.

And that’s how you do a goddamn Tori Amos interstitial. I enjoy very few speaking voices. Herzog, Nico, most depressive Germans probably, Martha Stewart, and more recently the narration of Josh Hallmark. Bridger Winegar is equally soothing. If I had my way, you’d be paired as traveling investigators. Like Coogan & Brydon in The Trip, but with serial murder.

I think Josh is a great podcast host. I love his voice and personality. My issue is that for the last few seasons it’s been really inconsistent and a lot of baiting the audience with quandaries that never get resolved. At this point it’s 30% information, useful or not, 50% ads, and 20% music. I usually hold off for months and then come back to binge, and not much has been released to actually binge. Waiting to listen to every episode as it airs is torture with this release schedule and episode length

Can’t wait for next episode!!! Maura Murray??!!!!

I’ve been listening for years now and share this podcast with others. Always mesmerized and enjoy Josh’s storytelling. My only complaint is the episodes are just not long enough. lol. Keep up the awesome work Josh! ❤️

The podcast is very well researched. It makes me very uncomfortable that the host called Keyes “Iz” like they’re old buddies. Just call him Keyes. The monster doesn’t deserve a normal sounding nickname.

How does your audio get worse in the 6th season?

I’m only on the first episode of season 2 but this is by far the best most in depth podcast I’ve ever heard. I can’t stop listening. My only issue is some of Israel’s interviews are too quiet and I can not hear them. Keep up the great work!

The only true crime podcast that is actually trying to solve cold cases. I have been a listener since the beginning and I’m obsessed. Josh, you’re doing God’s work and I say that as an atheist.

Josh and the research team do the most in-depth research I’ve ever heard. I applaud the time and effort that it has taken to deep-dive such a mystery. This is the only podcast I can listen to multiple times. Every time I learn something new that I didn’t catch before.

dragging out this season with short episodes and tons of “we’ll get to that in another episode” and then ending 6-7 minutes before the play time to play an entire song. Ugh. Between the ads and very little actual information: not respecting the audience.

Josh has a voice for those who no longer have one.

I just saw a true crime show and totally impressed by your work for the family!

In totality, Josh Hallmark has created a homage to the victims and a place to reflect and find some empathy for those who knew Keyes. From the poetic telling of these acts of Keyes, to the deep research and collecting of data, this is a work of art. Must be said, the subject matter is extremely troubling. Deep sadness and empathy for all impacted by the actions of Israel Keyes. Victims, family and friends of ALL involved. Kudos to all the researchers that work with Josh.

When you say Greenwich NY, it’s pronounced: Green-wich, not grenich. Otherwise keep up the great show and content.

This a review of the audio not the content. You would think after 6 years they would figure out how to make an episode sound good. All the seasons have been rough here and there but season 6 has taken it to a new level. Literally the audio is so hot it’s almost unlistenable. Figure it out already.

Amazing! I love the detail, I love the emotion and feeling that’s been put into this podcast. I just get sucked in every time I start listening. Keep up the good work! I love the way you call him “Is” it’s astounding the work, effort and heart Josh puts into his podcast. Oh, and Josh’s voice***swoon***

I think this podcast peaked in its 3rd or 4th Israel Keyes season. Now it's just an endlessly stretched out, fluff-filled show with very little narrative pull through. Interspersed with dark and moody music- probably 2-3 minutes of playtime including the outro. Add in at least 8 minutes of ads. Then consider that every state has 100's of missing persons, and through a story of Serial Killer Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon, many missing unsolved murders can be tangentially connected to IK. With enough dramatic narration and horror movie music, every theory sounds menacing. Just so done with this. Wish the podcast would move on to other topics.

I’m 21 minutes into the latest episode and on the 3rd ad break. Come on. Very little content actually coming from episodes anymore and I feel like there’s lots of filler with each episode becoming a bit more self indulgent. Eh… 20 minute episode: first 7.5 minutes is commercials.

People praise Hallmark’s research . But I doubt much of what he reports and claims, based on mistakes that he makes in discussing the Maura Murray and Brianna Maitland cases . His voice and manner are embarrassingly fake. Why add you’re misguided political views to True Crime? This is just a showcase for an emotionally fragile man to feel like his worthless obsessions matter.

7min of ads before a “20min” episode? Criminal

I’ve been listening to Josh’s investigation since season 1 was launched. I re-listen to this podcast regularly. Josh is a wonderful story teller and applies so much effort into being considerate to victims families. A great listen into this truly terrifying serial killers victimology and identifying more pieces to this not yet complete puzzle. Great work, Josh. Sorry it took me so long to write a review!

It’s incredibly off putting to hear music behind the serial killer’s confessions. What on earth was the thought there??? Music is used in communication to influence the listener’s emotions. Hearing a serial killer talking about his crimes is emotional enough. We don’t need any enhancements. And why - WHY - is the host constantly referring to Keyes as “Izz”, as if they’re old friends or brothers or something?????? “Keyes” is just as concise and far more appropriate. I saw the host on Citizen Detectives and was impressed and excited to support a podcast that I thought was working to help the families of the missing get some answers. But if I were one such family I would absolutely lose it to hear this guy talking about Keyes like he’s an old college buddy. It almost feels like the host admires Keyes and that’s disappointing, disturbing even. Fascination I understand but admiration is despicable. With that said, I’m still listening, though I don’t know how much longer I will. It’s nice to have all this information in one place but I don’t think this is a podcast I would recommend to family or friends. I’m on episode 0119. I hope it improves the further along it goes. But if I hear “It’s me again…” one more time I may actually unfollow this show. Yes, along with all the above, the ads are repetitive and abundant. But I could easily overlook that if the show was a little more respectful. This is basically a podcast of Keyes’ interviews with FBI. The host adds information here and there. I appreciate it when that information pertains to the cases but sometimes it’s just a tangent about true crime and true crime podcasts in general. I’m giving it 3 stars because the host does his research and I appreciate that but otherwise this would be a 2 star review. I’ll update if I manage to listen through. Update: I unfollowed. I think the host is more a fan of Keyes than a journalist. I get the bad boy attraction but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Rest is just ok

Thorough and well put together. An exceptional true crime podcast and one that you’ll run through multiple times. Enjoy!

This was the gold standard and when there’s an episode it is high quality but this latest season is using the same old Keyes clips and only had a few light content episodes after a long break. Maybe there is just no way to go forward with this, Keyes is dead with his secrets. Everyone has been interviewed and at this point it’s conjecture and circumstantial evidence. As much as on line sleuths like to believe they are smarter than the FBI, we aren’t! Every episode just drags on about the NAMUS list and is often repetitive. Josh is a great host but maybe it’s time to move on because it seems like there’s nothing new to report. It’s a frustrating listen the last few seasons. Just tried to listen to a new episode and it’s just not that interesting to hear the agonizing details about Keyes calendar and where he might have been in a particular week. No longer in my regular must listen rotation.

What Murderina Suprema said!

Heard this podcast mentioned on MFM while discussing the Susie Lyle case and decided to check out the podcast that Karen mentioned was doing the real work and research. I immediately binged every episode as Josh skillfully wove the tiny strings of Keyes’ information into a rich tapestry of depravity, revealing the patterns which grew to define Keyes’s behavior as he seeks to give back victims their names. 10/10 recommend.

Honest and truly sincere investigation of one of the most perplexing serial killers of all time. Josh and now his team as well continue to invest in finding answers and I cannot wait to hear the new season.

I’ve been listening to Unsafe Spaces but I have to look for it. It doesn’t come up in my “Listen Now “ on Apple.

I just can’t stand the delivery and constant terrible soundtrack. It’s extremely distracting.

Hi Josh and team! Thanks for plugging Unsafe Spaces on the 5th Anniversary bonus episode! I was totally unaware of that show but it is awesome, just as I would expect from you. I will also drop a review on Unsafe Spaces.

The first season is great. Past that it’s basically pure speculation. They read off a missing persons case anywhere in the western hemisphere and conclude it’s a victim of Israel Keyes. Great music though

If you don’t listen to True Crime Bullsh**, are you even a fan of true crime? This is as good as it gets - a well-written, well-produced podcast, with great music and, most importantly, research that is actually making a difference.

I really like this podcast, but I feel like it gets so repetitive. I’ve listened to some episodes and thought my phone had messed up because it felt like I had heard everything already. The episodes do seem well researched and Keyes is an interesting and terrifying topic. Make future episodes a bit more succinct and my rating would go up.