Review and Thoughts on Serial Podcast

The podcast Serial is based off the murder of Hae Min Lee in January of 1999. The popular podcast tells the horrifying story of Min Lee’s death and the arrest of her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed, which resulted in a prison sentence that he is still serving to this day. Although he was arrested for murder, there was never actual evidence that proved Syed to be the murderer. 

Despite the fact that I’m not the biggest fan of podcasts, I thought Serial was still an enjoyable listen. I found the story interesting, thrilling, and filled with suspense. I also liked how she not only included her own opinion, but also the opinions of various people who knew Syed. This is a great addition because it makes the podcast less biased than if it was only the narrator sharing her opinions.

The idea of presenting this podcast in an investigative journalism format is very interesting and unexpected as this format is usually seen on TV. It really wants the viewers to use their own imagination and visualize the things that are happening to make the experience a lot better than seeing it on a screen.

While listening to Serial, I began to wonder about how the victims family felt as it must've been a tragic moment for them. I think that they must feel sad every time the podcast is mentioned because they probably don't want to remember the past events. Compared to reading, I think I prefer podcasts a lot more. This is because I find it much more efficient as I can multitask while listening whereas if I'm reading, I have to focus solely on reading.

In the beginning of the podcast, Koenig mentions the challenges of memory. I strongly relate to this as almost everyday, I'm unable to remember all of the events unless they're important. This raises problems for the rest of the podcast as Syed or anybody else could lie about what happened at the events leading up to the murder.