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Within this past week, I have listened to one of my first podcasts as well as read a novel, and if I had to opportunity to do it again, I would definitely pick listening to a podcast over reading. Don’t get me wrong; both types of media have their advantages and disadvantages but, in my opinion, I prefer listening to podcasts. After listening to the first episode from the podcast series “Serial” by Sarah Koenig, I began to understand the true meaning behind podcasts and how they are like audio versions of novels.
Sarah Koenig, speaker in Podcast
So, to start things off; what is the podcast “Serial” about? The podcast series “Serial” follows the story of Adnan Syed’s arrest for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999 (SERIAL). In the first episode, Sarah Koenig focuses on the alibi of Adnan in hopes to find evidence that proves his innocence or guilt. While listening to this podcast, I found it interesting how Sarah incorporated so many different features to help grab the audience’s attention. For instance, the music at the beginning helped intrigue people to keep on listening while suiting the atmosphere of the podcast perfectly. Another part of the podcast I found very interesting was when she included the interviews and testimonies of other people about the events which occurred in 1999. This helped provide the audience with factual evidence rather than evidence found from incorrect sources.
Adnan Syed & Hae Min Lee
I like the idea of presenting investigative journalism in the format of podcasts and documentaries. Podcasts are a relatively new and creative way to present information because there are no images, creating a more beneficial way to present information. Without the influence of images, people are able to interpret the information in whatever way they see fit, preventing bias. In today’s world, there are many different stereotypes and labels attached to different minorities, cultures as well as individuals. By not including images in podcasts, people will listen to the information first without knowing that the criminal or involved parties look like. In doing this, judgments will not be made according to appearance but rather about the information given throughout the podcast. Podcasts are a great way to inform others about investigations while reducing bias towards individuals because the audience can paint their own images in their heads themselves.
The fact the podcast series “Serial” is so well-known and used for educational purposes, I think both families have been impacted in some way. When thinking about the emotional impact of the popularity of this series, it could be looked at in two ways. One; the family could be happy about getting the word out regarding this case; hoping others will come forward with more information, or two, the family could be upset about the outcome. Since this podcast series is so popular, many people also have an eye on the way their personal lives are like. When thinking about the family of Hae Min Lee, I think they are really appreciative of Sarah Koenig and all the work she has done in order to find more evidence regarding this case and/or solve it. In my opinion, I think this podcast series would definitely have an impact on both the families whether because of the support from viewers or the interest from people who want the case solved.
Family of Adnan Syed
Personally, when discussing the challenges of memory, I would have to say I have a terrible memory. On a daily, I tend to forget what I had for breakfast or the conversation I was having with someone five minutes ago; never mind remembering what happened 5 or 10 years ago. For me personally, to be able to remember an event from a given day, it would have to be very important or something I had a lot of fun doing. An event people tend to say was “memorable.” While listening to the podcast, an issue or concern I had was determining whether or not the testimony from the girl who wrote the letter to Adnan was truthful. Since this event happen such a long time ago and to me doesn’t sound very important or ‘memorable’, then how do you know she is telling the truth? For me, it is difficult to trust the memory of this witness because of the very large time gap for them to remember such precise details. Overall, this was one of the major concerns in the podcast regarding the honesty of the alibi witness.
Hae Min Lee & Adnan Syed at Prom Together; before Murder
In conclusion, I really enjoyed listening to the first episode of the podcast series “Serial” by Sarah Koenig and if I had the chance, I would definitely consider listening to more. I believe podcasts are going to be one of the future’s main types of media, simply because of the convenience of listening to them.
Work Cited
Serial. “The Alibi.” Serial, The American Life , 2014, serialpodcast.org/season-one. Accessed 20 July 2018.
Kayla Peters 