Wild Crimes As the Natural History Museum’s Tori Herridge informs us, wildlife crime is the fourth most lucrative illegal industry in the world, after narcotics, human trafficking and arms dealing. The first episode of this engaging podcast on the subject, helmed by Herridge and her colleague Khalil Thirlaway, considers the demand for pangolins, for the production of everything from wine to shoes. Episode two focuses on reptile smuggling, and episode three on the black market eel trade, with instalments on ivory, bushmeat, fossils and more on the way Hannah J Davies To Live and Die in LA “How far would you go to find a missing person you’ve never met?”, asks Neil Strauss in true-crime catnip style. Last season, a listener helped solve a case, and this time around the missing person in question is 20-year-old Elaine Park, who vanished in Malibu. Strauss and his ex-wife Ingrid swerve the usual tired murder tropes, preferring to build up a picture of Park’s personality with help fromMike Einziger of the rock band Incubus and his wife Anne-Marie Simpson. The result is an investigation with empathy. Hannah Verdier Producer pick: The Atlas Obscura podcast Chosen by Elena Morresi I was completely overjoyed to come across The Atlas Obscura podcast almost by accident at the beginning of summer. A childlike giddiness came over me as I walked down the same street where I’ve been taking my daily exercise since the pandemic started. Suddenly I was transported to the world’s biggest treehouse; a natural swimming pool in Iceland; the north pole. It’s a cliche to say, but the smelly, noisy city melted away, and before I knew it I’d listened to five episodes of the travel programme and wandered off far past my front door. Dylan Thuras and an endless stream of engaging reporters host this research-packed, pacy series of 15-minute bite-size episodes, each investigating an unexpected place on the planet. Atlas Obscura has been my ticket to wanderlust that no travel restriction has been able to cancel. They have new episodes every day – and they organise real world trips when travelling is possible. Talking points A new Audible podcast will look at the life of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Chasing Ghislaine is hosted by journalist Vicky Ward, who profiled Epstein for Vanity Fair in 2003 and has claimed that the magazine prevented her from publishing allegations of sexual misconduct. It launches on 15 July. Why not try: International Infamy | Tom Allen’s Room of Gifts | Decoder Ring Get in touch If you have any questions or comments about Hear Here or any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com