All I can say is… this episode didn’t age well….

I started to listening to Mike four years ago. His show is one of the best crime shows I ever listened to. Soren scale TV is the best never disappoint with any of his episodes.

This is by far my most favorite podcast. Mike Boudet and his team deliver an exceptional episode EVERY time. It is the only podcast that I pay for because it is THAT good. The detail of the crime, the people involved & the underlying reason/story are always clearly laid out. The 911 calls, police interviews, Mike’s interviews with family, friends, witnesses & story links and photos are always meticulously factual & so informative. I appreciate the time and effort that was put into each episode. I love Mike’s voice, the side commentary & his thoughts. Listen, learn & enjoy - you will love it!!!

I just stumbled upon this podcast as an avid true-crime listener, and I was really into the stories. A few episodes in, I heard one or two ignorant or misogynistic comments. I thought, “hm.. give him another chance, keep listening”, but the comments never ended. I like the work Mike Boulder does, but the comments and overall attitude surrounding victims is completely ignorant and uneducated.

So happy I found you through my lash tech. Sword and scale is my favorite! Ive binged all your content. Please keep it up you’re the best!!

Mike is an amazing story teller! He grabs you the second you hear his voice and takes you through dark, scary horrific stories, but he keeps you on the edge of your seat! I am a true crime fanatic and this is the best True Crime podcast around! Thanks Mike and crew!!!

There is an ever growing list of true crime podcasts. The entire genre has exploded over the last decade. I’ve been listening to SaS since about 2015. Every true crime podcast I attempt to listen to simply don’t scratch the itch. Maybe I’ve been spoiled with SaS. When you’ve been listening to the best and you’re comparing everything to the best, nothing will satisfy. I started listening on Apple Podcasts. Now I use the Sword and Scale app and I pay for the service. I’m not at top tier so I don’t get the video episodes but the audio ones are awesome. Give it a listen, but I warn you: it’ll ruin all other true crime podcasts if you listen to others. There’s simply no comparison.

My favorite true crime podcast. Love EVERYTHING else you do also. Keep it up. You’re doing great.

I’ve been listening to S&S for a long time. Been a plus member for a while as well. Mike is absolutely one of the best voices out there. His ability to captivate an audience with his storytelling skills & his cadence is unmatched. S&S has been my number 1 for years & has not been bumped out of that number 1 spot for over 6 years. Do yourself a favor & download the S&S app. Love, A SaShole

This is by far the best true crime podcast I’ve heard. I used to listen to a ton of true crime podcasts until I found Sword and Scale! Mike is a genius and the way he delivers content is like that you’ve never heard. You can tell that him and his team truly care about the stories they tell!! They are raw and gritty. I love it!!!! The tv also is the best I’ve seen. Keep it up Mike!!!

S&S 👍👏

I’ve been listening to this show for 11 years and nothing else comes close to the quality and storytelling of Mike and his team

By far the most incredible true crime podcast ever produced!!!

I love Mike’s narration, and the stories are always done so well. Thank you for the + update. I Love S & S! Keep doing what you’re doing because it works!

While I don’t always agree with Mike’s commentary, there’s no denying he’s a phenomenal storyteller. After 11 years of doing this, his ability to uncover and share some of the most compelling stories is impressive on its own. I know he gets a fair amount of criticism—and even I get frustrated by some of his rants—but to me, it’s worth it. He’s genuinely passionate about true crime and brings a lot of creativity to the genre. I always look forward to the weekly episode drop, and I fully support all of his side projects. Nightmares is such a cool concept—it reminds me of a more toned-down Monstruo. Sword and Scale is hands-down my favorite podcast. No one does it quite like Mike Boudet.

This podcast is absolutely captivating—I’m completely hooked! I love everything about it: the content, the energy, the voices, the stories… all of it! Truly incredible work.

I’ve been listening to true crime podcasts as long as I can remember, yet I somehow just managed to find this one… like a week ago! How??! But it is now my absolute favorite! I love the stories and the narration! Mike does an amazing job at telling the story without getting off track and making this a talk show!

Just tell the story dude.

The narrator is kind of a wierdo but his story telling is thorough. If you can get past unnecessary commentary give it a go. Invisible choir is basically that version of you can’t.

The host is meh- Swindled is a much better option.

Hands down the best true crime podcast out there. I have been listening for at least 5 years. So much work is done by the team to get every detail that makes each episode so interesting, especially interviews which a lot of other podcasts miss. However, the host is so annoying throwing in degrading comments and unnecessary opinions that take away from the story and just make me roll my eyes. I get it, it’s his show he can say what he wants, but it makes me not want to listen even though the rest of the show is so well produced.

I mean, 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.

Would appreciate less of your thoughts. Thanks

Mike is THE story teller of the true crime genre.

I’ve really enjoyed this podcast. I discovered it over a year or so ago. I’m disappointed, though, that it’s now all for subscribers only. It’s also more expensive than most podcasts, too. What’s that about?

It’s a great show and I like the detail and not dancing around the heavier topics. However, one thing I notice in each episode is the narrator can have some commentary that is unwarranted for lack of a better word. I think he just needs to rein it in sometimes. Otherwise, great listen.

I have been listening to sword and scale for years, since the beginning!! I love what Mike puts into these episodes. It’s nothing short of amazing. He pulls you in and keeps you on your toes. Keep it up!! I love it!!

Subscribers only. I love love love your podcast and would love to be a member but can’t right now. I use to be in my car and able to listen more but I can’t now and don’t want to pay and not get to hear like I would like. I always go to your first and love to go back but now I can’t:(

Please ask the 911 callers to speak more clearly. I know it’s the worst moment of their life. I need the hear what’s happening though!! If you didn’t know this is a joke my now…. ,l,,

Highly recommend this podcast!

The research and storytelling is great but I find myself more and more distracted with his unnecessary commentary on things like “must be because of that systemic racism right?” Or “they would probably be democrats” and really terrible times that deflect from the story and ruin the flow. Even if someone agreed with the statements, it’s in such juxtaposition to his narrative style and really just ruins episodes. I appreciate good storytelling and I respect people’s differing views but this is unnecessary to his stories and too frequent for me to continue or recommend this show. Bummer.

Always been my favorite show. The subscription is worth every cent. Thanks Mike and S&S crew. Your work is impeccable.

Mike is the best! Stories are suspenseful and I love listening to the recordings of the ppl involved. I’m a documentary junkie and this is my go to when I want to listen to a podcast. Ohhhh and best part of the podcast are the listeners who leave Mike voice messages! lol the Karen’s and Ken’s who call are too funny and Mike always has the best responses.

I thought this was the greatest podcast when I first started listening. Maybe in the last 6 to 9 months I have noticed blatant sexist comments, when the host speaks directly to “Ladies,” mostly commenting on the stupid things we do to get ourselves killed. The most egregious comment happened in ep 281. when describing a victim of a horrific murder he referred to the victim to a ‘Blind B word.’ So I’m out if I wanted to hear a hateful sexist I’d watch the news.

It appears that this idiot‘s only true talent is complaining….while complaining about other people complaining. A perpetual victim who occasionally has a good true crime episode. In a sea of true crime podcasts, I find this the most skippable.

I’ve been listening to the show for about 8/9 years and have found it to be consistently thorough and well produced with the exception of the most recent year. The host has both an objective and subjective narration, mostly stating the facts of the case but also sprinkling in his own thoughts through sarcasm, nuance, and straightforward opinions. At times he has also makes political statements but the current socio/political climate in the USA has apparently led everyone to believe they are a qualified political sounding board, so I take it all with a grain of salt and try to attend to the story. My recent reservation has been the closing segment of the show where the host plays voicemails from listeners. He will play both positive and negative voicemails and, of course, while he appreciates the positive voicemails, he reacts angrily unhinged to the negative voicemails. For someone who voluntarily puts himself in the public spotlight, his capacity to receive negative feedback appears to be undeveloped after all these years. Some of the language he uses toward the listener mirrors that of the very murderers he reports on, leaving one to wonder if all the years reporting on the depraved side of humanity has rubbed off or if since becoming his own production company, he now freely exposes his dark underbelly. The subject matter is angry and aggressive enough, the host’s added rage is superfluous and a bit disconcerting. All this to say, if I end up murdered, prime suspect might be Mike Boudet for this less than glowing review. Could still be a solid true crime show the host’s rage against his listeners puts a damper the quality listener experience. Maybe take up journaling for some of that pent up rage, Mike.

The experience of Sword and Scale from start to finish is like no other. Mike is equal parts sass and Intelligence. Keep it up sir genius!

I love this show (hate the unfortunate outcomes, but still love the show), maybe I’m an idiot asking the question in this space, but does the move to the new podcast, “This Doesn’t Happen To People Like Me” replace this show altogether?

Was pretty into the story and approach and then dude went on an unprovoked wild angry rant about how sex work isn’t work in the middle of introducing a character … like real ANGRY tone shift. Jarring and totally misogynistic but definitely telling of what kind of person this is. The kind you don’t want to end up alone with n

Why do podcasters talk so sloooooow???

….he starts spewing off really unhinged/bigoted comments out of nowhere. It’s so jarring and random. It ruins the listening experience, and it’s disappointing. So unnecessary.

I have listened to the show for nearly ten years and have enjoyed it very much until recently The reason I can no longer listen is because of recent political derogatory remarks against one party. I don’t want to listen to the host’s political opinions. There is far to much of that in the media. The reason I listen to podcasts is to get away politics.

Back in 2017 when I discovered this podcast, I went back to the beginning and it was episodes 5, 6, 7 that opened my eyes to real evil and secret societies. Fast-forward to 2025 and you now hear about Epstein and P Diddy, John of God, Peter Nygard. Those episodes reveal that our government not only promotes but hides what happens to missing children. This podcast was way ahead of it. It's time.

This is one of my favorite true crime podcasts. They cover a lot of stories you otherwise wouldn’t hear about. Keep em coming.

The host now uses AI to host instead of his own voice. It’s so awful

They are stories that deserve to be told, because people need to be reminded of all these beautiful souls that didn’t deserve what happened to them. I don’t get why I even torture myself with this. But the episode about Tori where the foster mom beat her to death and now the Jessie Lunsford episode has me bawling my face off. It’s so awful. I cannot believe the evil that walks among us,

Bro went INNNNNNN on Susan LOL that made my morning. Hahahahahahahahaha

Mike tells it like he sees it. He’s not afraid to speak his mind, doesn’t coddle criminals or make excuses for murders. He has a great voice and tells stories in a compelling way, that draws the listener in. Love his honesty!

The storylines are great but the narrator’s dramatic pauses after every…single…sentence…makes it unbearable to listen to. In my humble opinion - I would work on the narration - to make it a better podcast.

I’ve been paying for this podcast for about 5 yrs now and I do not regret it at all. I can’t hardly listen to other ones because they’re not nearly as good as this show.