The Next Call with David Ridgen uses a unique format to reinvent the true crime podcast. Like many others, it focuses on unsolved cases of murder and missing persons. The host wishes to help victims' families discover what happened to their loved ones. The main difference here is that David Ridgen does all of his investigations using the phone. He talks to relatives about the victim's personality and day-to-day life. He calls the people who saw them last to build a timeline of the crime. Ridgen speaks to law enforcement to understand why the investigation stopped. He then follows the leads as far as he can to try to progress toward an answer.

All the cases in The Next Call occur between Calgary and Ontario in Canada. The benefit of only using the phone is that Ridgen can explore as far as he needs. He doesn't have to book flights and rent hotel rooms. He only needs to know the correct numbers to call. It also allows him to work on several investigations at the same time. This strategy helps more families and produces more content in the process.

Another exciting byproduct of this podcast format is revealing the investigator's thought process. Ridgen plays the calls in the order he made them in real life. He adds some narration to provide additional background. Other than that, the narrative of the investigation is completely linear. It shows what ideas each conversation evoked and how it affected the next steps.

The Next Call with David Ridgen is a podcast series that deals with a different case each season. The first one was about 15-year-old Melanie Ethier, who disappeared in 1996. Throughout three to five episodes, the host seeks to discover as much as he can without leaving his house. Ridgen has a disarming quality about him that makes people open up and reveal surprising details. That same quality makes him a great storyteller and the podcast a compelling listen.