The podcast Serial, narrated by Sarah Koenig, was incredibly interesting and enjoyable to listen to. It was about a 17 year old boy named Adnan Syed, who was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The podcast was based around Sarah Koenig trying to determine the truth about what happened to Hae Min Lee.
Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed
I enjoy watching, reading and listening to murder mysteries so this podcast was very interesting and fascinating for me to listen to. I have never had to do an assignment based around a podcast before, so this was a new experience for me. I had to use new skills to listen carefully so that I could understand and remember everything that was being said. A particular aspect that I liked about listening to the podcast was how interactive it was for the listener. As the listener, I could piece together facts, develop my own ideas and visualize the setting and characters. I also liked that I could hear everyone’s tone of voice. Their tone of voice showed their expressions and perspectives on a subject. This helped me to thoroughly understand the speaker, which is very important for a crime story because I was able to get a sense of who was telling the truth and who was lying.
The podcast Serial summarized an investigation of a murder crime. Presenting the information in the form of a podcast was an alternative to the traditional form of a newspaper article or report. A crime investigation can be somewhat subjective depending on how the facts are presented. A podcast is an excellent way to clearly understand the suspects and investigators because you can hear their tone of voice and understand what they are trying to say. You can understand if the narrator or other character expresses a bias. A podcast also provides proof of all the facts. A recording can not change what someone says, so it can be used as concrete evidence. I think that presenting journalism in the form of a podcast like Serial is very unique.
The event in the podcast happened in real life, which means that the people mentioned in it are real and had gone through everything that the podcast stated. This podcast is very popular which can add to the emotions and stress of both Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lees’ families. Within the first episode, it does not appear that the families are involved in many interviews, so the effect of popularity of the podcast will have a smaller effect on them. I am sure that Adnans’ family has mixed feelings about the podcast because it could reveal the truth about what happened. After the first episode, it is unclear what the truth is, however later episodes may prove that Adnan is guilty or innocent.
The podcast highlighted that the investigation and trial took place six weeks after the murder. For many people, including myself, it is very difficult to remember what you did on a specific day six weeks ago. Sarah, the narrator mentioned that if there is a defining event that happened, you will remember events throughout the day much better. This is because our brains have selective memory, which means that it will remember things that it thinks are important, and forget the things that are not. Sarah made a good point in saying that “if nothing significant happens, the answers get very general. I most likely did this, or I most likely did that ” (Koenig, 3:18-3:27 minutes). This means that some of the suspects who were questioned in the podcast could have easily mistaken the things they did on one day for another day, which makes it difficult to collect accurate facts and information. I know that I would not be able to remember a day that happened six weeks ago. I would only be able to assume things. For example if it was a week day then I could confidently say I was at school and that I went to swim practice and then I went home and worked on my homework. It is very easy to accidentally tell a lie or make a mistake when you cannot remember exactly what you did.
I definitely prefer to listen to a podcast than read a book because I can just listen and imagine what the narrator is telling me, rather than having to focus on reading every word. Listening to a podcast, I can hear the expression and tone of the narrators, and other characters voices to further understand their perspectives. The one difficulty with podcasts is getting direct quotes with proper punctuation to portray exactly what the speaker said. Having someone tell you information is much easier than reading and trying to understand what the writer is meaning to say. By the end of the podcast, I was completely drawn in and wanted to listen to the next episode to learn more about the murder.
Works cited
Devon Alliance Church. “What Are You Thinking About?” Devon Alliance Church, 2020, http://www.devonalliancechurch.ca/podcasts/media/2019-09-01-what-are-you-thinking-about.
Koenig, Sarah. “Season One.” Serial, 2014, serialpodcast.org/season-one.
Litsa, Tereza. “Podcast SEO 101: How to Optimize Your Podcast for Search Engines.” Search Engine Watch, 23 Jan. 2020, http://www.searchenginewatch.com/2019/06/03/podcast-seo-tips-101/.
Michael. “Selective Memory – Why Do We Remember Some Things And Not Others?” Exploring Your Mind, Exploring Your Mind, 16 Apr. 2018, exploringyourmind.com/selective-memory-why-do-we-remember-some-things-and-not-others/.
Roark, David. “Serial and the Question of Liturgy.” The Village Church, 11 Dec. 2014, http://www.tvcresources.net/resource-library/articles/serial-and-the-question-of-liturgy.
Villarreal, Yvonne. “HBO Doc ‘The Case Against Adnan Syed’ Picks up Where the Heralded ‘Serial’ Podcast Left Off.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2019, http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-adnan-syed-serial-hbo-20190309-story.html.
Elly's Blog 