The Alibi was the first episode of the crime podcast series on “Serial”. In 1999, Hae Min Lee went missing one day after school. Investigators were scrambling for answers until one month after her disappearance, she was found strangled to death in a forest close to the school. The community and law enforcement were quick to blame Hae’s ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed for the murder. They had recently broken up and they assumed that Adnan was still upset and that he intended to hurt Hae. Law enforcement was almost certain that he was guilty when Adnan’s friend, Jay, became a witness confessing that he helped bury her body. However, Adnan continued to claim that he did not commit this crime. Narrated by Sarah Koenig who was a news reporter years before, she was intrigued by this case from the start. Sarah determined that nothing was adding up; the police interrogations with alleged witnesses, Adnan’s defense lawyer and the alibis. The podcast “Serial” is intended to uncover the truth about this problematic murder case.
Before this assignment I barely knew what a podcast was, but soon after listening to The Alibi realized that I enjoy this type of multimedia. According to the webpage Life Wire, “a podcast is an audio program, like a radio show, that is made by someone and then posted to the Internet for you to download and listen too” (Costello). They are basically magazines to your ears and television without the visuals and commercials at every break. You are able to scour the internet and find continuously updated episodes in a variety of themes: crime, fantasy, biography, education, etc. I personally appreciated this type of multimedia due to the fact that there is minimal reading since the speaker is reading it for you and all you have to do is visualize it.
I prefer listening to a podcast rather than reading a book because I am able to hear the author’s expression and tone. For this podcast it was on a murder, but the narrator uses a serious but sarcastic tone and she enlightens the mood by making jokes at some points. Podcasts can be downloaded to a mobile device and this allows people to listen virtually anywhere. One can listen while doing things such as working out, driving and during any of their free time. Alternative forms of media such as a blog or television can be a distraction. When I was answering the serial questions I was able to work at my own pace, pausing, starting, and replaying as many times as I pleased so I did not miss a thing. I also read that podcasts allow individuals that have dyslexia the chance to comprehend information without the difficulty of reading (Petersell). Although there are many benefits there is also some limitations. Listeners are limited to nonverbal communication as they cannot see gestures and body language. Podcasts tend to be anywhere from five to sixty minutes long, but any longer will become ineffective for short topics.
I consider my memory to be very poor. I usually forgot short term things like when I am taking a note in class and I look at the board and when I look back down at my page I forgot what to write. I am very forgetful when it comes to new names and special dates like anniversaries, birthdays, etc. If I was asked the same question as Adnan, I would have a difficult time recalling events in a normal given day. This raises concerns because Adnan truly did not know what he did that day and this increases considerable suspicion to law enforcement.
To conclude, podcasts are very beneficial to share information with listeners on the go and that wish to review certain concepts and stories. These podcast can be viewed by anyone, which means there can be privacy issues for the individuals that are victims in the situation. For Hae’s family they must feel exposed because their personal tragedy can be viewed by the public. For podcasts there should be limitations to what people can share since the information can hurt innocent people.
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