Serial (podcast)

rdf:langString Serial (podcast)

rdf:langString Koenig reveals she has new information about the call at 2:36. First, Laura claims there were never any pay phones in front of the Best Buy, but Jay's drawing shows a phone booth in front of the Best Buy, and he claimed Syed was standing by that phone booth with red gloves on. Second, Lee's friend Summer says that Lee could not have been dead by 2:36, because she had a conversation with Lee between 2:30 and 2:45. Others also saw Lee after school that day. Third, Asia saw Syed at the library in that same time frame. Sarah Koenig explores Syed's perspective as he was questioned, arrested, tried, and sentenced, as well as his letters to friends about life in prison. She mentions that she has reasonable doubt, not in the legal sense, but in the "normal person" sense.

rdf:langString Part two of the two-part finale concludes by following Joshua, a minor convicted of several crimes, as he moves from the juvenile detention center to the county jail.

rdf:langString A profile of Judge Daniel Gaul and his questionable sentencing methods that seem to be based on his biased opinion. The episode also examines how judges have the powers to sentence people based on their personal beliefs about the justice system.

rdf:langString Anna, a young woman at a bar, is repeatedly harassed by being slapped on the butt by men she does not know. The harassment eventually results in a bar fight where law enforcement gets involved and Anna accidentally ends up assaulting an officer. With the fight started by men harassing Anna, why is she the only one getting arrested? This episode covers her case from the pretrial until she eventually pleads guilty, just like over 96% of the cases in the Justice Center Complex.

rdf:langString Part one of the two-part finale discusses the juvenile justice system and the adverse affects incarceration can have on youth in the criminal justice system.

rdf:langString A profile on Jesse Nickerson, a man beaten by the cops and as a result of his trial, got them sentenced to prison. The episode follows Nickerson after the fact and highlights how his life has been altered since the incident. Arnold Black, also beaten by cops on his way home, is thrown into a cell with no food or human contact for several days and no one knows he is there. The episode highlights the corruption and abuse of power of the criminal justice system in Cleveland.

rdf:langString In 2009, the search for Bergdahl was in hands of two low-level personnel recovery intel analysts for Afghanistan, at CENTCOM in Tampa, not a division in-theater. Hostage recovery was not at the top of list of priorities for the CIA, NSA, or other intelligence agencies, and resources were consequently not available. Because Bergdahl was held in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, there were also complicated diplomatic issues. In 2013, General John Campbell made it a top priority to recover Bergdahl, and Colonel Jason Amerine audited everything done in Bergdahl's case and in other hostage cases. Agencies such as CENTCOM, SOCOM, DOD, and the State Department seemed to hand off responsibility for recovering not just Bergdahl, but other American hostages as well, making a dysfunctional hostage recovery policy. Koenig observes that frustration was the central theme expressed by those she interviewed, who were struggling against competing interests and limits on what the U.S. is willing risk to get hostages back.

rdf:langString What was going on with the captors? Bergdahl's description of his captors is confusing, largely because his perspective was from inside a cage, inside a locked room. Koenig interviews David Rohde, another American held captive by the Haqqani network for about seven months, who had been abducted with two Afghan colleagues who could interpret what his captors were saying and doing.

rdf:langString Episode 5 discusses the power of prosecutors and what motivates them to make the decisions they make. Koenig follows Brian Radigan, a respected prosecutor, as he negotiates a plea deal.

rdf:langString Questions remain about Bergdahl's case. First, people with him during Coast Guard boot camp did not understand how could have enlisted in the Army, given their graphic recollections of his breakdown, which was not a "garden variety panic attack". General Kenneth Dahl wrote that Bergdahl's Coast Guard separation should have been examined more closely. Koenig summarizes: the Army messed up, Bergdahl messed up walking off base, and then there were five years with the Taliban. But that leaves out the reckoning desired by the military. They want an accounting. What was Bergdahl's fault, and what was not? General Michael Flynn, formerly head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, says authoritatively people died on missions to find Bergdahl. But the evidence is not so clear, in spite of the six names from the 501st battalion on missions to find DUSTWUN that have been cited in the media. Other soldiers in his unit were convinced that finding Bergdahl was part of all their missions following his disappearance, so the six deaths were connected to Bergdahl. Some cited resources dedicated to finding him that were not then available to other operations. Sergeant Major Ken Wolfe, however, advised looking "at a map and a timeframe", meaning after 45+ days, Bergdahl was in Pakistan. No infantry unit would be deployed to look for Bergdahl, as it would have required special forces. But what about second- and third-order consequences of his desertion? Wolfe dispels these arguments as "speculation and hypothetical". Perhaps the mission to find Bergdahl was the top cover to justify other unrelated missions the Army units needed to accomplish, as an excuse to gain assets and permission to "get outside the wire". Flynn points out they did not have bullet-proof intelligence on where Bergdahl was. But resources were diverted and people were injured and suffered because of looking for Bergdahl. Who is to blame for variables causing the deaths and injuries in wars? The country signed up for all the things attending war, including disillusioned youth and failing Army recruiting systems. Mark Boal's remaining question: what is an appropriate punishment for Bergdahl, who did not intend to cause harm? The Army treats most deserters who walk away from a base as headcases because it is so dangerous. Ambivalence about Bergdahl reflects societal confusion about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the war on terror. Bergdahl is still a soldier, now classified as "present for duty". He has an office job at a base in San Antonio, waiting for the Army to decide his fate, just waiting — which he knows how to do.

rdf:langString How credible was Jay's story? Koenig interviews a jury member, who said Jay seemed like a nice young man and believable. A professional detective says the investigation of Lee's murder was better than average, and Jay had handed the police the case on a platter. Koenig and Snyder visit Jay, who declines an interview. Jay's friend Chris recalls what Jay told him about the murder, a story not consistent with Jay's courtroom version. Why did Jay agree to help Syed? Did Syed coerce Jay and threaten to hurt Jay's girlfriend Stephanie? His friends said Jay had a reputation for lying, but not about important things. Jay's friend Jen says she could understand why Jay might lie about some details, but she believed his story. Back to the question: what was the jury thinking?

rdf:langString This episode explores the murder of Hae Min Lee, Adnan Syed's ex-girlfriend, who was a senior at Baltimore County's Woodlawn High School. She disappeared in January 1999. Serial investigative team "follows up on long-dormant leads, rechecks alibis, and questions assumptions." Host Sarah Koenig reveals that the story is in process and that she doesn't know how it will end.

rdf:langString A young African American, Emirius Spencer, is assaulted by two police officers in his apartment building for possession of marijuana. Later in the episode, one of the officers who participated in beating Spencer, Michael Amiott, is involved in another incident where the beating of an African American motorist takes place.

rdf:langString Has Bergdahl been telling the truth about his reasons for walking off base in Afghanistan, or just the version he could live with? Bergdahl says he left because Army leaders were dangerously bad. Dahl concluded Bergdahl's comments were truthful, that his motive was well-meaning, but based on incorrect assumptions. Mark Boal said Bergdahl's conclusions would make sense only to himself. Kayla Harrison described him as an unusual, smart, creative teenager, who forged his own strict, uncompromising moral code, who believed if you know something to be wrong in the world, you must take actions to correct it, and he was "impossibly unrealistic". He had romantic expectations, a rigid code of conduct, and a judgmental perspective. He joined the Coast Guard in January 2006, at age 19. Overwhelmed, he had been hospitalized after a panic attack, and a psychologist had assessed his "mental state significant for situational anxiety", recommending discharge with "diagnosis: adjustment disorder with depression". Bergdahl felt he was being judged by his family as a failure, a black sheep who would not do the right thing. In May 2008, to get a waiver to join the Army, he submitted a medical discharge statement that left out his panic attack, hospitalization, and the doctor's note that before re-enlisting in the military, he needed clearance by a psychiatrist. He didn't tell anyone at home he was joining the Army. He just turned up one day in uniform. Kim Harrison said it was the worst idea ever. Koenig asks, "Should the Army have let Bowe in?"

rdf:langString Deirdre Enright, Director of Investigation for the Innocence Project at the University of Virginia School of Law, and a team of law students analyze the case against Adnan Syed. Deirdre thinks the evidence against him was "thin". She advises Koenig to keep revisiting all the evidence, allowing uncertainties to remain until there is a tipping point when her questions are resolved. They start with a presumption of Syed's innocence, and ask whether they can discover who really did kill Lee. They find some undeveloped forensic evidence, but Koenig is still uncertain.

rdf:langString Producers Koenig and Chivvis test drive the prosecution's route and timeline of Lee's murder between 2:15, when school let out at the high school, and 2:36, when Jay said Syed called him for pick up in the Best Buy parking lot and then showed Jay Lee's body in the trunk of her car. While that timeline seems possible, though just barely, evidence from the call logs and records of cell tower pings do not quite align with Jay's testimony about the rest of the afternoon.

rdf:langString Koenig investigates negative rumors about Syed. People from his mosque were scared when he was arrested, some describing his story as a cautionary tale. Some believe Syed was duplicitous, capable of committing the crime. One rumor, that he stole money from the mosque, was partially confirmed by four people. Syed admitted taking some money when he was in eighth grade, but his mother found out, and he felt ashamed. Syed had a reputation as a peacemaker, "a good guy", helpful and caring. People who knew him in high school cannot believe he planned Lee's murder. Did Syed "lose it", and nurse feelings of rejection? Could Syed have committed murder in a dissociative state, not knowing he did it? Koenig explores whether Syed has true empathy or anti-social characteristics, and consults with psychologist Charles Ewing, who has interviewed many young murderers. Why does Syed not sound more angry about Jay or other people connected to his case? In an 18-page letter to Koenig, Syed reveals his concern about being perceived as manipulative, and says it doesn't matter how the podcast portrays him.

rdf:langString Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee had a storybook romance, which was kept secret from their disapproving parents. When Lee broke it off, their friends had conflicting interpretations of Syed's behavior: he was either cool with it and sad, or in a rage and hatching a sinister plot to kill her. Syed proclaims his innocence, but there are puzzling inconsistencies in the set of facts he tells.

rdf:langString Lee had been missing for three weeks when a man on his lunch break, referred to as "Mr. S", discovered her body. His account of how he found her body seems suspicious to detectives MacGillivary and Ritz, who questioned him, and his background check reveals some bizarre behaviors, including a series of streaking episodes.

rdf:langString Episode four explores the stigma around not trusting the police in a community and the death of five-month-old Avielle Wakefield who was shot in 2015. Although the man convicted of the crime, Davon Holmes, has a criminal past, he claims he is not guilty of this crime. Later, Avielle's father is interviewed and claims that he and everyone else in his community know Holmes is not guilty of the shooting, but no one will come forward because they do not want to be involved with law enforcement.

rdf:langString In addition to Jay's testimony, evidence against Adnan Syed included a palm print on a map that could not be dated, and cell phone records. Did Syed ask Lee for a ride after school to get into her car? Koenig goes through all the evidence, including the prosecution's timeline and "some stray things" that don't add up, including a neighbor's story, the testimony of Jay's friend Jen, and the sequence of cell phone calls after Lee disappeared.

rdf:langString The capture of Bowe Bergdahl is recounted by Taliban members present that day and the weeks following. Other Army soldiers discuss the initial recovery efforts and their feelings about Bergdahl following his disappearance.

rdf:langString Did anti-Muslim sentiment affect the prosecution? The prosecution argued that Syed's community would help him flee to Pakistan if bail were granted, making suggestions that Syed murdered Lee as religiously motivated killing by a lover with "honor besmirched". Defense attorney Cristina Gutierrez argued that someone else did it, and police did not look beyond Syed. His first trial ended in a mistrial, and in the second trial she cast suspicion on Mr. S and Jay as involved in the crime, but she did not present a clear outline of these arguments or scrutinize discrepancies in the call log timeline. Gutierrez discovered the prosecutor had secured an attorney for Jay – arguably a "benefit" worth money – in connection with his pleading guilty as an accessory and agreeing to testify, but the judge did not agree that this tainted Jay's testimony. Koenig does not believe Cristina Gutierrez intentionally bungled his defense, but within a year after Syed's trial, Gutierrez became very ill and she was disbarred.

rdf:langString Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl gave a 380-page statement to General Kenneth Dahl, telling the story of his deployment and what happened when he walked away from his post. Bergdahl had been a good infantry soldier up until that point, who even volunteered for extra duty, a "squared away" soldier. He had become disillusioned at his first post in Alaska after basic training and found Army leadership to be lacking. The mission in Afghanistan was counterinsurgency and nation-building, but many soldiers expressed confusion over doing "humanitarian things," rather than seeking and destroying the Taliban enemy. Bergdahl wanted adventure and action, and was disappointed in his platoon's work. The platoon was assigned a rescue mission, but they were attacked on their return, in a firefight through a ravine, eventually limping back to the post with no losses, but they were upbraided for not shaving for six days. Bergdahl was angry about the battalion commander's misplaced priorities. Bergdahl wanted to "kill the bad guys", and do better at engaging the regular Afghans, but he felt the Army was not fulfilling its counter-insurgency mission. When the battalion was assigned to dig trenches near Moest in 110-degree heat of summer, the battalion commander aggressively berated them for being out of uniform, as a breakdown in discipline. Bergdahl was offended by the punishment, feeling the commander was incompetent, and out of control. He felt he had to cause a DUSTWUN to correct the situation. So was he selfish, or selfless?

rdf:langString An anonymous caller leads detectives to subpoena Adnan Syed's cell phone records. As a result, the detectives discover calls to Jen, who is a friend of one of Adnan's acquaintances, a weed dealer named Jay. Detectives interview Jen and then Jay, who says Syed told him he killed Lee, and then forced him to help bury her body. Details of Jay's story shifted in some significant ways over four interviews, but the detectives said they were able to corroborate his story using cell phone records.

rdf:langString When Koenig questions people about what bothers them about Bergdahl's case, most say that it has become so political. Was it inevitable that it became so combative? Susan Rice characterized his service with "honor and distinction", which angered the military. Soldiers in his platoon said he walked away, and some from his unit started a "He's not a hero" Facebook page. Fox News interviewed soldiers from Bergdahl's platoon and the story became a juggernaut, with bogus intel from a discredited source even saying Bergdahl had become a Muslim and wanted to be a warrior for Islam. The political right was using the story and the platoon for political purposes, trying to bait President Barack Obama because they had been offended by the Rose Garden ceremony, which they characterized as "a tone-deaf move" on the part of the White House. The President did not recognize the irregularities of Bergdahl's story of or questions about his disappearance, and there was no attempt to get to the bottom of the story. Why did the White House make such a mistake, instead of using an earlier plan to have a quiet event? In retrospect, it was important for the President to own the decision and explain the policy behind it. By law, Congress must be given 30-day notice before Guantanamo detainees are released, but the Department of Defense had taken the lead on the trade, and had not told Congress anything. Leaks could have derailed the fragile deal, jeopardizing Bergdahl's life. Congressional staffers felt they could no longer believe anything from DOD: first, where there had been a collegial relationship before, there was now "unprecedented, profound concern about national security risk…" Second, who signed off on the trade of five Taliban? Third, were they safe to release from Gitmo? The public anger at Bergdahl is personal, wrapped in larger questions about negotiating with terrorists. As a result of this anger, the Republican congress changed the legal wording on Gitmo foreign transfer language, creating a stricter standard as a direct result of the Bergdahl trade, and the administration not telling Congress the truth. Bergdahl also had a lengthy stay in Germany, where "SERE" experts from the military community planned Bergdahl's reintegration, and debriefs took weeks. Bergdahl was unaware he had become a subject of national interest. One important question has not been addressed: there has been no official report or investigation of whether people died or were injured in the search for Bergdahl.

rdf:langString This episode returns to Emirius Spencer, the man beaten for possession of marijuana, who may be suffering from a brain injury from the incident. Whether or not the punishments of the people mentioned are fair comes into question.

rdf:langString Podcast

rdf:langString Investigative journalism

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Serialized audio narrative

rdf:langString tt11958958

rdf:langString English

rdf:langString Variable

rdf:langString A62821

rdf:langString D9C300

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Emily Condon

rdf:langString Julie Snyder

rdf:langString Sarah Koenig

rdf:langString Dana Chivvis

rdf:langString The Breakup

rdf:langString Rumors

rdf:langString The Alibi

rdf:langString Serial

rdf:langString Trade Secrets

rdf:langString Escaping

rdf:langString DUSTWUN

rdf:langString Leakin Park

rdf:langString The Snowball Effect

rdf:langString The Case Against Adnan Syed

rdf:langString A Bar Fight Walks into the Justice Center

rdf:langString A Bird in Jail is Worth Two on the Street

rdf:langString A Madman's Vacation

rdf:langString Adnan Is Out

rdf:langString Hindsight, Part 1

rdf:langString Hindsight, Part 2

rdf:langString Inconsistencies

rdf:langString Meanwhile, in Tampa

rdf:langString Misdemeanor, Meet Mr. Lawsuit

rdf:langString Pleas Baby Please

rdf:langString Present for Duty

rdf:langString Route Talk

rdf:langString Some Time When Everything Has Changed

rdf:langString The Best Defense is a Good Defense

rdf:langString The Captors

rdf:langString The Deal with Jay

rdf:langString The Golden Chicken

rdf:langString The Opposite of the Prosecution

rdf:langString Thorny Politics

rdf:langString To Be Suspected

rdf:langString What We Know

rdf:langString You in the Red Shirt

rdf:langString You've Got Some Gauls

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Episodes 1–3: weekly

rdf:langString Episodes 4–11: every other week

rdf:langString Season one: weekly

rdf:langString Season three: weekly

rdf:langString Season two:

rdf:langString Thursday morning

rdf:langString Serial is an investigative journalism podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig, narrating a nonfiction story over multiple episodes. The series was co-created and is co-produced by Koenig and Julie Snyder and developed by This American Life; as of July 2020, it is owned by The New York Times. Season 1 investigated the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee (Hangul: 이해민), an 18-year-old student at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County. Season 2 focused on Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, an American Army soldier who was held for five years by the Taliban, and then charged with desertion. Season 3, which debuted in September 2018, explores cases within the Justice Center Complex in the Cleveland area. Serial ranked number one on iTunes even before its debut and remained there for several weeks. Serial won a Peabody Award in April 2015 for its innovative telling of a long-form nonfiction story. As of September 2018, episodes of seasons 1 and 2 have been downloaded over 340 million times, establishing an ongoing podcast world record.

rdf:langString "an audio game-changer"