Episode 1 of Sarah Koenig’s podcast, “Serial,” revisits the murder of Hae Min Lee through a journalistic investigation conducted by Koenig fifteen years after the crime was committed. The podcast is primarily driven by Koenig’s narrative voice as she frames the events of January 13th, 1999 within the anecdotes that she gathered from her interviewees. As for the sound design of the podcast, Koenig’s inclusion of interview excerpts, recovered court audio tapes, and her own narration kept the podcast varied and deepened the story. Since her intention was to retell an event that occurred fifteen years ago to a modern audience, she was challenged to bring the listeners back to that exact moment in vivid detail without using any visual aids. “Serial” relies heavily on the strength of Koenig’s storytelling skills and her ability to captivate the listener and hold onto their attention for the entire hour that the podcast runs. She achieves this by hooking the listener through the gradual reveal of details that leaves them wanting to know more about the case. Even though the podcast ends without Koenig producing any solid evidence that implicated or vindicated Adnan Syed, her experienced storytelling within the true crime genre was enough to maintain the interest and attention of the listener.
I would also like to note that I listened to this podcast while I was taking public transportation, which allowed me to closely focus on the story while I was participating in a mandatory part of my day that normally passes without any entertainment. I found the medium of the podcast interesting because it can be easily integrated into your daily life without demanding a huge time investment. Listening to “Serial” might even motivate me to pick up the habit of following podcasts in my down time to relax while also keeping my mind active.