1. Serial Podcast - Adnan’s Innocence
I chose to analyze further was the Serial podcast. Using the final episode of the podcast as a
model, I came to the conclusion Adnan Syed is innocent. My conclusion about Adnan’s
innocence has not changed since the first podcast until now. I have always believed he was not
guilty of murdering Hae and during my listening of the last episode especially, I found it was a
good resume of the total case from when it first started back in 1999 to now.
As my opinion on Adnan’s innocence has not changed, my perspective on Jay, the key
witness against Adnan and his supposed friend, has not been altered either. In my opinion, Jay is
slimy and should not be trusted. Using the timeline found on the Serial website documenting
Adnan’s story, Jay’s first two interviews, Jay’s testimony from his second trial, and Adnan’s
phone records, I found there to be many inconsistencies with the three different stories Jay tells.
The details during each of his stories seem to shift and change when it is convenient for him. For
example, even though the times are not precise, when Jay tries to recount his afternoon on
January 13, 1999, his story changes a little bit every time. The two biggest changes to note were
during Jay’s testimony and a witness statement from Jenn, one of Jay’s friends. During Jay’s
testimony he said that he and Jenn’s brother went to the mall at 1:45 pm after playing video
games for around 30 minutes, so Jay could “finish his shopping”. This is the first time Jay has
ever mentioned going to the mall a second time since he claims that he and Adnan went to the
mall that morning. The second big discrepancy in Jay’s story is that there is a note on the
timeline that says Jenn confirms she got home from work at 1:30 and was at home before Jay
ever came to her house. What this is telling me is that Jay was never at her house like he said he
was for the hour or so before when he played video games with her brother and went to the mall.
Something else that caught my attention while listening to the season one finale was that a
suspect from a different murder case, Ronald Lee Moore, was accidentally released on Jan. 1,
1999 while being moved to a different jail in Anna Arundel County. Since it was only 13 days
before Hae was murdered, an easy connection can be made; it is a very strong possibility that
Ronald Lee Moore is responsible for Hae’s murder, and Adnan is innocent.
During a podcast, each individual listener interprets things in different ways because of
their past experience and also the way the narrator(s) speaks. Being able to hear statements,
opinions, and emotions from the witnesses themselves makes it more sentimental for the listener
than if you were to just read about it in a documented text or an article. As well as multiple
voices, there is also similar music or soundtrack that goes along with a podcast as they use in a
movie. Sound effects and different music types “can affect our emotional state quite deeply” and
make us feel different things, whether they are happy or sad (Julian Treasure). We don’t feel the
same emotions or connections while reading as we do auditorily.
Podcasts are an easy way to listen on-the-go and are much easier to take notes while you listen.
For example, while reading a book and trying to make specific notes, you have to stop and write
2. whichever note you wish, big or small, and then continue reading. While listening to a podcast
you don’t always have to pause the audio in order to write down smaller notes. Many sources
that we hear while listening to a podcast are usually credited using verbal citations and
sometimes even a credits section at the beginning or end of the audio. In Serial, Sarah Koenig
introduces and recognizes whoever is to speak next.
Secondary Sources Cited:
Koenig, Sarah. “Episode 12: What We Know.” Serial, This American Life,
serialpodcast.org/season-one/12/what-we-know.
Treasure, Julian. “The 4 Ways Sound Affects Us.” Julian Treasure, 13 Sept. 2017,
www.juliantreasure.com/blog/4-ways-sound-affects/.
Wen, Tiffanie. “This Is Your Brain on Podcasts: Why Audio Storytelling Is So Addictive.” The
Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 22 July 2015,
www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/04/podcast-brain-why-do-audio-stories-captiva
te/389925/.
