In a highly visual culture, inundated with pictures of Kim Kardashian’s butt and infographics, I have managed to become obsessed with a podcast. Plugging in my earphones weekly to hear the story of a man who may have been jailed for no reason, I am completely hooked on Serial.
Serial, the new This American Life spinoff podcast, follows a non-fictional crime narrative across weekly episode installments (the ninth one comes out this Thursday night!). The goal: to figure out if Adnan Syed, a man jailed for killing his ex-girlfriend while he was in high school in 1999, was wrongfully convicted. The host Sarah Koenig, who continually reminds us that she’s just as new to crime as most of the listeners, guides us through the tangly case. She actually doesn’t know if he is innocent, and she’s collecting evidence as she goes. If she solves the crime, Adnan could be freed. It’s a documentary film meets crime show meets This American Life story. The stakes are very high.
An usually aural crime, the murder case lends itself perfectly to radio. In a murder case that never had video footage or reliable fingerprints, all the evidence rests on testimonials, interviews, and phone calls to prisoners. Koenig, through the stories she captures, weaves a raw, human element into an inherently thrilling murder story. Never on a high horse, she’s on the ground digging up scraps of evidence and threads of stories. Koenig evenly reports on Adnan and the other suspects; whenever she comes close to casting a judgement, a perplexing piece of evidence or an anonymous call surfaces and she’s back asking questions.
I won’t give any spoilers here — mostly because, eight episodes in, I still have no idea who did it. I’m dying to know. Serial is the perfect thing to listen to while driving, working out, or taking a study break. The next episode comes out on Thursday. But, if you haven’t listened yet, start with the first episode and listen in order. My apologies to your family if you’re plugged in to your computer for all of Thanksgiving break following Adnan, Sarah and the diverse cast of characters all trying to figure out what the deal is with this murder case. Not that sorry, though. Everyone should listen to this. Check it out at http://serialpodcast.org