This American murder

‘Serial’ podcast turns true-crime mystery into must-listen phenomenon

[Ed. Note: We interrupt your regularly scheduled television column for a detour into the world of podcasts.]

Baltimore-area high school senior Hae Min Lee was found dead in 1999. Her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was convicted of her murder, and is currently serving life in prison. 

That’s the nutshell launching point for “Serial,” a podcast from the makers of NPR’s “This American Life” that has become a bona fide cultural phenomenon in recent months, breaking iTunes download records and spawning more water-cooler chatter and Reddit rabbit holes than a Westerosi wedding. 

About a year ago, host Sarah Koenig, “This American Life” producer and former Baltimore Sun reporter, followed up on an out-of-the-blue tip that the details of Adnan’s conviction were fishy. She looked into it, eventually got obsessed with it, and has been thoroughly reinvestigating the case with her team of producers. They pore through original case files, retrace steps, scrutinize evidence, and interview anyone and everyone remotely related to the case—including dozens of hours of phone interviews with Adnan from prison. 

Koenig and her team (which includes editorial consultant Ira Glass) have been unspooling that investigation week by week with all the panache one would expect from radio’s greatest storytelling outfit. What might have been relegated to the finest 20-minute segment in the history of “This American Life” has thankfully, gloriously been given space to breathe, and has emerged as the most compelling and addictive episodic narrative in recent memory.

The story from Adnan and his supporters, who have maintained his innocence these past 15 years, goes like this: The smart, affable, well-liked kid couldn’t possibly have murdered anyone. The state’s case against him was entirely circumstantial; no physical evidence linked him to the crime. The defense’s star witness—really, their entire case—was the exceedingly shady Jay, who claimed Adnan killed Hae in a fit of jealousy. As Jay tells it (although his story changes throughout the investigation), Adnan made clear his intention to kill Hae, orchestrated a plan to strangle her in a Best Buy parking lot, made it back to track practice to cement an alibi, and later buried her body (with Jay’s help) in a nearby park.

Despite a complete lack of damning physical evidence—no DNA, no fibers, none of the things the “CSI” team would hang a case on—the state convinced a jury of Adnan’s guilt because of a sketchy series of cell phone records and the testimony of his weed dealer.

You’d think by my skeptical tone that I’m a true believer in Adnan’s innocence. In many ways, the storytelling mechanics Koenig and her team employ are designed to make me feel that way. Some say the “Serial” crew is willfully misleading listeners, or that the disarming and charismatic Adnan is playing Koenig (and the rest of us), while she (and we) eat it up and ask for more. 

I disagree with those characterizations. The team’s reporting has been thoughtful and measured. Sure, the information they’re uncovering is parceled out to increase dramatic narrative effect, but it doesn’t lack objectivity. The simple fact, which has been admitted by various legal experts, is that Adnan probably shouldn’t have been convicted of this murder. The case was paper thin, his lawyer wasn’t very good (she was later disbarred in scandal), and the police work was lazy at best, corrupt at worst. 

The question is not whether Adnan should’ve been convicted. The question is whether he actually did it. That’s what has tantalized millions of listeners and made Thursday mornings the first instance of “appointment listening” since before the advent of television. 

The show and its popularity also raise questions about our culture’s fascination (some may say perverse obsession) with crime and violence, and whether we should be ashamed of ourselves for obsessing over this horrible tragedy for the purposes of entertainment. Then again, there’s also the flip side: if Adnan really is innocent, the show’s popularity, and the renewed interest and uncovering of facts it has inspired, could give him back his life. 

On the subject of Adnan’s guilt or innocence, I can say with 100 percent confidence: I have no fucking idea. His account of the events has plenty of holes—enough that twelve of his peers considered the evidence and returned a lightning-fast verdict that put him away for the rest of his life. The fact that he was a popular kid and is charming as hell in his phone calls with Koenig proves precisely zero about the case, even if it does make the whole thing that much more compelling.

In the coming episodes (as of this writing, nine have aired so far, and Koenig has estimated they’ll produce about a dozen) at least one question must be answered if this experiment is to have any satisfying resolution whatsoever: Does the MailChimp lady think the C-H is pronounced like a K and she’s saying Mail Kimp—or does she think the H is actually an A and she’s trying to say Mail Caimp?

Next time, on “Serial.” 

New episode every Thursday. Available at iTunes and SerialPodcast.org.

For more from Matt Cauthron, check out his interviews with Tulsa musicians Whirligig, Robert Hoefling and Wink Burcham and Dustin Pittsley.