'Serial' podcast

So I know this isn't a book or a movie but I just finished the podcast Serial and I have to write about it! It is a spinoff of the radio program This American Life. Serial explores a nonfiction story for about an hour each week. I say "nonfiction story" because that is how it is described on Wikipedia but I think it is reasonable to say it will focus on crime stories.

In the first season we meet now 34-year-old Adnan Syed who is currently serving a life sentence for kidnapping and first-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee (some articles add false imprisonment and robbery) which occurred back in 1999. It ran in 2014, October to December, and I don't think Sarah Koenig expected all the attention it has gotten. I mean, check out these 6 sensational theories concocted by fans which, I think, are an indication (especially #6) of just how much people liked it and are therefore thinking about (or really over thinking) it.

For Sarah and the Serial team this started in 2013 when she got an email from Rabia Chaudry, the older sister of Adnan's best friend, Saad. They believe Adnan is innocent. The Serial team took a year and investigated the case as an impartial third party. Sarah says she did not have an ending in mind; the intent is to go where the story leads, regardless of where they end up. In other words, they are not out to prove Adnan's innocence.

So even though we weren't promised (and I think, *spoiler alert,* didn't get) a satisfactory conclusion, I thought the podcast was still really good: Sarah is a really good narrator and the case is pretty interesting. If you haven't listened to it yet and the subject interests you, I recommend you check it out. But remember you aren't listening to an episode of Law & Order where the people aren't real and the bad guy gets what's coming.