Bear Brook

In 1985, two barrels containing four bodies were found in Bear Brook State Park, New Hampshire. For 34 years, nobody knew who they were. Reporter Jason Moon spent years following the case as forensic genealogy — the same technology that caught the Golden State Killer — finally identified the victims and the killer. The 6-episode podcast is a masterclass in pacing, weaving together the science of DNA phenotyping, the psychology of serial killers, and the heartbreak of families who never got answers. It won the IRE Award and a Peabody.