During winter break, my hip 30-year-old cousin, Becky, asked me if I had ever listened to Serial. I stupidly replied that cereal was my favorite breakfast food and that I eat it all the time. To my surprise, my cousin explained that Serial was not in fact a delicious breakfast food but rather a podcast series about the murder of a high school girl in Baltimore. She said that this podcast was the most amazing thing she had ever listened to, that it changed her life, and that it was “sweeping the nation.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I thought that only crotchety old people listen to podcasts and that my cousin, a habitant of Brooklyn, was trying to reference some hipster trend. I was also skeptical that a podcast could ever change someone’s life.
However, with a vacation to Mexico and many hours alone with my parents ahead of me, I thought I would give this Serial thing a try. I have to admit, as soon as I started listening to the first episode, I was hooked. I began to think that Becky was perhaps just a little right.
The host of Serial, journalist Sarah Koenig, examines the murder case of Hae Min Lee, a beautiful and popular senior girl at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was convicted of her murder in 1999 and is imprisoned with a life sentence. Adnan claims to this day that he is innocent, although he can’t remember what he was doing the January afternoon that Hae disappeared. In each weekly episode, Koenig masterfully examines Adnan’s case and finds many inconsistencies and ambiguities within it. She speaks with Adnan over the phone from prison for several hours a week and finds him to be a charming and kind character. She also finds holes in the prosecution’s testimony, more specifically with their timeline derived from Adnan’s cell-phone records. Adnan’s lawyer is also found to have made many mistakes. Koenig speaks with Adnan’s friends and family. She also discusses in grave detail the testimony provided by key witness Jay Wilds and finds several discrepancies within in it. Koenig leaves no stone unturned when discussing the people involved in the case, as well as every painstaking detail. She even analyzes salient passages from Hae Min Lee’s diary. Koenig leaves all the information on the table and allows the listener to decide if Adnan is truly innocent. (SPOILER) Koenig comes to her own conclusion that because there is so much reasonable doubt within Adnan’s case, as juror she would have acquitted him. However, as an every day citizen, she can’t say whether or not he is truly innocent.
What draws people into this podcast is 100% Sarah Koenig’s voice. Her smooth, illustrious, and calming speech is incredibly therapeutic. Several times, I found myself falling into a trance, staring at people on the beach as drool dribbled down the side of my mouth (sexy, right?). Each episode draws you in with Koenig’s artful and articulate explanations of the details in the case. In addition, the episodes are constructed well, with the most amazing intro music, interviews, and Koenig’s explanations in a perfect and logical sequence. Koenig makes each episode clear and suspense driven.
Two weeks ago, BuzzFeed as well as other news sites posted that Adnan won a motion to appeal against his murder conviction. His appeal was based on the grounds that his lawyer, Christina Gutierrez, failed to seek a plea deal and pursue a key witness in the case. The witness is Asia McClain, who claimed to have seen Adnan in the library the January afternoon that Hae disappeared.
Serial is the most creative, interesting and well-crafted piece of journalism I have ever experienced. It enlightened me about the injustice that occurs in our legal system, and how the media can play a role in undoing these injustices. In order to better understand my adoration of Serial, you have to listen to it. Season one of Serial is available on iTunes for free and is reported to have been downloaded more than 68 million times. Okay, Becky, maybe you were right.