‘Serial’ Podcast Ends, Host Says, ‘I Wish I Knew’

Every relatively new broadcast medium has its break-out production. For podcasting, it is Serial. Spun-off from long-running radio show This American Life, and from the same producers, Serial is an episodic non-fiction series of investigative journalism – the first season of which examined the real-life murder case of 18-year-old Baltimore high school student Hae Min Lee. Lee disappeared after school in 1999, and her body was discovered a month later, strangled. Her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was convicted of her murder and jailed for life, but has consistently proclaimed his innocence.

The 12-episode podcast series is hosted by Sarah Koenig, and documents her investigation into the case in what is effectively real-time. In the first episode, she states categorically that she does not know what the outcome will be, which immediately puts us by her side – processing the information as it comes in, and trying to draw conclusions about the truth. It is a complex case, however, and for some, Serial provided a harsh lesson in the often vague nature of real life.

The unprecedented success of Serial took many by surprise. Being a true-crime investigation, the podcast is actually not very different from any one of the hundreds of documentary programs that broadcast on most channels on most evenings. The difference is in the medium involved, with the nature of podcasting providing a more intimate way of consuming content. Once a convenient way of distributing radio content, the podcast has grown in popularity alongside the technology used to consume it – most notably the iPod. The Independent reports that Apple alone provides access to some 285,000 different podcasts.

Speaking to the New York Times, Alex Blumberg, former producer of This American Life, explained the appeal as being similar to that of Netflix – essentially providing on-demand programming.

“Anyone can listen to anything they want to right now, when they want to.”

With a second season of Serial planned, thanks to a successful online fundraising campaign, the Independent reports that the show might just have changed the face of podcasting forever – as pointed out by radio columnist Fiona Sturges.

“I think the genie is slightly out of the bottle, and that ‘Serial’ will embolden people to make more ambitious work through podcasting – opening it up to a whole new set of people.”

For her part, host Sarah Koenig is still answering questions about the case she has cracked open for podcast audiences everywhere. As the final episode drew the season to a close, without nailing down a real sense of closure for many listeners, the newly anointed star of podcasting lamented to NPR about the uncertainty that remains – echoing the feelings of Serial fans everywhere.

“I think something went wrong with the case. Obviously, I wish I knew. I wish I knew exactly what happened.”

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