Serial Podcast

[Pushead2]

I searched for a thread or post about this podcast, but didn't see anything.

Anyone else been following and listening to the episodes? I'm completely hooked. It's so compelling and just absolutely intriguing.

Here's a brief summary from the podcast's site:

On January 13, 1999, a girl named Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, disappeared. A month later, her body turned up in a city park. She'd been strangled. Her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested for the crime, and within a year, he was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. The case against him was largely based on the story of one witness, Adnan’s friend Jay, who testified that he helped Adnan bury Hae's body. But Adnan has always maintained he had nothing to do with Hae’s death. Some people believe he’s telling the truth. Many others don’t.

Sarah Koenig, who hosts Serial, first learned about this case more than a year ago. In the months since, she's been sorting through box after box (after box) of legal documents and investigators' notes, listening to trial testimony and police interrogations, and talking to everyone she can find who remembers what happened between Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee fifteen years ago. What she realized is that the trial covered up a far more complicated story, which neither the jury nor the public got to hear. The high school scene, the shifting statements to police, the prejudices, the sketchy alibis, the scant forensic evidence - all of it leads back to the most basic questions: How can you know a person’s character? How can you tell what they’re capable of? In Season One of Serial, she looks for answers.

I provided some helpful links below:

Podcast: www.serialpodcast.org

Reddit: www.reddit.com/r/serialpodcast/

[Pushead2]

Episode 7 was just released if anyone is listening.

[Buck]

Downloaded them all this morning. Going to marathon them to end my work day

[Pushead2]

Originally Posted by Buck

Downloaded them all this morning. Going to marathon them to end my work day

Awesome - let me know what you think.

I have a few of my teammates that are doing the same thing.

[Buck]

Episode 1 done. A lot of backstory. No feelings of guilty/not guilty yet. Leaning towards guilty though only because most people in prison for murder are actually guilty.

Episode 2: Leaning more towards guilty. The car ride thing seems pretty damning.

Episode 3: Mr. S is a really weird coincidence or he knew something. I'm hoping we find out more about him later. Not feeling any more or less guilty after this episode.

Episode 4: I'm only 10 minutes in. But it's starting to feel more like Jay is the culprit or he's covering for another friend that he knew was the culprit.

[Buck]

Ok I'm through 6 episodes now. I feel like 95% sure Jay was in on the whole thing and possibly the murderer and I feel about 90% sure Adnan was in on it.

[Buck]

So I read the AMA on reddit and the few things that stick out were.

Jay is dating Steph. Jay is cheating on Steph with Jen. Hae is Steph's friend. Hae probably bought weed from Jay. She could have been buying weed from him at Best Buy or elsewhere when she confronted him about telling Steph he was cheating and he may have killed her for that.

Secondly, Jay started working at a porno store and a sexual deviant found the body. It's possible Jay told Mr S to find the body as it was all part of his plan to implicate Adnan.

I wish the call to Nisha could be explained because that's what's making me continue to think Adnan is lying.

[Baby Lee]

The biggest thing that has me still resisting Adnan's innocence is the nature of how he defends himself. He keeps going back to 'not looking disheveled' or 'not going into a fit of rage in front of others,' rather than something more empassioned or befuddled.

Almost like someone who's irritated that people aren't noticing how effectively he covered his tracks, more than someone who is wrongly convicted.

But overall, it's an irritating exercise, because this kind of 'in depth' reporting exposes, to me, just how much I'm not privy to. I won't venture to guess if the narrative is guided by a naivete over what is compelling or dispositive, or purposefully to lead us to a preordained conclusion, but it grinds me to not have greater access to the full facts adduced and make my own conclusions.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

The biggest thing that has me still resisting Adnan's innocence is the nature of how he defends himself. He keeps going back to 'not looking disheveled' or 'not going into a fit of rage in front of others,' rather than something more empassioned or befuddled.

Almost like someone who's irritated that people aren't noticing how effectively he covered his tracks, more than someone who is wrongly convicted.

But overall, it's an irritating exercise, because this kind of 'in depth' reporting exposes, to me, just how much I'm not privy to. I won't venture to guess if the narrative is guided by a naivete over what is compelling or dispositive, or purposefully to lead us to a preordained conclusion, but it grinds me to not have greater access to the full facts adduced and make my own conclusions.

To me it sounds like Andan has been trying to please people his entire life while at the same time he has a me first attitude. It's very perplexing.

The fact that the Innocence Project is now backing him is weird to me because of what I've heard, he is guilty in my head.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Buck

To me it sounds like Andan has been trying to please people his entire life while at the same time he has a me first attitude. It's very perplexing.

The fact that the Innocence Project is now backing him is weird to me because of what I've heard, he is guilty in my head.

I'm far from a 'reefer madness' type, but it seems to me that the unwritten star of this series is how difficult it is to establish a coherent narrative it is when you have a bunch of potheads telling you 'their story.' I don't think pot had much at all to do with this crime, but when all you have is a bunch of altered chroniclers [npi], it does end up like an episode of Colombo smashed into an episode of That '70s Show.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I'm far from a 'reefer madness' type, but it seems to me that the unwritten star of this series is how difficult it is to establish a coherent narrative it is when you have a bunch of potheads telling you 'their story.' I don't think pot had much at all to do with this crime, but when all you have is a bunch of altered chroniclers [npi], it does end up like an episode of Colombo smashed into an episode of That '70s Show.

Apparently the next episode is called (spoilers)

Spoiler!

The Deal with Jay

Interested very much in this episode. Wondering if Sarah actually interviews him or if the episode is just about him. Also the first noun in that title refers to what he bargained for. Should be a good one.

[Pushead2]

To be honest, after listening to it and doing research via reddit / google, I think Jay killed her. I'm still not sure though on Adnan's involvement. In a court of law, I don't think they had enough evidence to convict. If I was a jurror, I would have thought "suspicious - can't prove anything."

In regards to what Baby Lee said, he doesn't say it on the podcast, but there are several articles from 1999 & 2000 where he has stated that he's innocent and that Allah would show the truth. I think it's just tiring to say I didn't do it for years and years with nobody believing.

[Pushead2]

Originally Posted by Buck

So I read the AMA on reddit and the few things that stick out were.

Jay is dating Steph. Jay is cheating on Steph with Jen. Hae is Steph's friend. Hae probably bought weed from Jay. She could have been buying weed from him at Best Buy or elsewhere when she confronted him about telling Steph he was cheating and he may have killed her for that.

Secondly, Jay started working at a porno store and a sexual deviant found the body. It's possible Jay told Mr S to find the body as it was all part of his plan to implicate Adnan.

I wish the call to Nisha could be explained because that's what's making me continue to think Adnan is lying.

The Nisha call to me is troubling, but I don't think it's the smoking gun. the conversation they're clearly talking about isn't the one on the day of Hae's murder. He didn't work at the video store then. Who's to say Jay didn't speak to her & she thought it was Adnan? It could be SO many things but it's clear the recollection of the call isn't that particular Nisha call.

Another fact that gets me as odd is that Jenn knew that Hae was strangled but that information wasn't listed to the public yet. How did she know that??

My biggest damning clue towards Adnan is he claimed that Jay & him were just acquaintances but he lent him his car & hung out with him a few times before he was arrested. What kind of acquaintance is that?

[keg in kc]

Just listened to the first hour. Really fascinating.

[Pushead2]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Just listened to the first hour. Really fascinating.

Yes sir, it'll definitely get you intrigued.