by Zachary Evans
There are countless portrayals of criminal justice, criminology, and criminal investigations in popular culture today. Shows like CSI have become ratings juggernauts, while ones like True Detective have ruled critically. While these stand primarily as forms of entertainment, they still inform public perception of real-world crime solving. In the last year, a new voice emerged in true crime entertainment in the podcast Serial, and in a few short months, became an incredibly important piece of pop culture.
Sarah Koenig
Serial is a spinoff of the incredibly popular radio program This American Life and was co-created by Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, and hosted by Koenig. It tells the story of Koenig and her staff’s investigation of the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, a Baltimore high school student, for which her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The state of Maryland’s case against Syed heavily relied on their timeline of the murder, which included a 21 minute window where they assert Lee was murdered.
The first season of the podcast consisted of twelve weekly episodes between October 3rd and December 18th, each touching on different aspects and revealing new details of the investigation. It was captivating and immersive, and quickly set records as the fastest podcast to ever reach five million downloads and streams in iTunes alone.
It was an undeniable hit.
Why was it such an immediate success though? There are countless podcasts available for listeners to choose from, many of which are already well established as ongoing radio shows, or are hosted by celebrities with preexisting fan bases. An obvious factor in this success is Serial’s attachment to This American Life, but even with that kind of backing, the numbers are still groundbreaking. After listening to even one episode of the podcast, it is clear and obvious that there are two things that set Serial apart—the writing, and Koenig’s narration of it.
According to the University of Southern California, the most important lesson people utilizing new media, such as podcasts, need to learn is that good writing never goes out of style. Serial’s writing, and how it is read by Koenig was, at all times, incredibly captivating and interesting. It toed a line of revealing enough information to get the listener hooked, while holding back additional pieces in order to bring them back for additional episodes. It catapoulted the listener into the mind of the investigator in the way a fantastic crime novel does, but through the lens of a true story.
Serial is important on the merits of its popularity alone. However, its importance is not solely based in this. The podcast is important because it injects truths about real world investigation, criminology and the American criminal justice system into the mainstream.
While it is true that shows such as CSI have popularized crime fighting and criminal justice within pop culture for some time now, their largely fictitious methods have had a damaging effect on public knowledge of the subject. Serial dove into the frustrating lack of evidence present in the case through host Sarah Koenig’s own misconceptions about how legal cases are built. She was shocked at the lack of biological evidence or fingerprints present in the case, when, in reality, “less than 1% of all serious crimes are solved with DNA” and “just over one in four lab cases include identifiable fingerprints.”
Adnan Syed
Serial also served as a fantastic way to showcase the ways in which criminology and criminal justice interact within the real world. According to an article from Portland State University about these two fields, “Ideally, they should be used in tandem to create a knowledge base that provides unique insight into the social determinants of crime and how the justice system better address it.” Throughout the podcast, Koenig detailed aspects of the investigation of Hae Min Lee’s murder and Baltimore Police’s investigation of Adnan Syed, and then connected it with Syed’s trials. She talked about how a piece of evidence or testimony was discovered in the investigation, then compared and contrasted its use in the courtroom. This connection between the sides of this case is important in bringing about a better public understanding of these two fields and how they interact.
While the podcast covers a wide range of aspects from “the case, there continues to be one vital piece that everything ties back to—the 21 minute window on January 13th, 1999.” This window connects the listener with the crushing reality that frequently there are not satisfactory answers to the most important question of an investigation. Though it is the key to his claim of innocence, Syed cannot recall exactly where he was during that 21 minutes. There are conflicting testimonies about Syed during those 21 minutes, including one from a schoolmate’s of Syed named Asia McClain that would seem to exonerate him. However, McClain was never brought forward as a witness in the case, a fact that there doesn’t seem to be a satisfying answer for.
This uncertainty, as well as the other revealingly realistic aspects of Serial’s investigation into the murder of Hae Min Lee and the investigation and trial of Adnan Syed are what makes Serial so incredibly important. It stripped away the flash and immediate gratification that is present among other representations of crime and criminal investigation in popular culture. It made the listener confront the truth that not all questions have answers and not every investigation is based on easy to gather, surefire evidence. It lifted the veil of fiction without sacrificing a single piece of what draws people into the crime genre.
It proved that a genuine search for truth can be viable motivation in entertainment today, and for fans of true crime, that is an exciting revelation.
Zachary Evans is a freelance web writer and graduate of Boise State University with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing. He spends his time writing, reading, playing music, and cheering on The Seattle Mariners.