‘Serial’ is a great first podcast

The podcast “Serial” started to tell the gripping story of Adnan Syed, a convicted murderer who was accused of killing his girlfriend, Have Min Lee, on October 3, 2014.

The case seemed pretty straightforward until the murderer’s mother sought the help of the podcast’s host, Sarah Koenig, to find answers to questions that didn’t seem to line up in the case against Adnan.

From the beginning of the podcast, Koenig explains that she is never trying to prove Adnan’s innocence but only going to get the facts straight. And as that happens, nothing seems to line up and it all hinges on one person’s testimony and 21 minutes that were unaccounted for.

“Serial” hit the top of the iTunes ranking before its debut and has been hailed a game changer in the world of podcasts. “Serial” helped bring podcasts to the forefront of many people’s entertainment, including mine.

I was very skeptical of the podcast at first as I already have music, television, movies and social media. But due to the podcast’s intense story and its format, I have been opened up to a whole new world of free entertainment.

I had heard amazing things about “Serial” and decided to give it a shot because I was ready for something new. I was happy with the decision I made. From the first 3 minutes of the podcast, I was hooked. I couldn’t stop listening. It was almost like not being able to put down a good book.

Every second I listened to the podcast I wanted to know more and more. So many questions came to my mind. Is Adnan guilty? What really happened that day in 1999? Was Adnan just playing us the entire time? And finally, how in the world does this end? From a long history of watching crime television shows, I kept trying put all of the pieces together to figure out what really happened. But unfortunately, real life doesn’t have the same happy outcomes as television.

This story has everything: passion, love, murder and betrayal. Everything that makes a mystery a good story. The first season of Serial has a total of twelve compelling episodes with a few followup episodes to continue the story. Serial does have a few episodes with explicit language due to the real nature of the story, but it isn’t too frequent.

Two seasons are out so far, both covering different stories. The show has been signed on for at least one more. Episodes initially aired weekly, but in season two, it was changed to every other week. Serial is a good first podcast. It has a good story and every episode is readily available for optimal “binge” listening. It’s nothing but pure, gripping entertainment.

—zrogers2222@icloud.com