Ashley Flowers

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This is a host article.

Ashley Flowers

Ashley Flowers (born December 19, 1989) is an American podcast host, media entrepreneur, and author. She is the creator and host of Crime Junkie, one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world, and the founder and CEO of audiochuck, a true crime podcast network.

Early life and education

Flowers was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. She studied biological sciences at Arizona State University. After graduating she worked in biomedical research and pharmaceutical sales before pivoting to media.

True crime origins

Flowers's entry into true crime media began through volunteer work with Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana, where she eventually joined the organisation's board. She subsequently created a segment called "Murder Monday" on RadioNOW 100.9, an Indianapolis radio station, which became a local following. These experiences provided both the storytelling instincts and the law enforcement contacts that informed her later podcast work.

audiochuck

In 2017 Flowers founded audiochuck, a podcast production company, using $13,000 from her personal savings. The company is named after her dog, Charlie. From a single show, audiochuck has grown into one of the largest independent podcast networks in the United States, producing titles including The Deck, Anatomy of Murder, CounterClock, and others. In 2022 the Chernin Group invested $40 million in audiochuck, valuing the company at an estimated $250 million. The network's combined catalogue has exceeded three billion downloads.

Flowers earns an estimated $45 million annually from the network and associated ventures.

Crime Junkie

Flowers co-created Crime Junkie in December 2017 with her lifelong friend Brit Prawat, who serves as co-host. The show follows a consistent format: Flowers narrates a true crime case in detail while Prawat acts as the listener surrogate, asking clarifying questions and reacting to developments. Episodes are released weekly and typically run 30–50 minutes.

As of 2025, Crime Junkie attracts approximately 10 million weekly listeners. It was named Apple Podcasts' #1 Show in both 2022 and 2023, and ranked #2 on Apple's chart in 2024, ahead of The Joe Rogan Experience on that platform.

Published work

Flowers published her debut novel, All Good People Here, in 2022. The thriller, set in small-town Indiana, became a bestseller and drew on narrative techniques from her podcast work.

Controversies

Plagiarism allegations

In August 2019 journalist Cathy Frye alleged that a Crime Junkie episode covering the murder of Kacie Woody closely reproduced language and details from Frye's 2003 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette articles without attribution. Several other creators and journalists subsequently came forward with similar allegations. audiochuck removed several episodes from the feed and Flowers issued a statement acknowledging attribution failures.

Anatomy of Murder lawsuit

In November 2025 the hosts of Anatomy of Murder, another audiochuck production, filed a lawsuit against the company alleging breach of contract related to SiriusXM revenue-sharing arrangements.

Cross-show context

Flowers operates in the same true crime space as Dateline NBC and its correspondent Keith Morrison, though the two properties differ substantially in format: Crime Junkie is audio-native and host-narrated, while Dateline is adapted from a television news magazine. Both draw from the same audience pool of true crime listeners and occasionally cover the same cases.

See also

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