Presenting the story

If you can’t access Netflix, or would prefer to listen rather than watch, I’d like you to turn to the undisputed mother of true crime podcasts—Serial, whose first season has been downloaded more than 300 million times. The podcast was launched in 2014 to tell the story of American high school seniors Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed. One day after school in 1999, Lee vanished. Her body was found in a Baltimore city park and Syed, her ex-boyfriend, was arrested for her murder and sentenced to life in prison. Syed’s conviction hinged on the story of one witness, his friend Jay, who claimed that he had helped Syed bury Lee’s body.

I'd like you to listen to the whole season, playing close attention to how journalist Sarah Koenig presents the plot, draws characters, and introduces wrong turns and cliff-hangers to keep listeners glued. You can listen to episode one below and you can find further episodes on the link above, or on your favourite podcast app for on-the-go listening. I do recommend sitting down to listen to at least the first episode as if you were reading a book on watching a film, though, dedicating your full attention to it.

On the link above, you can also find extra article and images related to each episode. How do these contribute to the otherwise audio-exclusive story? Does the audio stand alone, without these extra multi-media aids?

Complete and continue