Podtastic - Serial

by Lauren

Serial is a spin-off of NPR's This American Life. But don't let the NPR part make you think this is some soothing-voiced drone that is going lull you to sleep in traffic - no. Serial is a gripping crime drama, brilliantly told over the 12-episode season.

The way the narrator, Sarah Koenig, unfolds the story is nothing short of brilliant as she navigates - without judgment - the twists and turns of this 15-year old murder case.

Here's the summary from their website:

On January 13, 1999, a girl named Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, disappeared. A month later, her body turned up in a city park. She'd been strangled. Her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested for the crime, and within a year, he was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. 

The case against him was largely based on the story of one witness, Adnan’s friend Jay, who testified that he helped Adnan bury Hae's body. But Adnan has always maintained he had nothing to do with Hae’s death. Some people believe he’s telling the truth. Many others don’t.

Sarah was approached by a friend of Adnan to dig into what she believed was incompetent  (and possible corrupt) work by his defense attorney that resulted in Adnan's wrongful conviction. As she began to dig through court reports and interview tapes - which you get to hear - she realized the story was much bigger and more complicated than it first appears.

Over the season, she recounts facts, analyzes transcripts, talks to experts, finds and interviews old friends and witnesses, visits the crime scenes, and challenges Adnan's side of the story through frequent phone calls from the jail where he is serving a life sentence. 

Who is lying? Who is telling the truth? And really - how can you tell? Can you ever really know what someone is truly capable of?

You will binge this podcast. Each episode will change the way you think about the case and the people involved. Just when you think you know what happened, you don't.

And that is what will keep you coming back.