Selena Huynh
Serial Season One Episode 01 “The Alibi” Overview
In the opening episode of her podcast Serial, Sarah Koenig explores the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, which remains unsolved. One day, Hae Min Lee, who was adored by everyone, disappears and was later discovered dead. Six weeks later, police arrest her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed for the murder. Despite Adnan’s denials that he committed the crime, Sarah works to solve the case.
The first episode of “The Alibi” from the Serial podcast was enjoyable since it led me through an intriguing murder case that hasn’t been solved. I was shocked by the newly discovered facts the podcast revealed and was excited to learn the real story behind it. I would describe myself as a sucker for crime-related media, with Criminal Minds being one of my favourite shows. Hence, when listening to Serial, I was quite interested as I had been reflecting on Criminal Minds episodes I had watched and making connections in my mind between the methods used by the agents on Criminal Minds and Sarah’s investigation into the case of Hae Min Lee.
To gain a deeper understanding of a story, in my view, using investigative journalism in the form of a podcast may be very beneficial. Compared to writing, podcasts are more entertaining and simple to comprehend, and since you can hear the tone of the voice and piece the information together, it’s easier to visualize what is happening. Additionally, I believe it is more effective than writing since you can always access it and listen to a podcast while going about your daily business. For instance, listening to a podcast while doing activities, such as doing the dishes or going for a run, can be a way to be entertained while performing these tasks.
I believe that the success of the Serial podcast has an effect on the victims and their families. It is difficult to be reminded of an awful event that occurred to someone you deeply care about, and the success of this podcast may have a bad impact on the families of Syed and Hae Min Lee. Since this podcast gained so much popularity, it sparked a lot of discussion among the general public. Some people believe Syed should spend the rest of his life in prison, while others think he didn’t do it. The public’s remarks must be difficult for families to deal with because the internet can be an unpleasant environment. However, given the success of the podcast, might have benefited the family by promoting justice for both families. It was wonderful that so many people honoured Hae Min Lee and paid respects to her family.
“This is not a podcast for me. This is real life.”
– Young lee
I personally enjoy listening to texts rather than reading. I am able to get more done when listening to a story, for example, I can listen to a podcast when I’m cleaning my room or doing my homework. Compared to reading, podcasts have a number of benefits. It’s easy to access and because podcasts are typically shorter than books, they are more practical and simple to understand within a shorter amount of time. However, when listening to a podcast excessively, it may refrain you from working or maintaining a social life. Reading is a good alternative when it addresses challenging topics. Reading seems to make it simpler for me to process all the information because it is essentially embedded in my brain. And perhaps, reduces multitasking. So, if I had to concentrate extremely hard, reading might be the better option in some circumstances.
Upon the first episode of the podcast. In the podcast’s opening, Sarah Koenig interviews people who were present when Hae Min Lee passed away. If nothing significant occurred on the day in question, I doubt I would remember it if I were one of the individuals in this situation. I typically only recall the days when something significant and interesting occurred; if it had just been a typical day, I would have forgotten. I looked into the reasons why memories fade and found that over time, as we get older, our brains will decrease in size. Because of this, the hippocampus, which stores your brain’s significant long-term memory, loses as much as five percent of its neurons every ten years. However, a lot of things, like our health and education, affect how well our memory functions as we age. This is understandable given that doing a lot of things in a day causes you to forget things depending on everything you’ve done in the day and allows new memories to form by building on top of previous ones.
“All things being equal, it’s harder to remember things from a long time ago compared to more recent events,”
Marc Howard of Boston University.
WHERE DOES “SERIAL” STAND NOW?
Serial’s first season, which debuted in 2014, is the most well-known and popular podcast. The analysis of a 1999 Baltimore murder by Sarah Koenig has since been listened to well over 100 million times alongside has had an important effect on society. Adnan Syed received a lot of media attention, and on September 19, 2022, he was freed from prison after spending 23 years for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. Given how much exposure Serial received and how many people think Adnan is innocent, I believe it had something to do with his release. Since the podcast aired, Adnan has grown as a person tremendously. Syed’s legal representative revealed that he was previously working as a Program Associate at Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative (Brian Witte).
WORKS CITED
Koenig, Sarah. “Episode 01: The Alibi.” Serial, serialpodcast.org/season-one/1/the-alibi.
News, A. B. C. “Adnan Syed’s Murder Conviction on Hold for Now, as Maryland Supreme Court Considers Appeal.” ABC News, abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/maryland-supreme-court-orders-stay-adnan-syed-case-99616051#:~:text=In%20Wednesday%27s%20court%20filing%2C%20Syed%27s. Accessed 14 July 2023.
“Victim Hae Min Lee’s Family to Appeal Adnan Syed’s Release in “Serial” Case.” NBC News, 29 Sept. 2022, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/victim-hae-min-lees-family-appeal-syeds-release-serial-case-rcna50042#. Accessed 14 July 2023.
“What Happens to Memories – Google Search.” Www.google.com, http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=what+happens+to+memories&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8. Accessed 14 July 2023.
“How Do Our Memories Fade Away?” Southtree, southtree.com/blogs/artifact/how-do-our-memories-fade-away#:~:text=As%20we%20age%2C%20over%20time.
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