Used to be really good, with wild cases that you didn’t hear about anywhere else. Now it’s pretty run of the mill, husband kills his wife for insurance money kind of stuff. Dude talks like he believes he’s the smartest guy in the room, then uses non-words like “predispositioned.” Just tell the story without the commentary.

This show would be amazing!!! If the host wasn’t a MAGA

I look forward to the new release the storytelling is superb and above all others I like when the storytelling is told with little remarks we are all thinking Mike doesn’t hold back never leaves you wondering. Tell everyone about sword and scale I know I do.

I lovveeeeeee I looveeeeeee I love I love I love SWORD AND SCALE Best podcast ever ❗️❗️

I am not a podcast person at all but I recommend Sword and Scale to literally everyone. They way he tells the story makes you feel like you are watching it unfold and he also makes sarcastic jokes throughout that make it even better. Only thing that would make it better is if the episodes weren't all premium anymore, but I guess we all have to make money. Such a great podcast though and when you can actually find the free ones, take full advantage, you won't regret it

Used to be really entertaining. Writing and research used to be top notch. Host used to be somewhat witty. Now he just whines and whinges and has incredible petty “hot takes” that aren’t funny or relevant. Very entitled fella calling everyone else entitled. Not to mention how much the writing has suffered. The scripts sound lazily written and read. One google search or one listen back to the recordings is all it would take to fix incorrect facts or notice egregious mispronunciations happening multiple times per episode. It’s easy to see the hypocrisy from a host that loves calling everyone stupid. I dealt with the occasional ignorant comment from the host for years because the show used to be good. Now SaS just feels like a vehicle for his personal grievances against the world and the mean mean meanies who are so mean and unfair to him. I’ll come back again at some point in the future to see if his ongoing tantrum has subsided enough to produce quality content, but for now, I’m out.

The unnecessary political interjections kill the podcast.

A refreshingly different true crime pod—no inane giggling, vocal fry, or long side quests. Good pacing and good amount of actual audio from the crime, investigation, and trial.

Please learn the difference between step siblings and half siblings.

Was a long time Plus member that used to suggest the show to others. Earlier years of the show, the host was more humble and didn’t interject his politics. Show would be great if he didn’t interject short sighted political commentary. Not as smart as he thinks he is. Please stick to the true crime story telling.

Sword and Scale is in a league of its own. I’ve listened to a lot of true crime podcasts (like a lot), but none come close to the depth, storytelling, and raw intensity this one delivers. The production is top-notch, and the cases are always thoroughly researched and gripping from start to finish. What sets it apart is the unflinching look at the darkest corners of humanity—it’s not watered down, and that honesty makes it incredibly powerful. If you’re a true crime fan, this podcast is a must. Easily my favorite and the best out there.

Love the format, love all the info and true details, calls etc. Love how most stories haven’t been told before. HATE the added comments by the host, they’re almost always misogynistic, rooted in privilege, distasteful or just unnecessary. I’ve been listening for years but just recently unsubscribed my membership because it gets to a point. Trust I know there will be a comment about him mocking this review because he just can’t stop talking about his haters.

My favorite part is feeling guilty for listening to the podcast for free. Good podcast. Amazing it is free. They should charge for this content LOLS

I’ve been listening to this podcast for a few years now. I often go through and eliminate podcasts that I don’t listen to anymore, but this one has been on my podcast feed the longest. It is my absolute favorite. I love the stories. I love the way Mike tells the stories and I love his attitude. Check it out!!

Host keeps it real and could be considered a bit harsh but he’s saying what I’m thinking anyway. This podcast has become a fave and I just know when a new episode pops up it’s gonna be quality next hour of listening. Appreciate the clips of detectives’ interrogations etc.

LOVED the first three seasons. The dubstep music killed it for me.. a well as his personal opinions.

This guy can never just tell the story. Every opener is him begging for money. You're rich already dood. Go chill in your cybertruck.

I started listening to S&S about 2 yrs ago when I discovered it on one of the podcast platforms. I was looking for a good quality true crime series that didn’t have a bunch of women talking about trauma stuff. Yes their stories are important too but I wanted something unfiltered, raw, and full of grit and gore. I’m a bit addicted to your podcast and listen to it while I work. I drive rich golfers to and from the airport to the golf resort on the west coast. It passes the time while I’m driving with no passengers and I thoroughly enjoy the show! Keep up the good work! 🙌

Thank you for all the details of each case and your added witty commentary! 😊 you make each case interesting and informative.

Long time plus member, 5+ years, and finally deleted the app today and unsubbed. Mike’s commentary used to make me laugh but now it’s just so bitter it’s hard to hear. The casual conservative nods he makes are repulsive, like it’s part of his personality and it’s hard to separate the pod from his obtuse thoughts. Anyway, good luck from here buddy, it’s been real.

Mike Boudet, is a no nonsense presenter. The style of the show is very informative, and in the style of some great sarcastic humor that brings levity. It is the best crime podcast ever made, and I highly encourage everyone to listen.

I was in love with this podcast for many years. I enjoyed mike’s no-nonsense point of views. However, sometimes I wished he’d keep his opinions to himself. Additionally, I find some of the interrogation or interview recordings to be of such low quality I can hardly understand what they’re saying. I find myself fast forwarding through them from time to time because I simply cannot make out the words.

I love this podcast!!!! The only thing I don’t like is that the host Mike Boudet talks like he doesn’t like the listeners sometimes. But the podcast itself is absolutely excellent!!!!!

This is the bar at which all true crime podcasts or anything crime for that matter are set by. Top class!!!!!

The host may as well be a toddler thrashing around on the floor bc he didn’t get what he wanted. Gross.

…But this guy cannot get out of his own way. Leave the weird political nonsense out of it. We all hate the government. Two wings, same bird and whatnot. It’s like he can’t help himself.

I’ve been listening to Sword & Scale for as long as I can remember. I believe it was one of the original true crime podcasts—well before the wave of others that followed in its footsteps. The host strikes the perfect balance of sarcasm and sharp commentary. I never miss an episode!

This is an excellent true crime podcast. The host knows how to create a coherent and compelling narrative, and the episodes are devoted primarily to true crime. I appreciate not having to scroll through 15 or 20 minutes of dialogue from the hosts who are laboring under the delusion that the listener is more interested in their personal lives and “hilarious” banter than actual true crime. I also appreciate that the host relates to his audience as an adult (i.e. he can produce paragraph after paragraph without using the word “like” dozens of times). I am a 71 year old black woman from Chicago and I suspect my politics and the host’s are not the same. I don’t care - I tune in for the storytelling not the politics. Episode 290 was beautifully done.

Episode 292 was SO heartbreaking. I love Mike and all the sword and scale podcasts. He covers cases others miss that are well researched and include fascinating clips of participants, testimony from court and interviews. Five Stars always.

As a geography buff, I’m wondering if you intentionally butchered the pronunciation of the 3 countries you visited cause I don’t know how someone can visit countries and not learn how to pronounce them correctly.

This used to be one of my favorite podcasts until I started to hear the subtle bigotry and political leanings of the host. Let’s just say of course he drives a Tesla cyber truck!

The stories are well covered and it’s absolutely one of the best true crime podcasts out there. The biggest downside is the host doing anything possible to interject his politics in to the stories. My best advice is to start the episodes at about 4.5 mins and to stop them immediately once the story has concluded. You’ll still have to deal with snide and unnecessary comments during the episode however.

Been listening for about 9-10 years. Always loved the content, in particular the Johnny Gosch story within the first ten episodes - never left my mind. In recent years, the show has maintained the quality of its content, but the host has begun to inject more personal politics, which is fine, but has received criticism for it and has not handled the criticism well. He often begins or ends episodes with snide remarks calling out unnamed haters and woke cancel culture, and the narration will reach for low-hanging fruit of libtard jokes, or reiterating 2nd amendment arguments like “a good guy with a gun…” I am a gun owner, I am not super woke, I disagree with canceling someone over difference of opinion, but I DO think Mike is not responding well and doubling down on his arguments more to instigate the same criticism he (and most person) would want to avoid than to just share his opinion, which is well-known to the audience at this point. I value Mike and the show. I hope his focus can move away from the vicious negativity he’s receiving, to recognizing there may be better ways to share his opinion and maintain the focus of the show. I believe most listeners are here for the story content. Personally, my least favorite parts are when Mike feigns emotion for the color commentary. Edit: Podcast used to be great, but the content well has seemingly dried up, the angle of the show is getting more exploitative (playing the same screams of the mother from the 911 call three separate times). If you’re a new listener, the back catalogue is great until something happened to the host, Mike, during Covid lockdown. He got redpilled and it became his whole personality.

…. LIKE me!?!?" (Review edit 5/12/25) Ok—— It was hard not to 🤣—while listening to Mike WHINE b/c he has to do way more free episodes–cuz nobody wants to Patreon anymore. But, his confused whinge contained zero% of personal insight…into WHY that happened 🤦‍♀️ SO! Mike—lemme help: You ALREADY got every single person on Earth willing to actually PAY to suffer through your condescending, schmucko commentary 🤮. NO ONE is LEFT, who would actually PAY to endure your politics & comments hinting… Basically how CRIME itself, exists… I guess b/c folks just dont SIMP hard enough for Trump, like you do 😂? **Mike literally cannot get out of his own way – **he cannot stop himself — 0 self-control—-he MUST tell us …that we could just all be MAGA bootlickers, and look to felon Trump for our VALUES, then we’d be crime free, according MIKE. What he fails to understand, though—is that 58% of Americans didn’t bother to vote. That means, even BEFORE Trump started making everyday life harder to live, he only ever had around 33% of support of the American people. I imagine it’s far less now. SO! —- You can Simp harder if you want to. But it’s just going to lose you even more people. POTUS has made it perfectly clear to way too many people that conservative politics is obviously not the answer for how to make sure you are a decent person operating within the law. It makes the whole premise of the tone of your show sound like it’s a giant joke, and I’m not kidding at all about that. You could do yourself a favor and think about it. Your messages: be conservative. That way, if you steal, extort, bully, and even sexually assault people, it’ll just be OK. Not a good message for a crime show, right? ******** morbid is literally at number three right now. Your show might technically be better, but nobody can stand your insufferable personality when you start talking about “how women are” and other red pill nonsense. It’s hard to believe your girlfriend is real when you sound this much like a red pill knob head. For God sakes get out of your own way until your ego to stand down and just tell the story. It’s more than nobody wants to hear about your personal politics – it’s that it’s stupid and makes us feel sorry for you. Please allow us to quit pitying you. Just tell the story.

This is the best podcast by far, host is awesome!

Don’t let the Karen reviews scare you away, we all know if you don’t agree with them you are an evil person that hates humans. They will do everything they can to try and destroy something they don’t agree with. God forbid a host of his own podcast has an opinion that doesn’t align with yours. The stories are great, the host is great, his snarky comments are great even though I don’t always agree with them. Overall it’s a very entertaining show.

Hands down the best true crime podcast! I’ve been listening since the beginning and am a plus member. Mike and his team have created something that others can try to copy but Sword and Scale outclasses ALL of them.

Are you okay, Bro? You come off incredibly bitter and lonely. If you spent as much time focused on the victims and less time being a slimy troll, moonlighting as a keyboard warrior on social media, your ratings would be higher and your numbers would be through the roof. Seek professional help.

Such a great true crime podcast that leaves you wondering what’s going to happen the whole time instead of knowing at the beginning. I love a good cliff hanger and also the intense interviews, interrogations, and police footage etc that is on this show!

I used to love this show but Mike got weird. I feel like the deep diving into True Crime is getting to his head.

Why are all the reviews 4 years old?

If you’re unable to handle an opinion that differs from yours, this isn’t for you. Funny how it’s always the same people that promote inclusion and have a coexist bumper sticker on their Subarus that take issue with differing opinions. This is easily the best true crime podcast out there. Some of yall just need to stick with the brain dead morons from My Favorite Murder. That hairdresser with crazy mommy issues is absolutely someone we should take advice from hahahahaha

Mike has shown his true colors and they are mostly puke colored.

His voice is the best, the only thing that keeps me from 5 stars is the music. If I wanted to hear music, I’d play music. It’s not needed and super annoying. Other than that it’s my favorite podcast.

Truly the best! I’m forever in debt to the woman who recommended this 2 years ago while I was out to dinner with my sister sharing my new found love of true crime podcast. Thank YOU & thank you to everyone who plays a part in this amazing production!

Free shows coming in so frequently is AWESOME! Do not stop please!!!! I really appreciate it! I can’t afford the subscription but I think your show is the best true crime show out there!!!! Thank you!

Another update: this Neanderthal can’t even pronounce “Belarus” correctly. Update: he’s still garbage, rotting even further as years go by. Came back to add that on top of being an angry little boy, he’s also shockingly stupid. “Infer” vs “imply,” etc. This man is an absolute garbage human being but I listen anyway because the storytelling is good. Instead of going on and on about what a horrible person he is - because that could be pages long- or even how stupid his tween boy music is in every single episode, I will simply focus on one petty thing. Oh my God, the way he says “throat” makes me want to impale my eardrums. Or any word starting with “thr.” In the most recent episode, he had to say the word “throat” SO MANY times, and I had to stop listening.

I’ve been listening to this podcast since the beginning, it’s my favorite show and o never miss it!!!

Nothing like it. I believe many podcasts try to mimic what you have done here and it will never be enough. I say this with a full heart because of other podcasts I love. The truth is, Sward and Scale is a top shelf, award worthy True Crime Podcast that fills you with a mind blowing chill of unbelief, sadness, horror, shock, and so much more. You will have the full experience as you listen. I have to also note that I love his sense of humor. You either get it or you don’t;)

Mike. For the love of god. Get a real gun, not a pellet gun. You might find yourself woefully outmatched in a gun fight if you pull that thing out of the glovebox of your cyber truck and point it at a crazy.