Ok, so I lied in the title. Serial doesn't even begin to compare to real cereal. If I was forced to choose between a podcast and Fruity Pebbles, I’d pick Fruity Pebbles 101 times out of 100. Just thought I’d clear that up.
Once again, I’m fashionably late to a party. About 2 months late, to be exact. I tend to show up late to a lot of parties. I don't mean parties in the literal sense of the word. I'm actually referring to: movies, TV shows, books, and in this particular case, podcasts. The party/podcast that I showed up late to is called Serial. I would highly recommend subscribing to it for free on iTunes or streaming it online at http://serialpodcast.org/ (also free). People wouldn't stop talking about it on social media and I decided to finally give it a shot. So far, so good.
Serial is a podcast created by the makers of This American Life. It takes us through a murder mystery week by week and is hosted by Sarah Koenig. The season, if you could call it that, began on October 7th and there are a total of 11 "episodes" currently available.
Without giving away too much, the podcast is about a murder that occurred in 1999. A young woman went missing in Baltimore, MD, and after a few weeks, her body ended up being found in a park. Her ex-boyfriend was the primary suspect and was charged and convicted with murder. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.
Why, you ask, would a story about a 15 year old murder — where there was a conviction — be interesting or relevant at all today? Well, the answer that question is because Koenig has been investigating this old murder case and she might have reason to believe that the man convicted may not have actually been guilty.
As you might have guessed, this is based on a true story. Yes, that's right. Koenig has dug up old files and contacted witnesses and family members to help re-piece this case.
I’ve probably already spoiled some of it so I really can’t say much else. All you need to know is it’s a really fascinating podcast and you should give it a listen. I’m only about halfway through the season and I’ve listened to episodes at work, in the car, and even in my free time. Koenig is a great host/narrator and her voice is easy on the ears.
I never thought I’d ever be interested in something like this because, lets face it, there are no visuals. It isn’t like a TV show where you can see everything play out in front of you. The entire podcast is built on Koenig’s ability to make you feel as though you're right next to her — helping her, in a way — uncover the truth behind this murder mystery. She does a brilliant job of this.
The series, so far, has been perfectly paced. Different aspects of the story are provided one at a time to keep the story neat and relatively linear. Koenig draws on old testimonies and recordings and also incorporates present day interviews to find a nice balance of information being presented to the listener. She takes you through her mind and thought process while also allowing you to think/decide for yourself.
The best part about the podcast, though, is that it’s nonfiction. Again, this is a true story being told and these are real life people being interviewed. She even has conversations with the convicted "murderer" and they're the actual recordings. You're able to listen to entire conversations and it's pretty incredible.
I can’t even remember what I did yesterday and Koenig is trying to have people recall a specific day 15 years ago! Some are irrelevant while others are key pieces to the puzzle. Personally, I’m intrigued by this mystery and I NEED to know how it plays out. It’s fair to say I’m slightly obsessed and if you have any free time at all, I’d highly recommend giving Serial a shot.
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