Serial Questions

Mika Holzberg

1. The first episode begins with information about the podcast's sponsor. Like many types
of media, podcast creators make money by selling advertising space. Podcast creators
have to think carefully about who they sell advertising space—or in this case, time—to
because it can affect the way the listener responds to the rest of the text. Who were the
sponsors mentioned at the beginning of the podcast and what are they selling? (You
may have to do a bit of research in order to find out who the sponsors are and what they
do) What predictions can you make about the nature of the podcast based on the
advertisers?

The podcast is supported by the series “In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt: Our Shot” produced by
Lemonada Media. On Lemonada’s website, the series is described as follows; “ Andy Slavitt,
President Biden’s Senior Advisor on COVID-19, is back from the White House to his chair on
the award-winning In the Bubble podcast. Just as he took us through the pandemic, this 10-
week series called Our Shot is about leading us out. It’s an insider’s guide for getting closure on
what happened, how we emerge, and what must come next.” Based on the advertisers, I can
predict that the show will be more serious and informative based. It is very unlikely that a
podcast about the struggle of the Covid-19 pandemic would play before an astrology or cooking
podcast. I can also infer that the podcast will be more factual based rather than opinionated
from the context of the othe podcast that is being promoted as an intro. I would assume that the
two podcasts would be the same genre or style since the point of the advertisement is to get
people who listen to “Serial” to also listen to “In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt: Our Shot”.

2. The episode opens with a recording and music. Describe the recording and the music.
Each episode opens with this recording and music. What kind of tone do they set for the
podcast? In addition to creating atmosphere, what purpose does the music serve?

The podcast episode opens with a quick beat, somewhat cheerful music. This directly contrasts
the recording that plays saying “this is a global prepaid call from Adnan Syed and inmate at the
Maryland Correctional Facility”, which sets a more serious feeling. The music counteracts with
the recording and creates a neutral tone for the podcast. This way, the listeners can experience
the full effect of the podcast episode. Music is also a way to keep the audience engaged in the
podcast. Music draws people in and makes the story more interesting.

3. Describe the narrator's style of talking. Is she very formal or informal? Provide an
example to support your answer. How does her tone affect the way you respond to the
content?

The narrator of the podcast speaks in a more informal tone. She often uses slang and swear
words in the podcasts. One example is when she is talking about Asia, the alibi witness. During
the interview with Asia, the narrator realized that Adnan’s lawyer never contacted Asia to hear
her testimony or see if she would be helpful to put on the stand. When hearing this the narrator,
Sarah, said “that is not a strategy, that is a f*** up”. An informal tone allows listeners to relate
more to the podcast, which in turn keeps them interested. By using an informal tone, the
podcast feels more like a conversation than a lecture and allows the audience to stay connected
to the story.

4. The narrator, Sarah Koenig, is not the only person you hear speak in the podcast. When
does she include other voices and why do you think she might do this? What effect does
it have on the narrative and listener's responses to hear more than one voice?

The narrator, Sarah Koenig, includes recordings of conversations and interviews with the people
involved in the case. By doing this, the audience gets different perspectives and the story feels
more real. It can get boring listening to one person talk for 53 minutes. Hearing real interviews
with real people is more interesting to the audience. These recordings allow the audience to
visualize what is happening and read into the emotion of the speakers. This allows for a change
of pace to keep the audience interested. It also ensures that the podcast is not biased to the
narrator's point of view.

5. At the center of this podcast is the question of Adnan Syed's guilt. Does Sarah Koenig
reveal any bias for or against Syed in this episode? How can you tell?

Sarah Koeing is successful at keeping her podcast unbiased to one side of the story. From the
very beginning speaks to all the research she has done on the case. The podcast is based on
real facts of the court case and real interviews and not her personal opinions. Sarah includes
lots of interviews and pre-made recordings from the case in her podcast. These recordings
come from people who believe Adnan is not guilty, people who think he is, and people who
remain neutral. This allows us to hear from different perspectives of the story and form our own
opinions. Sarah Koeing mentioned at the beginning of the podcast that she knew someone was
lying, but she doesn't know if it's Adnan or Jay. This shows that she did not begin her
investigation with a certain perception of the truth. She mentions this again when interviewing
Asia, stating that she doesn’t know if Adnan is trying to manipulate his way out of jail but she
hopes he isn’t.

6. Based on this episode alone, if you had to rule on Syed's guilt or innocence, what would
your conclusion be? On what would you base this conclusion?

I could not possibly say I could rule Adnan Syed innocent, however I could not positively say I
would rule him guilty. At this point, I do not have enough information for a solid opinion. All of
the evidence presented in the podcast was circumstantial. The only physical evidence
mentioned in the podcast was the fingerprints found in her car, however it was likely that those
finger prints could have been there from before the crime. This case is a he said, she said
situation. It is one person’s word against another. Adnan says he didn’t do it, Jay says he did
and Asia says that there is a possibility he didn’t. I couldn’t confidently make a decision on
Syed’s innocence based on that alone.
 7. How is this medium (the podcast) like other forms of media you've experienced before
(e.g., television, movies, blogs, books)? How is it different?

I am familiar with the podcast form of media, as this form has become increasingly popular in
the past years. I myself listen to podcasts when walking my dog and when riding the bus. I
would say that a podcast is very similar to a book or a blog. Listening to a podcast reminds me
of when the teacher would read a book out to the class in lower grades. You are getting all the
information but you don’t need to be as focused as you do when you are reading the actual
words. Listening to a podcast requires less brain power. I do think that a podcast is not as
interesting as television or movies. When watching tv shows or movies, the videos or
animations draw your attention and in turn you become more invested in what you are watching
and listening to.