The best podcasts to dive into this summer: Some of the ABC's best specialist podcast makers share the best series they listened to this year: from amusing true crime to 90s nostalgia and dystopian sci-fi.

There's been an explosion of new podcasts in 2019 — so if you're looking for something worth bingeing this summer, it can be hard to know where to start.

That's where we can help. We've asked some of the ABC's best specialist podcast makers to share the best series they've listened to this year.

Whether you're after amusing true crime, a "movie for the ears", the nostalgia of a 90s music festival, or a dystopian sci-fi enviro-thriller, this list will have something for you.

Kellie Riordan recommends Last Days of August

The podcast I devoured this year was Jon Ronson's series The Last Days of August. It's the follow-up to his podcast The Butterfly Effect, which looked into aspects of the pornography industry.

In this latest series, Ronson turns his attention to one particular porn actress, August Ames, who was involved in a social media pile-on after she tweeted her refusal to work with a gay porn actor. She was found dead a few days later.

It starts out as an investigation into how these social media brawls become so heated so quickly (which Ronson's written about before) but turns into part murder-mystery & part investigation into the seedy underbelly of the industry.

Ronson expertly lifts the veil on his process too, letting us observe not just the story but the way he's done the story & why. His producer Lina Misitzis is there as well to guide us through the story. At one point she talks openly about just how many porn sets she's been on to cover this story. It's in the hundreds. And in the age of , these two journalists are trying, & sometimes struggling with, their role to bear witness.

It's not always easy listening, but it's certainly a compelling & cautionary tale about the current social media driven world, & one of consent & control.

Kellie Riordan is the manager of ABC Audio Studios, the organisation's specialist digital audio content team.

Monique Bowley recommends

I avoid true crime podcasts. They spook me. Also, I hate the sneaking feeling that someone is capitalising on the misfortune of others. But this show is the brilliant exception. Amusing true crime? Is that a genre? It is now.

The story itself is a...