Serial Podcast - I'm Hooked - Get Into It

Serial. Have you heard of it?

This isn't the Cornflake kind, this is the podcast kind. Lost?

OK. There is a podcast called Serial.  Each week, a new episode is released. The story unfolds with each episode, much like watching House of Cards or Ray Donovan.

Only this is a podcast, so you're not watching, you're just listening, much like listening to stories on the wireless back in the day. But you don't need to gather around the big brown box to tune in, because iPhone.

So what's it about? Well, Serial is hosted by Sarah Koenig, an American journalist who is investigating a murder case that took place 15 years ago.

When I first tuned in, I knew nothing about Serial and I actually assumed it was fiction. I quickly started wondering, however, if there was truth behind this story and discovered that yes, there is.

Serial is the story of Sarah's investigations into a case that seems to have a lot of loose ends, even though a man has been in jail for the last 15 years, serving a life sentence for murder.

Is he innocent? We don't know. I'm eight episodes in, completely and utterly hooked and dying of suspense to know how this is going to pan out.

But the reality is, we may never know. Apparently, Sarah doesn't know yet - it's an ongoing investigation. Unlike a murder mystery movie or novel, this  may not have an ending, certainly not one that will satisfy.

And yet I can't stop listening and I can't stop forming opinions about what I think SHOULD happen.

This is the first podcast of this kind that I've ever listened to. In fact, I didn't even know there was such a thing until a friend mentioned it to me last week. Since then, I've looked forward to going to work, just so I can tune in to the podcast in the car.

I wouldn't have thought I could listen to something like this without getting utterly bored or distracted by something, anything, shiny. The experience has been quite the opposite, though, as I find myself involved with the characters and praying for Sarah to keep digging, to not give up as you can't listen to her findings and not doubt this guy's guilt.

If he's guilty, sucked in. Do your time, you deserve it.

But what if he's not? What if this guy who has been in prison for nearly half his life, simply didn't do it? Imagine.

Serial. Tune in. Give it a go. It's free (for now at least; I got it from iTunes) and might allow you to join a conversation because I suspect plenty of people will be talking about it.


Are you listening?