Yesterday afternoon at work I had a couple hours of work to get through that wasn’t going to command all of my mental facilities. I decided I would start at the beginning of Serial, the podcast about a 1999 murder case with a lot of still unanswered questions. It is produced by the same people who make This American Life so I knew it was going to be awesome. I’d heard Serial was the most popular podcast ever, so my interest was really piqued.
I started listening at work, then I kept in on in the car after work while I ran a couple errands. I listened while I was cutting up veggies for dinner. I took a break and then listened again when I laid down to go to sleep. Before I fell asleep last night I had caught all the way up through this past week’s episode.
Wow. I expected this to be a well made and thought provoking story, but I didn’t expect to be so rapt by it. It is an audio version of a crime drama, and it is so good.
After I finished the episode last night I realized that this probably won’t end in a satisfying way. This isn’t a work of fiction with a scripted ending that will be delivered with a bow on it. When everything is said and done we likely won’t get any answers to. It is real life, not a Hollywood movie. I’ve been conditioned to want, to expect, a resolution to a narrative arc. I don’t know how Serial is going to end, but I’m interested to see how these very talented and smart producers approach it.
If you aren’t listening to Serial, and you have time, I would highly recommend it. Did I mention it is SO GOOD. I can’t wait for next week’s episode.
Filed Under: NPR, podcast, Serial, This American Life