Serial: Season 01 Discussion - This American Life meets True Detective

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Malyse

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WARNING: Due to the nature of the program, current episode spoilers will be discussed and unmarked. That being said, any external independent research should be spoiler tagged. AKA tag anything that you know for a fact that would ruin later episodes. Also, this is a show you have to catch from the very beginning. Skipping ahead will wreck the experience.



Literally one of the best podcasts out right now.

Serial is a podcast where we unfold one nonfiction story, week by week, over the course of a season. We'll stay with each story for as long as it takes to get to the bottom of it.
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SEASON 01:
The death of Hae Min Lee

EPISODE 01
THE ALIBI

It's Baltimore, 1999. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. He says he's innocent - though he can't exactly remember what he was doing on that January afternoon. But someone can. A classmate at Woodlawn High School says she knows where Adnan was. The trouble is, she’s nowhere to be found.​

EPISODE 02
THE BREAKUP

Their relationship began like a storybook high-school romance: a prom date, love notes, sneaking off to be alone. But unlike other kids at school, they had to keep their dating secret, because their parents disapproved. Both of them, but especially Adnan, were under special pressure at home, and the stress of that spilled over into their relationship. Eventually Hae broke up with Adnan. And then, depending on who you ask, Adnan was either understandably sad and moping around, or full of rage and plotting to kill her.​

EPISODE 03
LEAKIN PARK

It’s February 9, 1999. Hae has been missing for three weeks. A man on his lunch break pulls off a road to pee, and stumbles on her body in a city forest. His odd recounting of the discovery makes Detectives Ritz and MacGillivary suspicious. For instance, why did he walk so far into the woods - 127 feet - to relieve himself? And that’s just the start. A look into the man’s past reveals some bizarre behavior.​

EPISODE 04
INCONSISTENCIES

A few days after Hae’s body is found, the detectives get a lead that opens the case up for them. They find Jay at work late one night and bring him down to Homicide. At first, he insists he doesn’t know anything about the murder. But eventually he comes clean. He tells them what happened on January 13th. A few weeks later, he’s back at Homicide and his story has changed. In some ways, these changes are small and understandable. In other ways, they’re big and confounding.​

EPISODE 05
ROUTE TALK

Adnan once issued a challenge to Sarah. He told her to test the state’s timeline of the murder by driving from Woodlawn High School to Best Buy in 21 minutes. It can’t be done, he said. So Sarah and Dana take up the challenge, and raise him one: They try to recreate the entire route that Jay said he and Adnan took on January 13th, 1999.​

EPISODE 06
THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED

The physical evidence against Adnan Syed was scant - a few underwhelming fingerprints. So aside from cell records, what did the prosecutors bring to the jury, to shore up Jay's testimony? Sarah weighs all the other circumstantial evidence they had against Adnan, including curious behavior, a disconcerting note, and an unexplained mid-afternoon phone call.​

EPISODE 07
THE OPPOSITE OF THE PROSECUTION

Adnan told Sarah about a case in Virginia that had striking similarities to his own: one key witness, incriminating cell phone records, young people, drugs - and a defendant who has always maintained his innocence. Sarah called up one of the defense attorneys on that case to see if she could offer any insight into Adnan’s case, and got much more than she bargained for.​

EPISODE 08
THE DEAL WITH JAY

The state’s case against Adnan Syed hinged on Jay’s credibility; he was their star witness and also, because of his changing statements to police, their chief liability. Naturally, Adnan’s lawyer tried hard to make Jay look untrustworthy at trial. So, how did the jurors make sense of Jay? For that matter, how did the cops make sense of Jay? How are we supposed to make sense of Jay?​

EPISODE 09
TO BE SUSPECTED

New information is coming in about what maybe didn’t happen on January 13, 1999. And while Adnan’s memory of that day is foggy at best, he does remember what happened next: being questioned, being arrested and, a little more than a year later, being sentenced to life in prison.
​

EPISODE 10
THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE

Adnan’s trial lawyer was M. Cristina Gutierrez, a renowned defense attorney in Maryland – tough and savvy and smart. Other lawyers said she was exactly the kind of person you’d want defending you on a first-degree murder charge. But Adnan was convicted, and a year later, Gutierrez was disbarred. What happened?​

EPISODE 11
RUMORS

Almost everyone describes the 17-year-old Adnan the same way: good kid, helpful at the mosque, respectful to his elders. But a couple of months ago, Sarah started getting phone calls from people who knew Adnan back then, and told her stories of a different kind of boy.​

FINAL EPISODE
WHAT WE KNOW

On January 13, 1999, Adnan Syed was a hurt and vengeful ex-boyfriend who carried out a premeditated murder. Or he was a bewildered bystander, framed for a crime he could never have committed. After 15 months of reporting, we take out everything we’ve got - interviews and documents and police reports - we shake it all out, and we see what sticks.​

Extra info

Slate.com Serial coverage
Rabia Chaudry's spoiler free Serial blog

alex chilton said:
Anybody that wants to listen to the music from the podcast you can stream it here

http://www.stereogum.com/1712477/he...-for-this-american-life-offshoot-serial/mp3s/
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To kick things off, do you think Adnan did it?

Do you think justice was served in this case?
 
Episode 4 is up? Sweet. Thanks for the heads up DreamDrop!

Also, to answer your question, I'm not sure. I haven't researched it myself yet, because I guess the show is one part informative, one part entertainment for me. Selfishly I don't want to spoil myself. I hope there's an episode that talks about the physical evidence used against Adnan, because right now the only thing we know is that there are a few inconsistencies in the official story, and an out of the blue confession from a friend of Adnan that doesn't seem to fit all that well.
 
It is so good. Decided to pick up on listening to TAL and it was episode 1 of Serial. I'm on board to the end.

The format with the website and extra info is really neat.
 
Adnan's a sharp dude in any case.

http://serialpodcast.org/posts/2014/10/the-price-of-tea

Adnan says he’s thought about this a lot in relation to his own case, and he’s always been baffled by it; how some people (the jurors) sat through the trial and heard one thing, and others (his family, his lawyers, his friends) sat through it and heard the opposite.

"I read a book about a prosecutor who said it’s not always about innocent or guilty, it’s about who can persuade the jury,” Adnan said. “And they’re not being dishonest — nothing about that graph is dishonest — but it’s kind of misleading. It’s darker, it’s zoomed in, the heading is underlined. Everything about it is misleading, but it’s true information.

"When I first came [to prison], I was naïve to the law, to prison life, to a lot of things," he said. "Now that I’m older, I see guys naïve to the law coming in. I use this graph to illustrate it. Probably people here say, 'Oh my god, Syed showed you that damn graph, didn’t he?' And I’m like, 'No it proves a point!' It proves a good point. So I’m kinda infamous for those graphs.”
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Fascinating story. Really well done, as always from things even tangentially related to This American Life.
 
Thanks for posting this. I wrote up most of an OP for Serial a few days ago, but I didn't get around to finishing and posting it.

The This is American Life team is producing a second podcast called Serial. It follows a single story for a 'season' as it unfolds over a number of episodes. The first season examines the murder of a high school student in 1999.

I haven't listened to it yet, but it's garnering attention and I figured some people might be interested in it. Has anyone listened to the first few episodes? There are three available now.

Here's Episode 1.
It's Baltimore, 1999. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. He says he's innocent - though he can't exactly remember what he was doing on that January afternoon. But someone can. A classmate at Woodlawn High School says she knows where Adnan was. The trouble is, she’s nowhere to be found.
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Here's a description from The New Yorker:
Last Friday, I visited the Manhattan offices of “This American Life.” It was a day that, as Ira Glass said on the broadcast, “has been written on our white board in big letters for months”: the day of the launch of “our first real spinoff.” As of that day, he said, they would be making two shows each week, “This American Life” and a podcast, “Serial,” co-created and hosted by the veteran “This American Life” producer Sarah Koenig. “Serial” has an irresistible concept, one that seems obvious and inevitable as a form: a season-long exploration of a single story, unfolding over a series of episodes. Combining the drama of prestige-television-style episodic storytelling, the portability of podcasts, and the reliability of “This American Life,” the show has been, perhaps not surprisingly, ranked at No. 1 on iTunes for much of the past couple of weeks. It held that position even before it débuted. The first season investigates a 1999 murder in Baltimore County, Maryland.

At the beginning of episode one, Koenig says, “For the last year, I’ve spent every working day trying to figure out where a high-school kid was for an hour after school one day in 1999.” She says that she’s had to ask unsavory questions about a group of teens’ relationships, sex lives, and drug habits. “And I’m not a detective, or a private investigator, or even a crime reporter,” she adds. Her objective is to find the truth behind a conviction whose evidence was scarce and which put a teen-ager in prison for life. Last year, Koenig was contacted by a woman named Rabia Chaudry, who had read some articles that Koenig had written years ago in the Baltimore Sun, about a defense attorney who was disbarred in 2001 and who later died. That attorney had represented Chaudry’s friend Adnan Syed, who in 1999 was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. Chaudry, who has always believed Syed to be innocent, thought that the attorney had mishandled the case—perhaps even thrown it—and asked Koenig to take a look. She agreed, and that turned into the investigation that became “Serial.”

In January of 1999, Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, disappeared. Her body was found six weeks later in a wooded area, in nearby Leakin Park. Lee had been strangled. Syed’s friend Jay testified that Syed had killed Lee, and that he had helped bury her body. Jay’s story had changed a few times, and there was no physical evidence linking Syed to the crime. But the jury made its decision swiftly, and Syed, then seventeen, was convicted and given a life sentence. Now thirty-two, he has been in prison for fifteen years. He has always maintained his innocence—he says he didn’t do it, had no reason or desire to kill her, and doesn’t know who did. He also can’t remember what, exactly, he was doing for an hour after school that January.

Like “This American Life,” “Serial” is patient in pacing and conversational in tone: it sounds like your smart friend is investigating a murder and telling you about it. But it’s a bit more serious than “This American Life.” It’s not presented as an entertainment, in Acts I, II, and III; it doesn’t take a quote from the episode and use it out of context at the end, in an amusing goof involving Mr. Torey Malatia; it doesn’t use pop songs as ironic segues between scenes. It’s a thoughtful exploration of real, recognizable people—responsible, athletic teen-agers in a magnet program, who are close with their immigrant families, get good grades, have jobs (as an E.M.T., or at LensCrafters at the local mall), and fall in love at the junior prom to K-Ci & JoJo’s “All My Life.” Koenig interviews Syed extensively, as well as Syed and Lee’s friends, teachers, and relatives. Syed is warm and appealing, as are Chaudry and her brother Saad, Syed’s good friend. In fact, everybody is. It seems impossible that Lee’s murder could have happened at all, or that Syed could have been convicted of it. But both things did happen. That’s the mystery.
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It's so good. I'm enthralled by the mystery. Have Episode 4 queued up but haven't listened to it yet, gotta get through a couple other podcasts first.
 
Jay was totally involved, tried to pin it on Adnan. His ever-changing testimony and Adnan's lack of an alibi are the only things connecting him. No actual evidence.
 
Considered making a thread for this several times, but was always driving home while thinking about it. This is one of those podcasts where I'm foaming at the mouth waiting for the new episode to come out. I almost want to stop listening just so I can listen to them all at once, but it's just so good. This kind of investigative stuff has always been what I love most about This American Life, and I'm really glad we have an entire show dedicated to it now. What will be interesting to see after this, is if they're able to keep up the quality of the stories every "season" in that they have an engaging story that they can stretch out for several months of episodes.
 
Also, spoiler tags are appropriate for this thread, by giving your opinion on who did it or other details, you're kinda hurting the experience of others who havent heard it yet.
 
Is anyone else in love with that theme? Lord it's brilliant.
The Dennis System said:
That's like saying "if you like television, I'm sure you'll like True Detective". Not everyone likes murder mysteries.
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Some things are objectively good regardless of personal preference. This is one of those things.
 
The Dennis System said:
That's like saying "if you like television, I'm sure you'll like True Detective". Not everyone likes murder mysteries.
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Why are you getting into semantics? Yes, not everyone will like it, most people will. Humans are naturally curious and inquisitive, people tend to enjoy mysteries.
 
huxley00 said:
Also, spoiler tags are appropriate for this thread, by giving your opinion on who did it or other details, you're kinda hurting the experience of others who havent heard it yet.
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I added a disclaimer to the topic.

The Dennis System said:
That's like saying "if you like television, I'm sure you'll like True Detective". Not everyone likes murder mysteries.
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huxley00 said:
Why are you getting into semantics? Yes, not everyone will like it, most people will. Humans are naturally curious and inquisitive, people tend to enjoy mysteries.
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Please don't argue.
 
What is this world where you're going to spoiler tag real events.

What do you know about "ruining" *my* experience. None of you even know what is your own experience with this thing yet.
 
I'm thinking Jay either did it or at least knows a lot more than he's letting on. Then again, Adnan almost has a psychopathic calmness to the outcome.
 
Jumping in to say that is indeed fantastic and thanks for letting me know that episode 4 is up. Is it going to be every Thursday?

Looking forward to Serial-GAF.
 
butalala said:
Jumping in to say that is indeed fantastic and thanks for letting me know that episode 4 is up. Is it going to be every Thursday?

Looking forward to Serial-GAF.
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Should be. I intend to update the OP with the boilerplate and bump the thread when it's live (on iTunes)
 
Absolutely. This American Life is so top-notch, and this follows up with that quality exactly. I thought I heard somewhere around a dozen episodes, but that could be completely wrong.
 
I have to listen to this weeks episode still but I am loving this. Also great how the website give some other info in regards to the episode or shows some stuff mentioned in the episode.

There hasn't been any talk about the length of the "season" has there?
 
I heard the first episode on TAL earlier in the month and I was so tempted to make a topic for it. I may listen to the 2nd episode tonight at work. TAL really knows how to get you to want to smack/hug/cry to your radio.
 
ImpalingNarwhal said:
Absolutely. This American Life is so top-notch, and this follows up with that quality exactly. I thought I heard somewhere around a dozen episodes, but that could be completely wrong.
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I recall hearing that as well and that the research continues week to week so the twists that they find will be what we eventually hear. It is really compelling.
 
Barrylocke said:
I heard the first episode on TAL earlier in the month and I was so tempted to make a topic for it. I may listen to the 2nd episode tonight at work. TAL really knows how to get you to want to smack/hug/cry to your radio.
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Woo boy. You are in for a ride. Episode 4 really sold me on the side I'm on.
 
aerts1js said:
So if you were wrongfully convicted you'd just be over it after 14-15 years? I'd still be desperately trying to seek/prove my innocence.
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Minority experience in America. Once "justice has been served" that's it. See also: Trayvon Martin. And you have no idea how soul crushing it is to fight a battle you've already lost for 15 years.
 
DreamDrop said:
Minority experience in America. Once "justice has been served" that's it. See also: Trayvon Martin. And you have no idea how soul crushing it is to fight a battle you've already lost for 15 years.
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True, but he doesn't exactly sound soul crushed but yeah; I'm thinking Jay knows a lot more than he let on in 1999.
 
It's interesting how self-conscious the producers seem to be about this thing. Like they're real worried people aren't going to be able to handle a podcast in parts like this. The title, Serial, like they really want you to remember that these happen in order, there's this "how to listen to podcasts" page (complete with video) the "last time on" thing they do at the start of the podcast.

DreamDrop said:
Is anyone else in love with that theme? Lord it's brilliant.
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It's from the dude behind Islands. In this-connection-is-only-really-worth-mentioning-on-a-video-game-forum, Jim Guthrie--of Sword and Sworcery, Indie Game The Movie soundtrack, other video game tunes fame--was also a member of Islands. Islands is p good.
 
aerts1js said:
So if you were wrongfully convicted you'd just be over it after 14-15 years? I'd still be desperately trying to seek/prove my innocence.
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15 years is a very long time. I barely remember the time before I worked at my current job or lived in my current house and it's only been 6 and 3 years, respectively. At some point things just become the way they are if you have no control and little hope.
 
Some suprising good stuff, since I'm normally not into podcasts or radio (non-music). Not going to listen anymore though, I'm relating way too much to Adnan and it's making me feel bad.
 
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