‘Serial’ Podcast Credited With Doing ‘Better Policework’ Than Actual Police

Since it’s debut, the Serial podcast has only been gaining steam and popularity. In some cases, the podcast is being credited as doing better police work than the police themselves managed to do way back in 1999. If nothing else, the episodic broadcasts is shedding light on the difference between perception and fact.

For those who haven’t yet listened to Serial (what are you waiting for?), this podcast is one that focuses on the murder of Hae Min Lee in the parking lot of a Best Buy store located in West Baltimore, Maryland. The man who has been held accountable for that murder, Adnan Syed, was the former boyfriend of the victim. While there was an apparent admission of guilt by one of Adnan’s friend, Serial is taking another look and starting to cast doubt on a prosecutor’s case.

Exactly what happened in January of 1999 might never be known. It’s also possible we know exactly what happened. As the Guardian points out, Syed was convicted largely thanks to his friend, Jay. Jay says Syed called him shortly after killing Lee and told him the girl was dead.

According to Jay he also made the comment, “I can’t believe I killed her where I f**ked her.”

According to Syed’s brother, the Serial podcast has changed the way he views the case. That doesn’t mean he believes that his brother could eventually be totally exonerated, but he thinks Serial is doing a better job checking into some things than the police did. Part of the reason it’s doing that is because so many people are listening to the podcast. In fact, the Serial podcast is one of the most popular downloads on iTunes. It accomplished that despite the fact that Serial hit the scene with very little fanfare. The podcast wasn’t really advertised by NPR.

That means that Serial has managed to become this popular a podcast because of its content. RadioTimes points out that Syed’s brother thinks that everything producer Sarah Koenig says is new to him. Yusef Adnan claims he listens to the show over and over again, while he is alone in his room, hashing over the details and wondering whether his brother is the killer he’s purported to be by legal authorities.

The greater scrutiny on the family and this case has actually allowed the family to heal as well. Yusef says one of his estranged brothers has actually come home and visited. Yusef believes that’s thanks to the Serial podcast as well.