True Crime Garage, an independent podcast started seven years ago by Columbus residents Nic Edwards and the Captain, boasts over 350 million total listens across Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean and Spotify. Credit: Courtesy of Scotty Boombox
With an estimated hundreds of thousands of listeners each week, True Crime Garage is one of the most-listened-to true crime podcasts in the country, and it all started in Columbus.
The true crime podcast started seven years ago as a way for co-hosts Nic Edwards and the Captain — an alias the second host uses in the podcast — to spend time with one another. Now, the podcast boasts over 350 million total listens and has a large following on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Podbean, the Captain, co-host and producer of True Crime Garage, said.
“It was more of an excuse to hang out to kind of work on something constructive together,” Edwards said. “We didn’t think anyone would listen, but we were wrong.”
In addition to exploring cases as well known as the Zodiac Killer and the Delphi murders, the duo has covered one closer to home — the disappearance of Ohio State medical student Brian Shaffer. According to a 2009 article from The Lantern, Shaffer went missing after being last seen at the off-campus bar Ugly Tuna Saloona April 1, 2006, and was never found.
Edwards and the Captain, who were both born and raised in Columbus, said they have been lifelong friends and used to work on projects together prior to the podcast, such as joining the same metal and rock bands.
The two eventually went down their own career paths, as Edwards said he stayed in Columbus while the Captain moved to Indiana. However, after being laid off from their jobs within the same week, Edwards and the Captain said they decided to reconnect, and True Crime Garage was born at the end of 2015.
The Captain said he and Edwards started recording in Edwards’ garage without any high-tech sound equipment. He said in some of the early episodes, listeners can even hear the two of them walking around in the background and dogs barking in the distance.
The podcast quickly rose to success, and the Captain said True Crime Garage now regularly makes it onto true crime charts on iTunes. Despite the show’s popularity, he said the podcast still remains independent.
“Most of these other shows that are popping up these days are big network shows, and they have a massive team of people,” Edwards said. “It’s not anything that we are interested in. We like our process, we like what we’re doing and we like how we’re getting it done.”
True Crime Garage is produced entirely by the two hosts, the Captain said. He and Edwards make their own music, design and ship their own merchandise and edit their episodes, he said.
“I think we’re, like, the only true independent podcast left in the Top 100 on iTunes,” the Captain said.
Aside from its independence, Edwards said what makes True Crime Garage so captivating is its unique approach to storytelling in each episode.
“We try to form them and mold them so that it sounds like a story being told to you, like a spooky story being told around a campfire or reading a fictional novel,” Edwards said.
Edwards said the pair spends countless hours each week researching cases and putting together episodes that are informational but not necessarily documentary-style.
As Edwards and the Captain receive new suggestions for episodes via their website and email daily, Edwards said the two continue to add to their master list of cases to cover for future episodes.
“We do keep a master list of cases that were suggested to us by listeners,” Edwards said. “None of that falls on deaf ears.”
Those who are interested in suggesting a case for True Crime Garage to cover are encouraged to contact them through the podcast’s website.
