tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/serial-14152/articlesSerial – The Conversation2022-09-21T06:13:40Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1909682022-09-21T06:13:40Z2022-09-21T06:13:40Z‘Serial’ podcast’s Adnan Syed has murder conviction vacated. How common are wrongful convictions?<p>In 2000, 18-year-old Baltimore man Adnan Syed was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. Syed was sentenced to life in prison and served close to 23 years in prison for the crime. </p>
<p>That was until this week, when Syed was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-20/adnan-syed-to-be-released-conviction-tossed/101456166">released from prison</a> at the age of 41 after his murder conviction was vacated by a Baltimore City Circuit Judge.</p>
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<p>The vacation of his conviction doesn’t mean Syed is formally recognised as innocent. Instead, Judge Melissa Phinn expressed serious concern over Syed’s initial conviction based on new evidence as well as evidence that was not handed over to Syed’s defence team. Syed and his supporters have always maintained his innocence. </p>
<p>Syed has been released from prison, but Phinn has ordered him to remain on house arrest. The state has 30 days to make a decision as to whether Syed will face a new trial, or whether the case will be dismissed.</p>
<p>While Syed’s fate remains undetermined, he’s just one of many people around the globe who have spent time in prison for crimes they strongly contend that they did not commit.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, wrongful convictions do happen, and they often share similar underlying causes.</p>
<h2>The case and the podcast</h2>
<p>The murder of Hae Min Lee was the first case featured on the highly popular podcast series <a href="https://serialpodcast.org/season-one">Serial</a>, one of the pioneers of the true-crime podcast genre.</p>
<p>It very quickly became one of the most <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/18/serial-podcast-itunes-apple-downloads-streams">rapidly downloaded podcasts of all time</a>, and the first series now boasts <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/about/our-other-shows#:%7E:text=Released%20in%2012%20episodes%2C%20Serial,more%20than%20300%20million%20downloads.">over 300 million downloads</a> worldwide since its release in 2014.</p>
<p>Lee was a senior high-school student at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore, Maryland. She disappeared one day after school, and her body was found in a nearby park one month later. Based on the results of the autopsy, Lee had been strangled.</p>
<p>As Lee and Syed had dated not long before the time of Lee’s death, Syed became a prime suspect. Other suspects emerged, but none were investigated as closely as Syed. </p>
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<p>Cell tower records that placed Syed’s phone near the location of the park where Lee’s body was buried implicated him. A former classmate of Syed’s, Jay Wilds, also provided testimony indicating that he had assisted Syed with disposing Lee’s body. These two pieces of evidence ultimately formed the basis of the case against Syed that led to his eventual conviction.</p>
<p>After Syed was convicted, a close friend of the Syed family contacted reputable journalist Sarah Koenig in 2013, who independently investigated the case. Serial shone light on some of the oddities of the case, including the inconsistencies in the testimony given by Wilds and the lack of forensic evidence linking Syed to the crime.</p>
<p>For some, Serial consolidated the suspicion they held towards Syed, and for others, it cast serious doubt over his conviction. </p>
<p>The podcast’s popularity contributed to the ongoing fight for Syed’s freedom over the years.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-clear-victory-for-dogged-investigative-journalism-chris-dawson-found-guilty-of-murdering-wife-lynette-in-1982-189625">'A clear victory for dogged investigative journalism': Chris Dawson found guilty of murdering wife Lynette in 1982</a>
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</em>
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<h2>How common are wrongful convictions?</h2>
<p>One problem with wrongful convictions is that it’s impossible to know exactly how frequent they are. This is because many people in prison who say they are innocent never receive the opportunity to have their cases reviewed.</p>
<p>Even if we <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0011128786032004007?casa_token=K2_pCtyEKioAAAAA:gaJGQYZ8Lv_dLp1SzAbq3a_4uRZw160M86GaoVGnUeMN78WAutnYjDJRTerrBFsHtQLH-_6NuRRClNc">conservatively estimate</a> that criminal convictions are accurate 99.5% of the time, an error rate of 0.5% could still result in thousands of wrongful convictions in the US alone each year.</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/serial-murder-mystery-and-the-science-of-memory-34248">Serial: murder, mystery and the science of memory</a>
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</em>
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<p>In 2020, The National Registry of Exonerations in the United States reported <a href="https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Government_Misconduct_and_Convicting_the_Innocent.pdf">over 2,600 exonerations</a> following wrongful convictions across the United States since 1989. That number is always on the rise. </p>
<p>In the closest Australian repository of wrongful convictions, there were <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rachel-Dioso-Villa/publication/318960757_A_Repository_of_Wrongful_Convictions_in_Australia_First_Steps_Toward_Estimating_Prevalence_and_Causal_Contributing_Factors/links/59a930ed0f7e9b279011eac8/A-Repository-of-Wrongful-Convictions-in-Australia-First-Steps-Toward-Estimating-Prevalence-and-Causal-Contributing-Factors.pdf">71 documented wrongful convictions between 1922 and 2015</a>.</p>
<h2>What often leads to a wrongful conviction?</h2>
<p>Wrongful convictions often share a common set of causes. The <a href="https://innocenceproject.org/about/">Innocence Project</a> was founded in 1992 and has overturned the wrongful convictions of 375 people in the United States using DNA evidence.</p>
<p>Based on the Innocence Project’s <a href="https://innocenceproject.org/dna-exonerations-in-the-united-states/">data</a>, the factors that are most common in wrongful conviction cases are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>mistaken eyewitness identification</p></li>
<li><p>improper or invalid forensic science</p></li>
<li><p>false confessions</p></li>
<li><p>and informant testimony.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The National Registry of Exonerations has also identified misconduct as a common factor in known wrongful convictions.</p>
<p>In Syed’s case, issues with the validity of the cell phone evidence and the accomplice witness testimony provided by Wilds are among those common factors.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-the-chamberlain-case-the-human-cost-of-wrongful-conviction-7730">Lessons from the Chamberlain case: the human cost of wrongful conviction</a>
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<p>Based on <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rachel-Dioso-Villa/publication/318960757_A_Repository_of_Wrongful_Convictions_in_Australia_First_Steps_Toward_Estimating_Prevalence_and_Causal_Contributing_Factors/links/59a930ed0f7e9b279011eac8/A-Repository-of-Wrongful-Convictions-in-Australia-First-Steps-Toward-Estimating-Prevalence-and-Causal-Contributing-Factors.pdf">known Australian wrongful conviction cases</a>, the most common factors appear to be:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>police misconduct</p></li>
<li><p>erroneous judicial instructions to the jury</p></li>
<li><p>forensic errors or misleading forensic evidence</p></li>
<li><p>incompetent defence representation</p></li>
<li><p>and false witness testimony, among others. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>If Syed is indeed innocent of the murder he was convicted of, the 23 years of his life that he lost are a grave injustice. Lee’s family have also suffered tremendously and would continue to suffer with the lack of closure that comes with Syed’s wrongful conviction.</p>
<p>Any of us could be at risk of being wrongfully convicted, and the suffering that it comes with. Increasing education about what factors are common in wrongful conviction cases may hopefully mean we can make more informed decisions, should we ever hold an individual’s freedom like Adnan Syed’s in our own hands.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190968/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I have previously worked on a voluntary basis for Not Guilty: The Sydney Exoneration Project, a separate organisation that reviews cases of potential wrongful conviction.</span></em></p>Unfortunately, wrongful convictions do happen, and they often share similar underlying causes.Hayley Cullen, Associate lecturer, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1429202020-07-29T02:12:01Z2020-07-29T02:12:01ZMichelle Obama, podcast host: how podcasting became a multi-billion dollar industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349552/original/file-20200727-21-1jty5gg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3653%2C2482&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Spotify</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“You kind of fail your way to success,” observed Matt Lieber, head of podcast operations at Spotify, at this year’s <a href="https://www.audiocraft.com.au/the-festival">Audiocraft festival</a>, an annual weekend of panels about podcasting. Normally held in Sydney, this year, thanks to COVID-19, the festival shifted online.</p>
<p>Lieber was talking about StartUp, his podcast about establishing Gimlet Media in 2014. Lieber and his business partner, Alex Blumberg, wanted to develop a podcast studio that would become “<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40515119/gimlet-media-is-one-step-closer-to-becoming-the-hbo-of-audio">the HBO of audio</a>”.</p>
<p>Last year, Gimlet hit the jackpot. It was acquired by Spotify for <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/spotify-gimlet-media-podcast-deal.html">US$230 million</a> (A$322 million). </p>
<p>While podcasts have been alive on the internet since 2004 (“But what to call it? Audioblogging? Podcasting? GuerillaMedia?” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/feb/12/broadcasting.digitalmedia">asked</a> the Guardian), 2014’s Serial is <a href="https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/whats-behind-the-great-podcast-renaissance.html">largely credited</a> with starting a new boom for the form.</p>
<p>Serial hit <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/serial-season-3-50-milllion-downloads.html">420 million</a> downloads in late 2018; S-Town, from the same production company, had <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2017/05/s-town-podcast-40-million-downloads.html">40 million</a> downloads in its first month.</p>
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<p>Last week, the New York Times (whose own The Daily has surpassed <a href="https://www.nytco.com/press/the-daily-hits-one-billion-downloads/">one billion downloads</a>) acquired Serial Productions for <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/23/the-new-york-times-is-buying-the-production-studio-behind-serial-for-25m/">US$25 million</a> (A$35 million). </p>
<p>What was once on the fringes of the internet is now a multi-billion dollar industry. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-s-town-invites-empathy-not-voyeurism-76510">Why S-Town invites empathy not voyeurism</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>The growing numbers</h2>
<p>For a long time, podcasting was touted as the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/05/how-podcasting-is-shaping-democracy/524028/">most democratic</a> and accessible mode of journalism and public engagement. </p>
<p>On podcasts, hobbyists could indulge a passion for Greek legends, friends could riff on their favourite books, celebrities could show their human side, and media organisations could share stories too unwieldy for a newspaper or television format.</p>
<p>The early low-budget, niche podcasts were a far cry from shows like Serial or The Joe Rogan Experience. (Hosted by comedian Joe Rogan, the latter show has a reported <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/19/21263927/joe-rogan-spotify-experience-exclusive-content-episodes-youtube">190 million downloads</a> a month and was acquired by Spotify in May for around <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/spotify-strikes-exclusive-podcast-deal-with-joe-rogan-11589913814">US$100 million</a> (A$140 million).</p>
<p>While some Spotify shows are still available on other podcasting services, productions like The Joe Rogan Experience and the platform’s latest offering, The Michelle Obama Podcast, are available exclusively on Spotify. </p>
<p>Obama’s podcast, which launches today, features conversations on the “relationships that shape us” – not surprisingly, her first guest is her husband.</p>
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<p>Spotify’s <a href="https://www.theverge.com/21265005/spotify-joe-rogan-experience-podcast-deal-apple-gimlet-media-ringer">known investment</a> in acquiring podcasts over the past 18 months comes to around US$696 million (A$975 million). This figure doesn’t include the unknown price Spotify has paid in deals with <a href="https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/barack-michelle-obama-spotify-podcast-1203234767/">the Obamas</a> and <a href="https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/kim-kardashian-west-spotify-podcast-1234641221/">Kim Kardashian West</a> to produce original shows, nor the money Spotify is <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/spotify-aims-become-worlds-no-1-audio-platform-1256162">investing in-house</a>.</p>
<p>While Rogan and Obama’s podcasts are (for now) free to listen to, they will tempt people over to the platform and – Spotify hopes – create paying subscribers. Obama’s 2018 memoir, Becoming, has sold <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47704987">over 10 million copies</a>: that is a lot of potential listeners.</p>
<p>Far away from these mega-investment dollars, independent producers are still creating smaller shows for devoted audiences. Many attending Audiocraft were these independent producers, seeking to learn more about the art, craft and business of bringing their podcast ideas to life. </p>
<p>Such aspirations were mocked by a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN0njKIeK5M">ABC skit</a> with celebrities begging people not to turn to podcasting under quarantine. </p>
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<p>The skit polarised viewers: older folk laughed, but younger people bristled, seeing it as an entitled elite trying to police what should be a wide open space without gatekeepers. </p>
<p>This divide is a growing tension among podcast producers.</p>
<h2>Pushing boundaries</h2>
<p>The other big commercial contender in podcasting is the Amazon-owned Audible, which has similarly gone on a “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-22/amazon-wants-to-build-your-favorite-podcast">multimillion-dollar shopping spree</a>” for podcasts over the past few years.</p>
<p>With Spotify locking listeners into their platform, and Audible’s podcasts only available to paying subscribers we are a far cry from the <a href="https://www.publicknowledge.org/blog/podcasting-shows-the-value-of-an-open-internet/">open internet ideals</a> the form was built on. </p>
<p>Yet, even in this world of multi-million dollar deals, independent producers are still asserting their right to shape the industry. </p>
<p>Renay Richardson, a black British podcaster whose passionate presentation at Audiocraft wowed the audience, founded <a href="https://www.broccolicontent.com/">Broccoli Content</a> to advance diversity in podcasting. This year, she launched an <a href="https://www.equalityinaudiopact.co.uk/">Audio Pledge</a> demanding equity in pay and representation for minority voices. </p>
<p>It has so far been signed by over 250 organisations, including Spotify and the BBC.</p>
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<h2>An intimate artform</h2>
<p>According to Spotify’s Matt Lieber, podcast listeners want to hear a story, learn something new, and find someone you would want to hang out with. One festival session ticked all three boxes. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.birdseyeviewpodcast.net/">Bird’s Eye View</a> was made in Darwin Correctional Centre over two years. Funded by the Northern Territory government and the Australia Council and independently distributed, Birds Eye View gives a remarkable insight into the lives of incarcerated women.</p>
<p>With raw empathy, the podcast shares moving stories of women talking about abuse, addiction and crime on the outside along with darkly humorous stories of life on the inside. It’s a testament to deep relationships formed over a long and immersive production time. </p>
<p>The payoff is the compelling personal storytelling at which podcasting excels.</p>
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<p>Some producers fear with the industry so rapidly growing, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/spotify-wants-to-become-the-youtube-of-podcasts-it-would-be-terrible-for-the-industry/2020/05/27/394aec7c-a054-11ea-9590-1858a893bd59_story.html">market forces</a> could choke creativity and innovation. </p>
<p>An old adage holds that if you can fake sincerity, you’ve got it made. If the big podcasting platforms figure that one out we will all be the poorer. </p>
<p>Podcasting’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/may/03/its-boom-time-for-podcasts-but-will-going-mainstream-kill-the-magic">special ingredients</a> have long been the authenticity of its wide range of voices and the intimate relationship they engender with the audience, speaking directly into our ears. If those defining characteristics get subverted in a push for profit, much of podcasting’s magic will be lost.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142920/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siobhan McHugh will receive consultancy funding from Lockdown Productions, which will be making a podcast with Audible Australia. She has also received funding for podcast production from The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, the Supreme Court of Victoria and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Podcasts were once a niche hobby of the internet. Now (thanks to Spotify), Michelle Obama is joining the fray.Siobhan McHugh, Associate Professor, Journalism, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/989892018-06-27T12:37:59Z2018-06-27T12:37:59ZFive true-crime podcasts for the armchair detective in you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225154/original/file-20180627-112641-orsko6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fingerprint-on-black-background-ultraviolet-lamp-615663614?src=Eo9Ke2YvY_XPsHxmtJstmw-1-97">domnitsky</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everybody loves a good whodunnit. It’s why true-crime documentaries like <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/making-a-murderer-netflix-doc-steven-avery-1.3391691">Making a Murderer</a>, <a href="https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/853522/is-the-keepers-netflix-s-next-making-a-murderer-it-s-even-better">The Keepers</a> and now <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/netflixs-the-staircase-is-its-next-addictive-true-crime-series-2018-6?r=US&IR=T">The Staircase</a> have all been big Netflix hits. Yet away from television screens, true crime has found another very happy home – podcasting. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225121/original/file-20180627-112611-1d98krq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225121/original/file-20180627-112611-1d98krq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225121/original/file-20180627-112611-1d98krq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225121/original/file-20180627-112611-1d98krq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225121/original/file-20180627-112611-1d98krq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225121/original/file-20180627-112611-1d98krq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=946&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225121/original/file-20180627-112611-1d98krq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=946&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225121/original/file-20180627-112611-1d98krq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=946&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Sarah Koenig from Serial.</span>
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<p><a href="https://serialpodcast.org">Serial</a> is often cited as the podcast that gave birth to the genre in 2014. That’s <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/why-true-crime-and-podcasts-were-made-for-each-other-w476090">not entirely</a> true, but it was <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/sarah-larson/serial-podcast-weve-waiting">ranked</a> number one on iTunes even before it debuted. </p>
<p>Presented by investigative journalist Sarah Koenig, season 1 focused on the murder of Baltimore student Hae Min Lee in 1999. It was <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/11513025/How-Serial-shook-up-the-podcasting-industry.html">downloaded</a> over 68m times and arguably led to Adnan Syed, Lee’s then boyfriend, having his conviction vacated. He’s now awaiting a new trial. </p>
<p>We have since seen an influx of very successful true-crime podcasts. The <a href="http://www.itunescharts.net/charts/podcasts/">iTunes top ten</a> frequently includes the likes of <a href="https://www.myfavoritemurder.com">My Favorite Murder</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/trace/">Trace</a> and <a href="http://casefilepodcast.com">Casefile True Crime</a> – plus the brand new <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p067wdql/episodes/downloads">The Doorstep Murder</a>. </p>
<p>We have reached the stage where it is getting harder and harder to separate the gems from the dross. Here then is my list of five true crime podcasts that demand your attention this summer: </p>
<h2>1. Accused</h2>
<p>Having <a href="https://twitter.com/AccusedPodcast/status/1004507405856788480">recently chosen</a> a new case for their third season, the <a href="https://eu.cincinnati.com">Cincinnati Enquirer</a>’s Accused team seem unstoppable. Digging into leads old and new, interviewing witnesses, family members and other persons of interest, journalists Amber Hunt and Amanda Rossman breathe life into the cold cases they pursue. They are personable but level-headed and unflinchingly professional in their pursuit of the truth. </p>
<p>Start with <a href="https://soundcloud.com/accusedpodcast">Season 1</a>, which focuses on the <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/usa/usa-today-weekend-extra/20161002/282243780089349">unsolved murder</a> of college student Elizabeth Andes in 1978. Andes was brutally strangled and stabbed near her flat in Oxford, Ohio. Her boyfriend Robert Young confessed to the murder the next day, but recanted shortly after. </p>
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<p>Over the course of a year, Hunt and Rossman examine the possibility of a false confession. They demonstrate the difficulties in reviving cold cases – including lost evidence, uncooperative officials, unchallenged suspects and unsubstantiated reports. </p>
<h2>2. Someone Knows Something</h2>
<p>From mail bombs to missing persons to murders by the Klu Klux Klan, filmmaker/writer David Ridgen <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/sks">doesn’t shy away</a> from complex and dangerous unsolved cases. With empathy and care he establishes relationships with victims’ family members, making each season about their loss and grief as much as the case itself. </p>
<p>A prime example is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/in%201964/%20the%20remains%20of%20charles%20moore%20and%20henry%20dee%20were%20found%20in%20the%20mississippi%20river./season2/season-2-sheryl-sheppard-1.3846237">Season 2</a>, the case of <a href="http://missedlives.org/sheryl-sheppard/">Sheryl Sheppard</a>. Missing since 1998, her boyfriend Michael Lavoie had been the police’s main suspect. On New Year’s Eve of that year, two days before she went missing, Lavoie had asked Sheppard to marry him on live TV. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225123/original/file-20180627-112611-9zykcd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225123/original/file-20180627-112611-9zykcd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225123/original/file-20180627-112611-9zykcd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225123/original/file-20180627-112611-9zykcd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225123/original/file-20180627-112611-9zykcd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225123/original/file-20180627-112611-9zykcd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225123/original/file-20180627-112611-9zykcd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225123/original/file-20180627-112611-9zykcd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In action: David Ridgen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David-ridgen.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Particularly striking is Ridgen’s relationship with her mother, Odette. She sometimes accompanies him as he relives the case, retracing routes Sheppard might have taken and places she might have stayed. Odette is emotionally shaken but brave, driven by the possibility that her daughter is not missing but murdered.</p>
<p>Ridgen’s calm persistence instills a faith in the listener that he will pursue every lead. He continues to post updates after unresolved seasons have ended. </p>
<h2>3. In the Dark</h2>
<p>The winner of a <a href="http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/in-the-dark">Peabody award</a> in 2016, In the Dark delves into investigations that have arguably been mishandled. The <a href="https://www.apmreports.org/in-the-dark/season-two">latest season</a> looks at Curtis Flowers, a black man tried six times for the same gunshot killings in a furniture store in Winona, Mississippi – before finally being convicted and sentenced to death. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e7EuBnB3vcs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Hosted by reporter Madeleine Baran, each episode takes a different piece of the prosecution’s evidence and examines it thoroughly. Within a few episodes, witnesses and jailhouse informants <a href="https://www.apmreports.org/story/2018/05/15/in-the-dark-s2e4">have recanted</a> statements with what increasingly appears to be a case built around coercion and racial divide. I defy any listener not to be infuriated and baffled by what Baran reveals about the American justice system. </p>
<h2>4. Criminology</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225124/original/file-20180627-112620-d3zj41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225124/original/file-20180627-112620-d3zj41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225124/original/file-20180627-112620-d3zj41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225124/original/file-20180627-112620-d3zj41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225124/original/file-20180627-112620-d3zj41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225124/original/file-20180627-112620-d3zj41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225124/original/file-20180627-112620-d3zj41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225124/original/file-20180627-112620-d3zj41.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sketch of Zodiac killer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David-ridgen.jpg">San Francisco PD</a></span>
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<p>Co-hosts Mike Morford and Mike Ferguson started this podcast to keep long unsolved cases in the public eye. They began in 2017 by covering the famous 1960s/70s case of the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/zodiac-killer-golden-state-investigation-dna-tests-california-vallejo-sacramento-a8343086.html">Zodiac Killer</a>, quickly establishing a reputation for meticulous research that reaches out to law enforcers, witnesses and victims and builds an evocative picture of events. </p>
<p>Their latest season – play episode one below – covers the story of the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/world/sealed-police-warrant-golden-state-killers-dark-past/news-story/893c458ea8b5f4de09d7b84d7771c6f7">Golden State Killer</a>, a serial rapist and murderer who terrorised California during the 1970s and 1980s. While the season was airing, a suspect, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/world/sealed-police-warrant-golden-state-killers-dark-past/news-story/893c458ea8b5f4de09d7b84d7771c6f7">Joseph James DeAngelo</a>, was arrested after his discarded DNA matched cold case DNA on file. </p>
<p>Although the podcast did not directly result in his apprehension, it certainly helped to keep the case alive by sticking to the facts, avoiding speculation and consistently appealing for information.</p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="4289" data-image="" data-title="Criminology S2E1" data-size="68634374" data-source="LibSyn" data-source-url="https://criminology.libsyn.com/#" data-license="" data-license-url="">
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Criminology S2E1.
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" rel="nofollow" href="https://criminology.libsyn.com/#">LibSyn</a><span class="download"><span>65.5 MB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/1213/s2-ep1-final.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
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<h2>5. All Killa No Filla</h2>
<p>Comedians <a href="http://www.kiripritchardmclean.co.uk/podcast/">Kiri Pritchard-McLean</a> and <a href="http://standardissuemagazine.com/misc/getting-to-know-you-rachel-fairburn/">Rachel Fairburn</a> discuss historical killers ranging from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ripper_jack_the.shtml">Jack the Ripper</a> to <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/hh-holmes-307622">HH Holmes</a> to <a href="https://www.bizarrepedia.com/fred-and-rosemary-west/">Fred and Rose West</a> (click audio below). They puzzle over the strange phenomenon of serial killing in a way that manages to be seriously funny without ever finding humour in the crimes. </p>
<p>Also look out for some beautiful unrelated tangents about everything from 1990s TV show Gladiators to hot air balloons. Anyone in Scotland in August can catch them doing a live show at the <a href="http://www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/whats-on/all-killa-no-filla-live">Edinburgh Fringe</a>. </p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="3793" data-image="" data-title="All Killa No Filla Episode 30, Part 1" data-size="61544738" data-source="LibSyn" data-source-url="https://allkillanofilla.libsyn.com" data-license="" data-license-url="">
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All Killa No Filla Episode 30, Part 1.
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" rel="nofollow" href="https://allkillanofilla.libsyn.com">LibSyn</a><span class="download"><span>58.7 MB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/1214/allkillanofilla-2016-12-10t17-00-00-08-00.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
</div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Findlay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Move over Netflix, here’s whodunnit by headphones.Laura Findlay, Research Assistant, University of DundeeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/811852017-08-31T04:27:54Z2017-08-31T04:27:54ZTruth to power: how podcasts are getting political<p>Podcasts are becoming a powerful socio-political force: from crime to social justice, they are changing the debate on some of the key issues of our times. </p>
<p>The Australian podcast The Messenger, which describes the life of a detainee on Manus Island, recently <a href="http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/worldsbestradio/2017/">won a prestigious Grand Award</a> at the 2017 New York Radio Festival. <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/bowraville">Bowraville</a>, about the unsolved murder of three Aboriginal children from the same small Australian town, has led to calls for a retrial of a prime suspect. And <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2016/phoebesfall/related.html">Phoebe’s Fall</a>, about the bizarre death of a young woman in the garbage chute of a luxury Melbourne apartment building, triggered a review of the Victorian Coroner’s Act. </p>
<p>In a move that links podcasts expressly to activism, Audible Australia recently funded, in partnership with The Equality Campaign, the podcast <a href="http://www.audible.com.au/mt/listen_to_love">Listen to Love</a>. Its six episodes, hosted by gay comedian Tom Ballard, advocate marriage equality via well-produced audio storytelling, including segments from TV presenter Osher Günsberg and a short story from writer Catherine Cole.</p>
<p>Racism, mental illness, sexuality and climate change are all issues that have found new voices through podcasts. While it’s too early to say if all of these will have a genuine impact on political debate, crime podcasts such as <a href="http://www.eonline.com/au/news/859626/digesting-serial-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-adnan-syed-murder-case">Serial</a> have affected legal outcomes. This can be traced to the unique qualities of podcasting’s form and its focus on personal storytelling supported by solid, journalistic research. </p>
<p>In the US, Serial and Undisclosed (a separate podcast hosted by three lawyers, including one close to convicted killer Adnan Syed) adduced new evidence that won Syed a <a href="http://www.eonline.com/au/news/859626/digesting-serial-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-adnan-syed-murder-case">fresh trial</a>. In Sweden, the podcast Spår helped see a man freed after spending 13 years in prison for a murder he <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sweden-crime-podcast-spar-helps-free-kaj-linna-from-murder-prison-term-after-exposing-lying-witness-pr2xmft59">did not commit</a>. </p>
<p>Like radio, podcasts are an intimate medium that can <a href="http://ro.uow.edu.au/creartspapers/345/">powerfully convey emotion</a>. Radio still attracts way more listeners: latest <a href="http://www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/audio-and-podcasting/">data </a>shows over 90% of Americans over 12 have listened to radio in the last week, compared to only 40% who have ever listened to a podcast. Pioneering data from respected Edison Research shows only about 30% of Australians have ever listened to one, while a meagre <a href="http://www.edisonresearch.com/podcast-consumer-australia-2017/">17% have listened</a> in the last month (compared to 24% in the US). In both countries, podcast listeners tend to be more educated and affluent than average.</p>
<p>But it’s about audience quality, not quantity. The nature of the engagement is different thanks to the relationship that podcast hosts form with their listeners. As Manoush Zomorodi, host of WYNC Studios’ <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/notetoself">Note to Self</a> put it at the ABC’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/ozpod/keynote-address-manoush-zomorodi-ozpod/7901344">OzPod2016</a> conference, her pod fans come up and hug her - something that never happened when she was a radio journalist.</p>
<p>She put that down partly to podcasting’s portability: “I walk home from the subway with them, I’m WITH them.” The lack of gatekeepers also allows the podcast host to be more uninhibited, which further bonds listeners. “We are buds. We are friends.” </p>
<h2>Voice to minorities</h2>
<p>These qualities have seen podcasts give voice, literally, to minority groups and activists of every hue. The tragic recent events at Charlottesville derived from the US’s legacy of slavery and racism - a topic innovatively and expertly tackled by the Scene on Radio podcast series, <a href="http://podcast.cdsporch.org/episode-33-made-in-america-seeing-white-part-3/">Seeing White</a>. </p>
<p>There’s the revelatory <a href="https://www.earhustlesq.com">Ear Hustle</a>, from inside San Quentin prison, and The Hilarious World of Depression, in which comedians describe how they cope with mental illness. </p>
<p>Sydney Opera House’s Deadly Voices gives <a href="https://www.cbaa.org.au/article/sydney-opera-house-content-available-through-community-radio-network">a platform</a> to Indigenous Australians, while their It’s a Long Story features artists and intellectuals of all hues. There are podcasts on identity, gender, disability, human rights and innumerable other topics among the 400,000 podcasts on iTunes at last count. Try <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/nancy">Nancy</a> for queer themes or <a href="http://www.howtobeagirlpodcast.com/">How To Be A Girl</a> about raising a transgender daughter. </p>
<h2>Personalising the political</h2>
<p>Personal storytelling has long carried political weight: think of the impact of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/22/narrative-life-frederick-douglass-american-slave-review">Frederick Douglass’ 1845 memoir</a> of his life as a slave, or of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. The progressive oral history movement of the 1960s recognised the force of the personal voice; it sought to up-end power structures by recording witnesses “from the underclasses, the unprivileged and the defeated”, as British historian Paul Thompson urged. </p>
<p>But it’s not enough merely to publish personal stories; that risks creating ideological echo chambers, easily dismissed by opponents. To gain traction, activist podcasters need to buttress raw story with information or interpretation - while still sounding conversational. <a href="https://www.refugeesstoriespodcast.org/what-we-do/">Refugees’ Stories</a>, a multicultural, NGO-funded podcast that tells the stories of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, finds perfect pitch.</p>
<p>In Australia, two current initiatives are harnessing personal story to political effect. Listen to Love’s broadly accessible content might help it tap into the inspired #RingYourGranny campaign that saw young people in Ireland convince grandparents of the need for marriage equality, by helping them relate to personal stories of gay relatives and friends. </p>
<p>And over its eight episodes <a href="https://www.wheelercentre.com/broadcasts/podcasts/the-messenger">The Messenger</a>, a collaboration between oral history project Behind the Wire and the Wheeler Centre, challenges the dehumanising treatment of more than a thousand detainees on Nauru and Manus Islands*. </p>
<p>It tells the story of one man, Abdul Aziz Muhamat, a Sudanese refugee on Manus Island who is 24 when we meet him, courtesy of smuggled audio sent by WhatsApp to journalist Michael Green. That audio – thousands of disjointed, 30-second recordings – provides the miraculous connectivity of voice. Aziz is instantly an individual – no longer detainee QNK002. Historical context deepens his message.</p>
<p>While The Messenger sees itself as “opening a new space for informed public conversation” rather than campaigning for a political outcome, for many listeners, the posturing between president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about whether the US will take some of the men on Manus is no longer abstract policy. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.audible.com.au/">Audible Australia</a>’s head, Matthew Gain, told me it is committed to investing in original content. With one of the richest men in the world, Jeff Bezos, funding Audible’s endeavours, and other media formats undermined by scepticism around “fake news”, podcasting could increasingly shape the political landscape. Only time will tell if this adds nuance to complex debates, or just more noise.</p>
<p><em>*Correction: this sentence was amended on September 1 to correct the description of Behind the Wire.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81185/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siobhan McHugh was consulting producer on Phoebe's Fall, a podcast by Fairfax Media. She is developing a Hub for Innovation in Podcasting (HIP), a project shortlisted for funding by the Walkley Media Incubation and Innovation Fund 2017.</span></em></p>Podcasts like The Messenger, about refugees, and Listen To Love, about same-sex marriage, are bringing new voices to major issues. But as podcasts get political, it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to cut through complex debates.Siobhan McHugh, Senior Lecturer, Journalism, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/765102017-04-27T00:56:34Z2017-04-27T00:56:34ZWhy S-Town invites empathy not voyeurism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166765/original/file-20170426-13391-g69s12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Brian Reed, host of S-Town, somewhere in the woods of Bibb County, Alabama.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrea Morales</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Warning: this article contains spoilers.</em></p>
<p>With <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/168642.In_Cold_Blood">In Cold Blood</a>, Truman Capote invented the non-fiction novel and turbocharged the genre of literary journalism. <a href="https://stownpodcast.org/">S-Town</a>, a podcast by the team at Serial and This American Life that appeared on March 28th as seven bingeable “chapters”, has unleashed aural literary journalism that is as masterly in its evocation of place and character as exemplars by Didion, Wolfe and Capote. </p>
<p>S-Town had 10 million downloads in the first four days, far surpassing even Serial. It has been rapturously reviewed by <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/03/s-town-podcast-review-empathy-cultural-divides/521325/">The Atlantic</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/arts/true-crime-podcast-s-town-serial.html?_r=1">The New York Times </a> and respected podcasting critic Nicholas Quah in <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2017/03/review-s-town-podcast-serial.html">Vulture</a>. It has also been described as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/22/s-town-never-justifies-its-voyeurism-and-that-makes-it-morally-indefensible?">morally indefensible</a>” by The Guardian for its intrusion into the life of a mentally ill man and panned by other critics for <a href="http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/30/15084224/s-town-review-controversial-podcast-privacy">breaching privacy</a>, glossing over <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/how-s-town-fails-black-listeners-w476524">racism</a> and <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2017/04/11/s_town_podcast_s_treatment_of_queer_experience_hobbled_by_straight_biases.html">misrepresenting</a> aspects of gay sexuality.</p>
<p>In order to assess all this, it is vital to consider not just the “what” of S-Town, i.e. the journalistic content, but also the “how”: the art form of choreographed audio storytelling, which S-Town exemplifies. </p>
<p>At the centre of the podcast is the mordant, self-destructive genius John B. McLemore, a forty-something fixer of antiquarian clocks who is both shaped and shackled by his small Shit Town (S-Town), actually Woodstock, Alabama. Literary journalists can only write about delicious details they unearth but S-Town gives us the real deal: we <em>hear</em> first-hand the magnificent rants about climate change, chicanery and ignorance that McLemore delivers with rococo Southern musicality and a stand-up’s timing.</p>
<p><a href="https://soundcloud.com/siobhan-uow/opera-and-rant-s-town-30secs-excerpt">Listen here</a> to how producers Brian Reed and Julie Snyder craft one rant around an operatic aria, delivering a kind of acoustic alchemy that both counterpoints and elevates John B’s vitriol.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We ain’t nothin’ but a nation of goddamn, chicken-shit, horse-shit, tattle-tale, pissy-assed, whiney, fat, flabby, out-of-shape, Facebook-lookin’, damn twerk-fest, peekin’ out the windows and snoopin’ around, listenin’ on the cellphones and spyin’ in the peephole and peepin’ in the crack of the goddamn door, listenin’ in the fuckin’ Sheetrock: Mr Putin puh-lease, show some fuckin’ mercy, I mean drop the fuckin’ bomb, won’t you?“ </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Opera swells in the background to climactic end, then he emits a heavy sigh.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I gotta have me some tea.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To add opera to a landscape of trailer trash, tattoos and "titty-rings” might seem incongruous, but then as Miss Irene Hicks tells Reed in a Blanche DuBois voice when he inquires after her grandson, Tyler, John B.’s hired hand: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have my medicine and I have my [Andrea] Bocelli.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In S-Town, journalism meets art. The episodes unfold via evocative scenes, intensive interviewing (perhaps a <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/beaucoups-and-beaucoups-of-stuff?utm_term=.cujVwYpj6#.ob7aK3yEg">hundred hours</a>, Reed thinks) carefully placed encounters, and Reed’s metaphorical musings, but all is driven by sound, voice and the unalloyed intimacy of listening, in real time.</p>
<p>We meet Tyler via the “click, click, click” of a chainsaw he’s sharpening, tooth by tooth. Tyler doubles as a tattoo artist whose pop up parlour has a secret Whites Only bar out back. Reed records its misfit denizens’ casual racism and bravado. “Tell ‘em,” one implores. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m so fuckin’ fat I don’t care no more. I’m a six-foot, 350 lbs bearded man in a John Deere hat with FEED ME on my belly.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Bypassing our bigotry</h2>
<p>We listen in appalled fascination; audio can bypass our bigotry and suck us in to places where we normally wouldn’t go. As S-Town producer, Julie Snyder, recently <a href="https://theconversation.com/speaking-with-serials-julie-snyder-about-making-groundbreaking-podcasts-70411">told</a> me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In audio, it’s much easier to connect with the people in the story. You’re hearing their natural way of talking. You hear emotion, it’s not a polished thing. In film… you judge, the way they look, the way they’re dressed, the setting they’re in.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166575/original/file-20170425-12645-b6qynj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166575/original/file-20170425-12645-b6qynj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166575/original/file-20170425-12645-b6qynj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166575/original/file-20170425-12645-b6qynj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166575/original/file-20170425-12645-b6qynj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166575/original/file-20170425-12645-b6qynj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166575/original/file-20170425-12645-b6qynj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166575/original/file-20170425-12645-b6qynj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Julie Snyder and Brian Reed of Serial productions’ S-Town.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elise Bergerson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this medium, language achieves added force, the poetry of the South laced with the <a href="http://ro.uow.edu.au/creartspapers/345/">affective power</a> of sound. Tyler’s Uncle Jimmy, speech-damaged after a bullet lodged in his brain, echoes his nephew with strangely beautiful ejaculations reminiscent of Gospel affirmations. </p>
<p>“Beacoups and beacoups of stuff,” he sings out, after the murder Reed is investigating at John B’s request gives way to another, more tragic, death - that of John B. himself.</p>
<p>In the mother of all jaw-droppers, we learn that John B. has killed himself by drinking potassium cyanide. Reed’s shock and grief at this news are real. <a href="http://normansims.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/The-Literary-Journalists.pdf">Like many literary journalists</a>, he has become part of the story. He knows John B. is his subject, not his friend, but says he cared about him. Reed’s immersion grows after John B.’s suicide, taking him to S-Town “nine or ten” times more. </p>
<p>Critics of S-Town point out that John B. had initially approached Reed asking him to cover the story of a murder there – not to have his own suicide and life become the focus of it. As Gay Alcorn <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/22/s-town-never-justifies-its-voyeurism-and-that-makes-it-morally-indefensible">wrote this week</a> in The Guardian, the story became, “McLemore’s own painful journey, even though the eccentric clock restorer had never consented for his life to be investigated in this way”.</p>
<p>But it’s clear even before Reed meets John B. that the “murder” is less important to him than having the ear of a national radio reporter. “We’d end up on the phone for hours,” Reed says, “with him going on and on, not just about the murder, but about his life, and his town.” </p>
<p>Socially, intellectually and sexually isolated, John B. yearns for meaningful, non-judgemental contact. He is candid about his depression: he keeps a suicide note on his computer and has emailed the town clerk a list of people to be contacted in the event of his death. His mental illness, it will be suggested by Reed, probably derives from mercury poisoning; he has been ingesting mercury vapour for decades due to alchemical operations he practises when mending clocks. </p>
<h2>The value of being listened to</h2>
<p>In my experience as an oral historian, people greatly value being attentively listened to. When mortality looms, the impulse to place something on the record for posterity, to avoid being erased, can deepen. John B. talked openly about his suicide ideation and probably knew he did not have long to live. </p>
<p>I believe he reeled Reed into his life because Reed was the ideal person to bear witness: intelligent enough to engage with a swirling canvas, undeterred by John B’s “virtuosic negativity”, an outsider with no prior relationship with S-Town. As Reed says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It felt as if by sheer force of will, John was opening this portal between us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Once he stepped through that portal, Reed felt compelled to carry on: not to needlessly invade a life, but to honour the splendid, scabrous, sprawling complexity of the man who chose him as his chronicler. In so doing, he <a href="https://longform.org/posts/longform-podcast-239-brian-reed">validates, rather than violates</a>, the fierce, flawed life of John B. McLemore.</p>
<p>Still, in its treatment of John B’s sexuality, S-Town does tread on dangerous ground. John B. described himself as a “semi-homosexual”; he has had few and mostly unfulfilling relationships. And the listener wonders is Tyler (who at 25 has four kids by four women) John B.’s surrogate son or the object of thwarted desire? </p>
<p>Off the record, John B. tells Reed about a relationship he has had with a married man. Reed later interviews the man, though he does not play the tape. Still, he justifies including these and other details in the podcast because two others had confirmed them on the record and because John B. is by now “wormdirt”.</p>
<p>But by mentioning that the man once worked for John B., Reed does risk making listeners participate “in the unwitting outing of one queer man over the dead body of another”, as an insightful <a href="http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/30/15084224/s-town-review-controversial-podcast-privacy">Vox</a> article has suggested. </p>
<p>The final chapter of S-Town provides disturbing detail on what John B. called his “church” ritual with Tyler. According to John B. it involves getting “drunk as hell in the back room” and talking about everything from life and death to black holes and quarks. Tyler reveals, somewhat uncomfortably, that “church” also involved increasingly <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/inside-s-towns-tattoo-therapy-bdsm-or-self-harm-w476327">painful tattooing</a> that gave John B. “an endorphin high”. Some <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/22/s-town-never-justifies-its-voyeurism-and-that-makes-it-morally-indefensible?">critics</a> argue that including this element crosses an ethical line.</p>
<p>It is shocking, certainly. But the way it unfolds, the listener can only empathise with John B. and appreciate how anguished he must have been to crave this momentary expunging of mental pain. It is a vital part of seeking to understand the man. And that was Reed’s simple, profound purpose.</p>
<p>The ability to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/03/s-town-podcast-review-empathy-cultural-divides/521325/">evoke empathy</a> is a cornerstone of audio and its deployment in S-Town is both timely and provocative. As Snyder <a href="https://soundcloud.com/sydneyoperahouse/sets/its-a-long-story">told</a> a Sydney audience last year: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Things that make them [people] human, you relate to that … There is nuance, there isn’t a monolithic way that certain people think, the Republicans think this way and Democrats think that way.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As Uncle Jimmy would say, Amen to that. </p>
<p><em>Anyone seeking support and information about suicide can contact Lifeline on 131 114 or beyondblue 1300 22 46 36.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76510/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siobhan McHugh receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a project that involves converting oral histories into crafted audio storytelling. She is Founding Editor of RadioDoc Review, a journal that critiques podcasts, radio documentaries and audio features.</span></em></p>The podcast S-Town has been both rapturously reviewed and described as ‘morally indefensible’ for its intrusion into the life of a mentally ill man. But it validates, rather than violates, a fierce, flawed life.Siobhan McHugh, Senior Lecturer, Journalism, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/713392017-02-03T02:33:41Z2017-02-03T02:33:41ZEight podcasts to get between your ears this year<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155282/original/image-20170202-22569-1104fdx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The podcast industry has grown exponentially in recent years, with recommendations for new podcasts as common as tips for restaurants and shows on Netflix.</em></p>
<p><em>But what do experts listen to? The Conversation asked eight authors from across our sections to tell us about their favourite podcasts – and why you should tune in.</em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Arts + Culture: Love + Radio</h2>
<p><strong>Siobhan McHugh, Senior Lecturer, Journalism, University of Wollongong</strong></p>
<p>The <a href="http://loveandradio.org/">Love + Radio podcast</a>, which launched in 2005, bills itself as being about:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… in-depth, otherworldly-produced interviews with an eclectic range of subjects, from the seedy to the sublime. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Like the record-breaking Serial, Love + Radio is an escapee from the sanitised world of American public radio. It salutes the freedom of the internet by telling dark, often disturbing, tales, whose protagonists’ deeds and dilemmas linger in the mind.</p>
<p>Take Jack and Ellen, alternate personas of a blackmailer who claims high moral ground; The Living Room, where a voyeur becomes emotionally involved in a couple’s most intimate moments; Blink Once for Yes, in which the producer records how his family was transformed after his brother was brain-damaged in a fall; or No Bad News, about a US hypnotist brought to Iraq just before 9/11, which probes our understanding of good and evil, and moral responsibility. </p>
<p>These themes – voyeurism/trust, the journalist as participant and chronicler, and the philosophical and ethical choices we face – recur. Their impact is ratcheted up through nuanced, creative sound design. </p>
<p>While the odd episode misses the mark, mostly the trifecta of a complex story, charismatic teller and assured aesthetic makes Love + Radio compelling listening.</p>
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<h2>Politics + Society: Chapo Trap House</h2>
<p><strong>Dominic Kelly, PhD Candidate in Politics, La Trobe University</strong></p>
<p>The focus of my research and writing is Australian politics, but unfortunately we lack a consistently insightful and enjoyable podcast in that field. Instead, I’ll offer an American politics recommendation: the hilariously vulgar, but also well-informed and intelligent, <a href="https://thetrap.fm/">Chapo Trap House</a>.</p>
<p>Aged in their 20s and 30s and from the socialist left, Chapo’s hosts despise Hillary Clinton and the insipid Democratic establishment as much as they do Republicans, Donald Trump and the racist alt-right. </p>
<p>Though shocked by the election result, Chapo’s reaction to the rise of Trump was more sanguine than the histrionics of some liberal commentators; they recognise that American democracy was in crisis long before the 2016 horror show. </p>
<p>Crucially, Chapo does what too few American outlets are prepared to do, which is to speak honestly about the horrific realities of American empire. Occasional guests provide stimulating analysis of US foreign policy and its effects on the rest of the world.</p>
<p>The Chapo crew believe that the vast majority of mainstream political pundits are clueless charlatans, including some that I would argue produce good work. For sheer hilarity, their readings from some of the worst of these writers are not to be missed – especially the extracts from Ross Douthat’s book, in which the conservative New York Times columnist waxes lyrical about skinny-dipping with an ageing William F. Buckley. </p>
<p>Chapo’s explicit content means it is not for the easily offended, but in the age of Trump I can think of no better way to keep abreast of political developments while still allowing oneself to laugh at the absurdity of it all.</p>
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<h2>Cities: 99% Invisible</h2>
<p><strong>Dallas Rogers, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Architecture, Design & Planning at the University of Sydney</strong></p>
<p>I listen to a lot of podcasts. So, it should be easy to recommend a podcast series on urban-related issues, right? Well, as it turns out, selecting just one show is really, really hard.</p>
<p>But here is a safe bet that I’m sure you’ll love. It’s called <a href="http://99percentinvisible.org/">99% Invisible</a>, but most people just call it 99pi. Here are a few of my favourite urban-related episodes.</p>
<p><a href="http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/structural-integrity/">Structural Integrity</a> won a 2015 Third Coast International Audio Festival award for this story of architectural engineering gone wrong. This story will surprise you about halfway through, so make sure you listen from beginning to end.</p>
<p><a href="http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/guerrilla-public-service/">Guerrilla Public Service</a> is a story about guerrilla urban planners. What is a guerrilla urban planner? Well, in this 99pi episode it is artist Richard Ankrom, who takes it upon himself to make and erect his own traffic signs.</p>
<p><a href="http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/unpleasant-design-hostile-urban-architecture/">Unpleasant Design & Hostile Urban Architecture</a> is a story about the design strategy that is sometimes called hostile architecture. Think about the seats that prevent homeless people from sleeping on them.</p>
<p><a href="http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/lawn-order/">Lawn Order</a> is a story about the politics of lawn maintenance. In Florida, neat lawns represent social order, and 66-year-old Joe Prudente ends up in jail following allegations he failed to properly maintain his lawn to community standards.</p>
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<h2>Science + Technology: Radiolab</h2>
<p><strong>Will J. Grant, Senior Lecturer, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University</strong></p>
<p>You know a podcast is special when you sit there – after the ride to work, after you’ve finished your run, after you’ve turned off the car – and just keep listening. You might have the rest of your life to get to, but you just … can’t press stop.</p>
<p>For me this morning – like many mornings – it was <a href="http://www.radiolab.org/">Radiolab</a>.</p>
<p>Published by WNYC and hosted (usually) by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the podcast is the absolute leader in scientific story-telling. For years they’ve woven compelling stories about discovery and curiosity. All too regularly I find myself transfixed by the science and the stories told through it and around it.</p>
<p>Want a place to start? Have a listen to <a href="http://www.radiolab.org/story/playing-god/">Playing God</a>, about a hospital in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Absolutely gripping.</p>
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<h2>Energy + Environment: Off Track</h2>
<p><strong>Euan Ritchie, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University</strong></p>
<p>Ever wondered what’s it like to be a field ecologist? Want to know why we all owe a debt of gratitude to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/offtrack/dung-beetles/8038590">beetles that eat poo</a>? Well, have I got a podcast for you.</p>
<p>Until recently I haven’t been a big consumer of podcasts. But my new favourite podcast may just have changed that. ABC Radio National’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/offtrack/about/">Off Track</a> is simply wonderful. In essence it covers our relationship with the environment, from cities to remote outback Australia. </p>
<p>There are many reasons why this podcast really works for me, and hopefully will for you too. It’s immersive and aurally stimulating, with episodes taking place where the real action happens. Just listen to the frogs calling and the passion in Jodi Rowley’s voice when she describes her hunt for the mysterious <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/offtrack/the-peppered-tree-frog-seg/7974362">peppered tree frog</a>, for example. </p>
<p>It’s short, with each episode lasting less than 30 minutes. The presenter’s (Ann Jones) enthusiasm and curiosity are infectious. Diverse environmental perspectives are provided – not just from scientists, but from artists, farmers and sportspeople, among others. And the storytelling is excellent. </p>
<p>So go on, do yourself a favour and take a virtual trip around this wide brown land.</p>
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<h2>Health + Medicine: All in the Mind</h2>
<p><strong>Gail Alvares, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Telethon Kids Institute</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/">All in the Mind</a> is a fascinating weekly radio segment and podcast by the ABC’s Radio National exploring all things related to the brain and behaviour. </p>
<p>A whole range of neurological, developmental and psychiatric conditions, as well as the complexities of the mind in general, are covered, including both people with lived experiences as well as scientists discussing their work in these fields. Lynne Malcolm weaves a soothing narrative through these interviews, taking the listener through a detailed look into many interesting and often unexplored issues.</p>
<p>One of my favourite episodes from 2016 discussed the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/indigenous-memory-code/8131606">Indigenous memory code</a> and how songlines have been used over generations to encode an encyclopedia’s worth of knowledge about the natural environment into memory. </p>
<p>Another fascinating episode explored the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/suspicious-minds:-the-truman-show-delusion/6758612">“Truman Show delusion”</a> – a symptom for some people with psychosis who believe they are the star of a reality TV show that everyone else is watching.</p>
<p>The podcast provides easily digestible segments which offer a short but compelling glimpse into the very complex nature of our brain.</p>
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<h2>Business + Economy: Economics Amplified</h2>
<p><strong>Richard Holden, Professor of Economics and PLuS Alliance Fellow, UNSW Australia</strong></p>
<p>My favourite economics podcast is <a href="https://bfi.uchicago.edu/economics-amplified">Economics Amplified</a>. It is billed as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A video and audio series that brings you the latest thinking on the biggest issues in economics from the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And it delivers. </p>
<p>In classic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_school_of_economics">Chicago school</a> tradition it doesn’t try to dumb down issues, but it does get some of the best scholars in the field – from Chicago or some of the vast array of visitors that Chicago hosts – to explain cutting-edge research on the most important current issues in a pretty accessible way.</p>
<p>Recent notable podcasts include <a href="https://bfi.uchicago.edu/video/game-theory-and-negotiation">Game Theory and Negotiation</a> (from former university president Hugo Sonnenschein) and <a href="https://bfi.uchicago.edu/video/behavioral-shift">The Behavioural Shift</a> (including Harvard economics department chair David Laibson). But there are tonnes more.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Behavioural Shift from Economics Amplified.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>Education: Teachers’ Education Review; The Early Education Show; Freakonomics Radio</h2>
<p><strong>Bronwyn Hinz, Policy Fellow at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria University</strong></p>
<p>I’m a big fan of podcasts, from a wide range of genres and subjects. Choosing just one was too hard, but I’ve narrowed down my top three for those interested in education policy. </p>
<p>In its own words, <a href="http://terpodcast.com/about/">Teachers’ Education Review</a> is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the Australian podcast for teachers that bridges the gap between research, policy and practice. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>But it’s great for others interested in Australian schooling. </p>
<p>The episodes are long (around 90 minutes), but divided into segments, and the time each segment starts is provided so you can skip straight to the parts you’re keenest on. Presenters and listeners are on Twitter to continue discussions for those interested.</p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-early-education-show/id1147429172?mt=2">The Early Education Show</a> is an engaging and informative podcast for everyone with an interest in early childhood education and care policies, news and practices in Australia and beyond. The presenters are passionate and knowledgeable, bringing diverse perspectives and just the right amount of disagreement, self-deprecation, irony and humour.</p>
<p>And, finally, <a href="http://freakonomics.com/">Freakonomics Radio</a> is an upbeat and engaging podcast from Chicago uncovering “the hidden side of everything” using actual research and fun interviews with the researchers, activists and others at the centre of each topic. This show covers a big variety of topics, but mostly from the fields of education policy, politics, psychology and economics.</p>
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<hr>
<p><em>The Conversation produces five podcasts: <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/podcasts/politics-with-michelle-grattan">Politics with Michelle Grattan</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/podcasts/business-briefing">Business Briefing</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/podcasts/change-agents">Change Agents</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/podcasts/speaking-with">Speaking With</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/podcasts/the-anthill">The Anthill</a>. You can subscribe to these on iTunes, or follow on Tunein Radio.</em></p>
<p><em>This piece has been amended to correct the launch year of Love + Radio.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71339/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siobhan McHugh is an award-winning radio documentary maker and writer, who researches audio storytelling formats, the affective power of sound and the evolution of the podcast sphere. She is consulting producer on Phoebe’s Fall, a major investigative podcast from The Age newsroom in Melbourne in 2016, about the bizarre death in a garbage chute of a young woman. Phoebe’s Fall knocked Serial off the #1 spot on Australian iTunes and triggered a review of the Victorian Coroner’s Act.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dallas Rogers receives funding from Henry Halloran Trust, AHURI and Urban Growth. Dallas' podcast show (<a href="http://www.soundminds.com.au/">http://www.soundminds.com.au/</a>) is funded by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia and is broadcast around the country on the Community Radio Network. He is also a podcast producer for The Conversation's Speaking With... podcast series.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gail Alvares is funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Holden is an ARC Future Fellow, and was formerly on the faculty at the University of Chicago.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Will J Grant receives funding from the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bronwyn Hinz and Dominic Kelly do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Conversation asked eight authors from across its sections to tell us about their favourite podcasts – and why you should tune in.Siobhan McHugh, Senior Lecturer, Journalism, University of WollongongBronwyn Hinz, Policy Fellow at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria UniversityDallas Rogers, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of SydneyDominic Kelly, PhD Candidate in Politics, La Trobe UniversityEuan Ritchie, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityGail Alvares, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Telethon Kids InstituteRichard Holden, Professor of Economics and PLuS Alliance Fellow, UNSW SydneyWill J Grant, Senior Lecturer, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/704112016-12-15T01:23:42Z2016-12-15T01:23:42ZSpeaking with: Serial’s Julie Snyder about making groundbreaking podcasts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150077/original/image-20161214-32200-s881iv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C148%2C1419%2C1085&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Serial</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>By now almost everyone has heard – or heard of – This American Life’s blockbuster podcast series <a href="https://serialpodcast.org/">Serial</a>. The <a href="https://serialpodcast.org/season-one">first series</a>, originally published in 2014, covered the incarceration and possible wrongful conviction of Adnan Syed for the murder of schoolgirl Hae Min Lee in Baltimore. In June this year Syed was <a href="https://serialpodcast.org/posts/2016/07/judge-orders-new-trial-for-adnan-syed">granted a new trial</a> for the murder, based at least partially on the renewed scrutiny of the case by the Serial team.</p>
<p>So what does it take to make a podcast that has had over 243 million downloads over two series? What decisions have to be made about pacing, music, how to represent the real-life characters involved and the impact it will have on its subjects’ lives? And in a Trump-led post-truth world, what role can podcasting play to inform public conversations?</p>
<p>The University of Wollongong’s Dr Siobhan McHugh (who was recently a consulting producer on Fairfax’s successful <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2016/phoebesfall/">Phoebe’s Fall</a> podcast) talks to Julie Snyder, Serial’s Executive Producer and co-creator, about the process of making a serialised audio documentary and its impact on its listeners, creators and subjects.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siobhan McHugh was consulting producer for the podcast Phoebe's Fall, from The Age newsroom, Melbourne, mentioned in the interview. She is the recipient of an Australian Research Council grant to make a radio documentary series about the relationships behind the production of Aboriginal art. She is the founding editor of RadioDoc Review, an online journal that critiques audio documentaries and podcasts (<a href="http://ro.uow.edu.au/rdr">http://ro.uow.edu.au/rdr</a>).</span></em></p>The University of Wollongong's Dr Siobhan McHugh (consulting producer on Fairfax's Phoebe's Fall podcast) speaks with Julie Snyder, Executive Producer of Serial, about making serial audio and the impact of podcasting.Siobhan McHugh, Senior Lecturer, Journalism, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/599872016-06-29T19:47:13Z2016-06-29T19:47:13ZVideo didn’t kill the radio star – she’s hosting a podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127444/original/image-20160621-8861-1qg30pe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are we in the midst of a podcasting revolution?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/9778048@N06/5768245798/">Mikael Nyberg</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Podcasters P.J. Vogt, host of <a href="https://gimletmedia.com/show/reply-all/">Reply All</a>, and Starlee Kine, host of <a href="https://gimletmedia.com/show/mystery-show/">Mystery Show</a>, addressed sold-out sessions at the Sydney Writers’ Festival last month, riding the wave of popularity engendered by <a href="https://serialpodcast.org">Serial</a>, the 2014 US true crime podcast series whose 100 million downloads galvanised the audio storytelling world. </p>
<p>Over 12 weeks, using a blend of personal narratives and investigative journalism delivered in ultra-casual conversational style, host Sarah Koenig examined the case against Adnan Syed, a Baltimore high school student who had been convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. </p>
<p>In risky but inspired innovation, the series launched without a conclusive ending. It invited listeners to veer with Koenig through the unfolding evidence – a departure <a href="http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/serial_sarah_koenig_journalism.php">hailed</a> as making journalism more transparent, in a genre not without <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/01/25/dead-certainty">ethical conundrums</a>. The show fomented raucous chatrooms online and Koenig featured on the cover of Time magazine. </p>
<p>“Hosting” is at the heart of the vaunted <a href="http://www.globaleditorsnetwork.org/press-room/news/2016/02/podcasting-trends-for-2016/">podcasting revolution</a> that has seen comedy, “chumcasts” (friends riffing on a theme) and deeply <a href="http://loveandradio.org/2013/02/jack-and-ellen/">personal</a> storytelling vie with established radio documentary, feature and interview formats for audience share. In radio institutions such as the ABC or BBC, programs have “presenters” and the organisation adds further brand identity. In the <a href="https://medium.com/@slowerdawn/how-podcasts-have-changed-in-ten-years-by-the-numbers-720a6e984e4e#.vysqmaul9">ever-expanding podsphere</a> (over 350,000 podcasts are listed on iTunes), “hosts” speak directly into our ear. </p>
<p>This seductive intimacy affects both the <a href="http://ro.uow.edu.au/lhapapers/2358/">form and content</a> of the audio storytelling genre. It appeals to listeners from hitherto untapped demographics as well as to rusted-on audiophiles – a development being watched by both <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/business/media/ads-for-podcasts-test-the-line-between-story-and-sponsor.html?_r=0">advertisers</a> and activists. </p>
<p>In the predominantly English-speaking <a href="https://www.academia.edu/14504222/The_Second_Age_of_Podcasting_reframing_Podcasting_as_a_New_Digital_Mass_Medium">12-year-old podsphere</a>, producers and consumers of podcasts used to be mainly young, white, educated, affluent males. But, in the last two years, female listenership has <a href="http://www.edisonresearch.com/the-podcast-consumer-2016/">doubled</a>. Female hosts are storming the studio (or bedroom, where many an indie podcast originates, or garage, where US comedian Marc Maron famously conducted a deeply revealing <a href="http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_613_-_president_barack_obama">interview</a> with Barack Obama last year). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126220/original/image-20160612-29205-eonlia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126220/original/image-20160612-29205-eonlia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126220/original/image-20160612-29205-eonlia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126220/original/image-20160612-29205-eonlia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126220/original/image-20160612-29205-eonlia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126220/original/image-20160612-29205-eonlia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126220/original/image-20160612-29205-eonlia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">President Barack Obama discussed racism, gun control, his family and his fearlessness in a conversation podcast from comedian Marc Maron’s garage in LA.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WTF Podcast with Marc Maron</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“Hosts are really forming relationships in new ways with their listeners,” says Julie Shapiro, CEO of <a href="https://www.radiotopia.fm/">Radiotopia</a>, “a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows” founded in 2014. It now has over ten million downloads a month of its 14 shows. </p>
<p>Radiotopia’s recent “Podquest” competition attracted 1,537 entrants from 53 countries. The <a href="https://www.radiotopia.fm/podquest/">finalists</a> propose shows that feature marginalised voices and quirky perspectives, delivered as engaging crafted narrative.</p>
<p>Radiotopia and <a href="https://gimletmedia.com/">Gimlet</a>, the independent US network that hosts Kine and Vogt, have been created by former public radio broadcasters. They still proclaim the editorial values and lofty mission <a href="http://current.org/2012/05/national-public-radio-purposes/">articulated</a> when National Public Radio (NPR) was founded in 1971. </p>
<p>The podsphere is unregulated – open slather for hate speech and religious rants, with the medium already exploited by groups like ISIS. But minorities are also <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19376529.2015.1083373?journalCode=hjrs20">colonising</a> the space, with growing audiences for shows on <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-24/wollongong-locals-create-transgender-podcast/7196704">transgender</a> issues, gender, sexuality and race. </p>
<p>In Australia, both public broadcasters are developing podcast-first formats. SBS has <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/programs/true-stories">True Stories</a>, unusual tales of multicultural experiences, and the ABC offers <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radio/firstrun/">First Run</a>, which ranges from comedy to entertaining history. </p>
<p>But other organisations, from <a href="http://fbiradio.com/podcast/all-the-best/">community radio</a> to independents, are now able to compete for listeners. Longtime ABC star Andrew Denton <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/andrew-denton-is-back-with-better-off-dead-a-podcast-about-the-right-to-die-20160218-gmxr1j.html">partnered</a> The Wheeler cultural centre in Melbourne to launch his excellent podcast series on euthanasia, <a href="http://www.wheelercentre.com/broadcasts/podcasts/better-off-dead">Better Off Dead</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126221/original/image-20160612-29229-cvkysu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126221/original/image-20160612-29229-cvkysu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126221/original/image-20160612-29229-cvkysu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126221/original/image-20160612-29229-cvkysu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126221/original/image-20160612-29229-cvkysu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126221/original/image-20160612-29229-cvkysu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126221/original/image-20160612-29229-cvkysu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Media personality Andrew Denton chose the podcast medium for his euthanasia series, Better Off Dead.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Edwina Pickles</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other veteran radio journalists are going solo. In 2015, US producer John Biewen, whose work has featured on prestigious outlets including This American Life, NPR and the BBC, launched his own show, <a href="http://podcast.cdsporch.org">Scene On Radio</a>. He told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Liberation from broadcast gatekeepers and formats outweighed the advantages they bring … the only downside … is the loss of audience numbers. [But] the freedom to produce work in the tone and at the length that I choose is priceless.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Podcasts can be as long as a piece of string</h2>
<p>Thrillingly, podcasts can be as long as a piece of string. Audio producers can focus on a natural narrative shape rather than artificially moulding a story to a pre-ordained duration. This enhanced Serial’s appeal and opens new structural possibilities for the form. </p>
<p>At one end, we may see podcasting develop further as a form of literary journalism: a poetic or narrative audio genre long established in Europe and articulated by the <a href="http://www.britannica.com/topic/New-Journalism">New Journalism</a> of the 1960s and ‘70s. It incorporates qualities such as immersive reportage, scenes, evocative writing and a subjective point of view.</p>
<p>At the other end of the spectrum, cheaply produced podcast panel-fests are proliferating. The topics range from the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/two-grumpy-hacks-australian/id1112778096?mt=2">elections</a> in Australia and the US to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/token-podcast">race</a> and popular culture. Some of these sound clunky and turgid – print journalists operating in a medium they don’t yet get. Others, such as Buzzfeed’s <a href="https://soundcloud.com/anotherroundwithhebenandtracy/episode-58-the-job-of">Another Round</a>, have the chemistry and the tone spot on, snaring big names such as Hillary Clinton along the way. </p>
<p>This rapidly evolving podcast ecology is coming under increasing <a href="http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-issue,id=3091/">academic scrutiny</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126219/original/image-20160612-29216-2b8dm7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126219/original/image-20160612-29216-2b8dm7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126219/original/image-20160612-29216-2b8dm7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126219/original/image-20160612-29216-2b8dm7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126219/original/image-20160612-29216-2b8dm7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126219/original/image-20160612-29216-2b8dm7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126219/original/image-20160612-29216-2b8dm7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sarah Koenig, host of Serial podcast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.mirror.co.uk</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, the race continues to find the next Serial. The <a href="https://serialpodcast.org/2015/12/season-two-welcome">second season of Serial</a>, about the troubled Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, a US soldier held captive by the Taliban for almost five years, didn’t quite manage it. Canada’s CBC got close with <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/sks">Somebody Knows Something</a>. </p>
<p>The best candidate yet is <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/bowraville">The Bowraville Murders</a>, unexpectedly well produced by The Australian newspaper, in which rookie podcaster Dan Box investigates the unsolved murders of three Aboriginal children from the same small town 25 years ago, bringing raw pain and kneejerk racism directly to listeners.</p>
<p>Having received scant attention for his other crime reportage, Box was astonished by the reaction to the podcast: it has probably been instrumental in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/23/australias-serial-dan-box-on-the-making-of-true-podcast-bowraville">launching a fresh trial</a>. Its power lies in fundamental aspects of the audio medium: its capacity to convey emotion and evoke empathy, imagination and intimacy. When those strengths are harnessed, podcasting becomes a formidable force for social engagement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siobhan McHugh produces podcastable radio documentaries on a freelance basis for ABC Radio National. She is currently researching a radio documentary on relational aspects of the production of Aboriginal art, funded by the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>The mobile-first delivery of podcasts has created a powerful relationship between listeners and host that bypasses traditional broadcast gatekeepers. Could this format trigger new narrative genres and promote social engagement?Siobhan McHugh, Senior Lecturer, Journalism, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/416592015-06-29T09:47:30Z2015-06-29T09:47:30ZHow evolutionary psychology may explain the difference between male and female serial killers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86459/original/image-20150625-22670-16ob3wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Female serial killers are more likely to murder friends and family.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-107145812/stock-photo-the-dead-woman-s-body-focus-on-hand.html?src=pp-photo-157645658-3&ws=1">'Body' via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Researchers such as psychologist Marvin Zuckerman have long <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/222633649_Personality_and_curiosity_about_morbid_and_sexual_events">noted</a> the morbid curiosity of humans; there’s just something about horror and terror that captures our attention. </p>
<p>Indeed, there may be nothing more horrifying – and fascinating – than murder. With my colleague Tom Bowers at Penn State Harrisburg, I’ve studied the crimes and characteristics of mass murderers for years, and still, I’m alarmed by every reread of each case. </p>
<p>But it wasn’t until 2014 when an undergraduate student, Erin Murphy, approached me about studying female serial killers (FSKs) that I realized how little scientific literature existed on this topic. Many routinely hear about male serial killers (MSKs) – the Jeffrey Dahmers and Ted Bundys of true crime lore – and one can indeed find volumes of literature analyzing their killing sprees. </p>
<p>On the other hand, few have heard of Belle Gunness and Nannie Doss, whose crimes were no less heinous: Gunness killed more than 25 people in the late 19th century, including her children and husbands. Doss killed 11 people in the first half of the 20th century, including her own mother and grandson.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14789949.2015.1007516">After parsing the data</a>, we found that female serial killers do tend to possess a number of unique characteristics.</p>
<h2>Middle- and upper-class killers of kin</h2>
<p>The research that did exist on FSKs provided some good insight. Fresno State criminologist Eric Hickey – author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Serial-Murderers-their-Victims-Hickey/dp/0495600814">Serial Murderers and their Victims</a> – interviewed 64 FSKs in the US, yielding a disturbing portrait of women who poisoned, shot and stabbed countless men, women and children. </p>
<p>Most were white and typically killed between seven and 10 victims. They were more likely to murder family members than strangers. And even though the most prevalent motive for murder was money, most of the murderers were middle- and upper-class.</p>
<p>Other research used smaller samples, but had notable findings. For example, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jip.1392/abstract">in a 2011 study</a>, Amanda Farrell, Robert Keppel and Victoria Titterington reviewed newspaper reports of 10 American FSKs. They found that FSKs tended to operate for a substantially longer time than did MSKs, while 80% knew their victims. Farrell and her colleagues – along with Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, who interviewed eight FSKs in a 2000 study – pointed out that, ironically, nursing is an occupation that’s overrepresented among FSKs. </p>
<h2>Fleshing out the profile</h2>
<p>So when we decided to study FSKs, we approached the topic with two main goals. </p>
<p>First, we wanted to document the means, motives and histories of these criminals with a larger, more recent sample (the larger the sample size, the more likely the findings and patterns are to reflect true life). Moreover, being psychologists, we found a relative absence of research on the <em>psychology</em> of FSKs. </p>
<p>Like Farrell and her colleagues, we used the mass media approach to study female serial killers. </p>
<p>We found the internet site <a href="http://murderpedia.org">Murderpedia.org</a> to be a valuable consolidation of media reports of murder, and we found it verifiable 100% of the time. In the end, we collected profiles of 64 female serial killers (the same number Hickey found) who committed their crimes in the US between 1821 and 2008.</p>
<p>Although our findings were limited to information that newspapers chose to include about these women and their crimes, our results lend validity to the mass media approach. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Along the lines of previous studies, we found that most FSKs were middle- and upper-class.</p></li>
<li><p>Almost all (92%) knew their victims, almost all were white, and their most common means to kill was poison, while the primary motive for murder was money. </p></li>
<li><p>Most of these women had earned college degrees or had attained at least some higher education. They held a wide variety of jobs, ranging from religious teacher to prostitute. Nearly 40% worked in health-related fields as nurses or aides, and about 22% worked in direct caregiving roles (mother and babysitter).</p></li>
<li><p>Most FSKs were married at some point. In fact, these serial killers were serial monogamists – married, on average, twice, and as many as seven times. Where we could ascertain appearance, most were reported to be average to above-average in attractiveness; where we could ascertain religion, 100% were Christian.</p></li>
<li><p>Nearly two-thirds were related to their victims, nearly one-third killed their significant others and about 44% killed their own biological children. More than half the sample killed children, and about one-quarter killed those who were elderly or infirm, those who had little chance of fighting back. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>An aberration of unconscious drives?</h2>
<p>From an evolutionary perspective, two important pictures emerged. </p>
<p>First, our data (in line with other studies) showed that female serial killers primarily kill for money. Previous research, such as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Serial-Murderers-their-Victims-Hickey/dp/0495600814">Eric Hickey’s</a>, has shown that male serial killers primarily kill for sex. </p>
<p>This aligns with evolutionary psychological theory. <a href="http://roberttrivers.com/Publications.html">Robert Trivers’</a> 1972 work pointed out that due to their limited reproductive potential (relatively few ova), women have evolved to place a premium on securing resources (likely through wise mate choices in the ancestral environment). Conversely, virtually unlimited reproductive potential (relatively unlimited sperm) has likely predisposed men to seek a vast number of sexual opportunities.</p>
<p>Of course, I’m not saying we evolved to be serial killers. What I <em>am</em> saying is that an aberration of genetically mediated unconscious drives might explain some of the reasons for these crimes. These urges could also explain some of the differences between male serial killers and female serial killers. </p>
<p>Second, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Serial-Murderers-their-Victims-Hickey/dp/0495600814">research</a> has shown that male serial killers tend to stalk and kill strangers. But FSKs tend to kill people they know. It seems, then, that MSKs are hunters and FSKs are gatherers. Although aberrant, this evinces the psyche operating much like the conditions of our ancestral environment.</p>
<p>So, do we know for sure what makes a woman turn into a serial killer? Sadly, no. Even though brain imaging studies, such as psychologist <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Anatomy-Violence-Biological-Roots/dp/0307475611">Adrian Raine’s</a>, do point to some trends, we can’t predict this with certainty.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, we’re clearly fascinated by murder, and perhaps morbid curiosity operates from an innate drive to pay attention to phenomena that can ultimately harm us. Creating an informed profile of the “typical” female serial killer will, we hope, lead to further analysis and, possibly, prevention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41659/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marissa A. Harrison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Male serial killers get all the press. But what does the research say about female serial killers?Marissa A. Harrison, Associate Professor of Psychology, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/417632015-05-21T03:50:21Z2015-05-21T03:50:21ZReviewing Baltimore through Serial, The Wire and race riots<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82357/original/image-20150520-17654-1srq6lw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The current climate is inviting us to conceive of Baltimore as an example of Italian legal philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s 'state of exception'.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/John Taggart</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the American imaginary, Baltimore has come to signify a space in which the law routinely fails to protect and represent its denizens. </p>
<p>We know this from TV shows such as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306414/">The Wire </a> (2002-2008) and that show’s “war on drugs”, as waged by law enforcement against the city’s most disenfranchised.</p>
<p>We remember <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Race-Class-Power-Organizing-Baltimore/dp/1498511619">the destruction</a> of predominantly black communities to make way for Johns Hopkins University over the last decade.</p>
<p>We know that Baltimore was notorious for its “<a href="http://qz.com/393128/white-flight-decimated-baltimore-businesses-long-before-rioters-showed-up/">white flight</a>,” and the <a href="http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/2007/5/1/100-years-the-riots-of-1968?p=2007/5/100-years-the-riots-of-1968">riots of 1968</a> following the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.</p>
<p>And we can look to the work of political geographer <a href="http://www.thewhitereview.org/interviews/interview-with-david-harvey/">David Harvey</a> to get a sense of the city’s uneven urban development and its wave of foreclosures in the 1990s. </p>
<p>But in the wake of <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bs-ae-quadriplegic-boy-baltimore-riots-20150507-story.html#page=1">the Baltimore riots</a> in recent weeks, I’d like to reconsider the hugely successful 2014 podcast <a href="http://serialpodcast.org/">Serial</a>, by National Public Radio. </p>
<p>Set in Baltimore, Serial was a journalistic exploration by <a href="http://time.com/3823276/sarah-koenig-2015-time-100/">Sarah Koenig</a> of the 1999 investigation and trial of high school student <a href="http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/12/17/serial-op-ed">Adnan Masud Syed</a>, found guilty of the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. </p>
<p>Syed was convicted to a life sentence and is currently serving time in Maryland State Prison. Earlier this week, however, the Maryland Court Of Special Appeals passed <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/18/serial-asia-mcclain_n_7307756.html">a ruling in Syed’s favour</a> that effectively grants him a new evidentiary hearing.</p>
<p>Similar to The Wire, Serial purports to demystify the law through its unwavering commitment to “realism,” unravelling the legal fiction of “due” process. </p>
<p>Week by week it exposed, or so it seemed, an evidentiary process gone awry, details perjured testimony after perjured testimony, speculates on leads that weren’t followed or considered, and probes into the gaping holes in the narrative and timeline of the alleged murder.</p>
<p>Koenig and her two producers adopted an utterly disarming conversational tone. Listeners – of whom <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/business/media/serial-podcastings-first-breakout-hit-sets-stage-for-more.html?_r=0">there were millions</a> – were promptly swept up in the mystery of the case, feeling, perhaps, deputised. </p>
<p>Koenig and co interviewed Adnan and Hae’s friends, family, and lawyers, played recordings from the trial and police interviews. For the most part, the remarkably entertaining stream of voices made it unclear to the listener when Koenig and co were wearing their “responsible journalism” hats, their “legal” hats, and when the women are just being human: confused, bemused, goofy, gossipy.</p>
<p>Presenting those roles in a way that was entangled and simultaneous suggests that the narratives they created and recreated moved through, enacted and embodied (and modified through their own embodiment) had, or ought to have had, some bearing on the official legal narrative. </p>
<p>As we listened to these women work through their frustration at not just the indecipherability of the scant, often contradictory “facts,” but, more importantly, the ways in which these “facts” found expression and containment in the prosecution’s narrative, we were struck with a sense of profound injustice. </p>
<p>That was – at best – irresponsible on the part of the production. The feeling of injustice is very different from its narrow legal construction, especially in respect of procedure (and there is, in fact, comparatively little proof to warrant an appeal). </p>
<p>True Crime, as a genre, begs for visibility: we want to see the evidence, or at least interact with the tactility of words on a page as verifiable source material: transcripts, interviews, newspaper articles. </p>
<p>We want to read the letters and diaries, and get a sense of the case’s spatiality. </p>
<p>Instead, in Serial, we heard Koenig’s mellifluous voice, and envisioned each character as filtered through a diffuse pop cultural consciousness: Jay was both “Dennis Rodman” and “Scooby Doo,” Adnan had big brown cartoon eyes “like a dairy cow,” and Nisha was a “chipmunk.” </p>
<p>While Koenig continued to emphasise place and proximity, DNA and physical evidence, denying the listener direct access to this material seemed to encourage the listener to conflate the affective response that comes from listening (falling in love with Adnan is not uncommon!) and the legal narratives that could have acquitted Adnan or secured a conviction. </p>
<p>Despite itself, Serial examined a racialised time, place and case, but did so via a medium that forces its listener to displace the materiality of these concerns, thereby depoliticising the case, and relocalising Adnan’s story as some kind of imaginative quest for justice. </p>
<p>Admittedly Koenig spent a couple of minutes here and there on the relationship between race, class and policing. In Episode 7, for example, she rather half-heartedly suggested that racial profiling was a “concern” at trial. </p>
<p>When she did spend a few seconds wondering aloud whether the police could have done more, she never questioned their integrity or professionalism (they were “cautious and methodical”) – or, more significantly, the historical function of police as gatekeepers of hierarchical order in the polis. </p>
<p>This is even more astonishing, because, post-The Wire, Baltimore has become a metonym for police corruption.</p>
<p>There is, furthermore, something deeply problematic in Serial’s suggestion that the law had failed Adnan: Serial separated Adnan’s case from the political, social, racial realities of Baltimore, chiefly through the podcast medium, and instead focused on the quest for legal justice as mediated through quirky and charismatic personalities. Law in America becomes, once again, commodified spectacle. </p>
<p>This refocus on the ever-regenerative quest for justice is in fact deeply conservative, complicit with those forces that continue to affirm a picture of American sovereignty and federalism even in the face of the continued exercise of arbitrary state power against the people of Baltimore. </p>
<p>Serial’s narrative attempted to lay bare the law’s most troubling flaws but, importantly, upheld the rule of law by preventing the kind of radical scrutiny that would see the law’s wholesale suspension in Baltimore. </p>
<p>If the current climate is inviting us to conceive of Baltimore not as a place where the law doesn’t work but, more radically, as an example of Italian legal philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s “<a href="http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo3534874.html">state of exception</a>,” then Serial reminded us of the persisting power of mainstream hegemonic thought in respect of rule of law. It must apply equally to all men, and, if it doesn’t then it is, rather than a fiction to be re-written, a work in progress.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41763/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diana Shahinyan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The current climate is inviting us to conceive of Baltimore not as a place where the law doesn’t work but, more radically, as an example of Italian legal philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s “state of exception”.Diana Shahinyan, Sessional Tutor, Department of English, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/357392014-12-19T16:38:17Z2014-12-19T16:38:17ZSerial’s ethics of true-crime reporting are commendable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67822/original/image-20141219-31573-14592ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sarah Koenig, newly minted radio celebrity.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Serial, Meredith Heuer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The final episode of Serial, the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/18/serial-podcast-itunes-apple-downloads-streams">most successful podcast in history</a>, went live at 10.30am GMT on December 18. Twitter reported that offices, train platforms and sidewalks around the world fell silent, as avid fans consumed the last instalment of the breakthrough weekly podcast investigating the real-life murder of Baltimore high school student, Hae Min Lee. </p>
<p>One question was on everyone’s lips, debated endlessly on social media: would the finale provide a conclusion that was “rewarding” and “satisfying” for listeners?</p>
<p>This <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/19/arts/dwight-garner-reviews-the-serial-season-finale.html">desire for a “satisfying ending”</a> to a real-life story poses interesting questions for narrative journalism. It also underlines some of the significant ethical concerns the podcast has raised since going live in October. </p>
<p>Critics have noted, among other issues, that the murder victim’s life is largely absent from the storytelling and that the show speculates on the guilt of individuals who could potentially be identified. The most common ethical complaint about Serial is that it has taken a real-life tragedy and transformed it into entertainment, designed to entertain as much as inform. As the murder victim <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/brother-of-hae-min-lee-responds-to-serial-podcast-2014-11">Hae Min Lee’s brother has written</a>: “TO ME ITS REAL LIFE. To you listeners, its another murder mystery, crime drama, another episode of CSI.”</p>
<h2>No new issue</h2>
<p>While the success of Serial may be unprecedented, the ethical quagmire of transforming true crime into narrative form is far from new. In his seminal <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NGJubhmwqfoC">In Cold Blood</a>, Truman Capote reworked the grim facts surrounding the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas into a New York Times bestseller. The book was hailed (most notably by Capote) as the first ever “non-fiction novel”. The plot and literary devices kept the reader turning pages, while the knowledge that it was true ignited their fascination.</p>
<p>Except, of course, that In Cold Blood wasn’t exactly true. As soon as the book was published, critics started noticing discrepancies. Capote had misquoted interviews and trial transcripts, created composite characters and invented entire scenes. And many questioned the author’s relationship with the convicted murderers at the heart of his book, suggesting that Capote had been misleading and exploitative. </p>
<p>In her searing indictment, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=c_h6dBhiFHsC">The Journalist and the Murderer</a>, Janet Malcolm takes the critique further, arguing that all journalist-source relationships are exploitative. Malcolm focuses on the reporter Joe McGinniss and his mistreatment of Jeffrey MacDonald, a physician on trial for triple homicide. After winning MacDonald’s trust and confidence, and spending years feigning belief in his innocence, McGinniss published <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=itNpedM8RAMC">Fatal Vision</a>, in which he depicted the doctor as a murdering, narcissistic sociopath.</p>
<p>Capote and McGinniss are not wild exceptions. Interviewing a number of non-fiction crime writers, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/the-ethics-of-true-crime-with-john-safran/5470692">John Safran identifies</a> common challenges in transforming ambiguous, murky crime into compelling storytelling – issues surround veracity, double crossing sources and the temptation to pay criminals for their stories. </p>
<h2>Transparency</h2>
<p>Placed in this complicated context, Serial has been remarkable for its transparent and ethical reporting. In each episode, presenter Sarah Koenig walks the listener through her reporting process – explaining who she is talking to, respecting requests for anonymity, and openly discussing with the convicted murder Adnan Syed her doubts about his innocence (reassuring the audience their relationship is not duplicitous).</p>
<p>So what makes Serial discomfiting is not necessarily the podcast itself. Instead, it is its reception: the millions of listeners anticipating every development who, some argue, view the characters as protagonists, first and foremost, rather than human beings.</p>
<p>For freelance journalist Brian C Jones, <a href="http://dankennedy.net/2014/12/16/serial-isnt-journalism-its-voyeurism-heres-why/">the show is voyeurism rather than journalism</a>. Others feel that Koenig holds back information at times, manipulating the audience to create narrative tension.</p>
<p>But these critiques go far beyond Serial, to the heart of the journalism enterprise. Truth seeking is the cornerstone of professional journalism ethics – and the <a href="http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp">first articulated value in many ethical codes</a>. The value is stronger still where there is a public interest at stake: in this case, a flawed judicial system and a potentially unsafe conviction. Once a news story goes beyond a brief update, it always becomes an artifice, crafted and shaped by the journalist.</p>
<p>Edward Wasserman, Dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/11/20/3595208/the-ethics-of-serial/">notes</a> that “we’re in the business of telling stories, but that means converting people’s experiences and realities into narratives”. Given this expectation, Wasserman suggests that a reporter’s ethical obligation is: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>To treat people with dignity and respect, to not take liberties, to not pillage their personal lives for no reason, to not take cheap shots, to give them their fair due.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Koenig and her team have certainly done that. Given the historical lapses of the true-crime genre – and the unprecedented success and scrutiny of the Serial podcast – this is, in itself, a significant achievement.</p>
<p>But there is one clear lesson from the podcast’s success. And that is that journalists can no longer control the consumption and repurposing of their work by online audiences. Serial has prompted debate, parody, and endless chatroom discussion. <a href="http://www.slate.com/topics/s/serial.html">Meta-level podcasts</a> discuss podcasts about the podcast, each adding their own layer of meaning to the text. Most problematically, with thousands of fans acting as amateur sleuths, protecting the anonymity of sources becomes incredibly challenging. </p>
<p>Serial has demonstrated the incredible appetite for, and potential of, non-fiction podcasting. It’s now up to journalists and producers to establish ethical conventions for the medium. The world will be watching – and commenting.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was amended on January 3 2015 to correctly attribute the assertion that Serial is voyeurism not journalism. This comment was not made by Dan Kennedy, associate professor at Northeastern University’s School of Journalism, but by Brian C Jones in a guest post on his site.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35739/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mel Bunce does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The final episode of Serial, the most successful podcast in history, went live at 10.30am GMT on December 18. Twitter reported that offices, train platforms and sidewalks around the world fell silent…Mel Bunce, Lecturer in Journalism , City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/348272014-12-04T13:05:21Z2014-12-04T13:05:21ZSerial: your memory can play tricks on you – here’s how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66052/original/image-20141202-20560-fmnfhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C40%2C998%2C721&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Memory artist.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-147301847/stock-photo-happy-asian-man-standing-next-to-thought-bubble-hand-drawn-on-a-dark-chalkboard.html?src=pp-same_model-147301841-3">Thinking by Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Six weeks ago I arrived back in London after my first trip to Australia. It felt considerably colder than the 34 degrees we’d left behind in Sydney, but the skies were clear and blue. Or were they? My partner said no, it had been pouring with rain. I had felt absolutely sure, but now I had started to doubt myself, like those moments when you vividly remember leaving something somewhere, only to find it’s not there.</p>
<p>Humour me a moment and try the same thing. Think back to a specific event that you can clearly remember from around six weeks ago. Use your diary as a prompt if you need to. Now picture it in your head as clearly as you can and try to answer the following questions: where were you and who were you with? What mood were you in? What were you wearing? What was the weather like? Are you sure? How sure?</p>
<p>For most of us, most of the time, these details are irrelevant and often cannot be corroborated. But for those that have been fixated on <a href="http://serialpodcast.org/season-one/1/the-alibi">Serial</a> you will understand why I am asking this. The weekly podcast tells the story of Adnan Syed, a teenager convicted for murder 15 years ago largely on the basis of witness accounts and memories of events that had happened six weeks earlier. </p>
<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/170469733&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false"></iframe>
<p>Occasionally, being able to remember the precise details of a specific event can be crucial. And yet, as I hope to convince you, not one of us can do this with absolute certainty. </p>
<h2>Autobiographical memory</h2>
<p>Our autobiographical memory, that is our memory for our life, is a fundamental part of who we are. It provides us with a narrative and gives us a sense of identity. It guides our decisions and it provides the social glue for us to build and maintain relationships. The human capacity to remember is phenomenal, but the mechanisms that make it efficient and effective are the same ones that also make it fallible.</p>
<p>One of the most important things to understand about autobiographical memory is that it is constructive. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022757">Contrary to popular belief</a>, memory doesn’t work like a video tape that we review. Instead, our brain stores a series of brief fleeting moments – visual snapshots, sounds, smells, thoughts and feelings – and each time we remember, we piece these back together to create something called an episodic memory of an event. These events in turn can be used to build up a narrative of a whole day or even a whole lifetime. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66320/original/image-20141204-7265-1hy6mrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66320/original/image-20141204-7265-1hy6mrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66320/original/image-20141204-7265-1hy6mrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66320/original/image-20141204-7265-1hy6mrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66320/original/image-20141204-7265-1hy6mrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66320/original/image-20141204-7265-1hy6mrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66320/original/image-20141204-7265-1hy6mrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nothing much happened that day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ofernandezberrios/2719757761/sizes/l/in/photolist-59ktec-64pP5z-jagpmg-jEEeb-oNLrbw-59pEN7-8nDt9B-6xFmn-efQtxi-4DJFJi-5tg9a5-9bdfCB-59pHBJ-9xme3d-59kxJk-59pKod-4fUzTo-767pUY-7vB7oB-6b4BVY-8fS3z5-4qBiH6-5jLLgR-jV5qHH-d9xnAw-7SUgTS-7x9bYE-4gwXKS-Gvf3a-5ubGt4-Lj3bW-aCvLMi-7kpSCe-ruwDs-4qG8xV-8NfTbZ-tDt9Q-59kxoc-d4VX2-fwkU9-7UQXbQ-8LpEdr-7TpXix-oucFM-8235Xr-4qB8Ee-nJQJkk-5ubRQX-bVQEjr-9bgoLs-9aTAwj/">Olgaberrios</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is also important to understand that memories are not constructed from precise records of what actually happened – but rather from records of what we experienced. Our perception is shaped by all sorts of things: our knowledge, our mood, the social context, our physical perspective, even our vocabulary (the language we have available <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010027710000752">seems to affect</a> the way we encode and retrieve memories). But critically, the reconstruction process itself is also shaped by all of these factors. </p>
<p>Context and knowledge therefore provide a framework not only for encoding memories but also for retrieving them. And because both context and knowledge change over time, so can the memories.</p>
<h2>General knowledge</h2>
<p>Let’s go back to that event six weeks ago and look at the role that knowledge might play in helping you to reconstruct that memory. There are two types of knowledge that might help us: “semantic knowledge” is general information about the world, for example what the weather is like in England in October; and “autobiographical knowledge,” general information about ourselves, such as where we work, who our friends are, what we tend to have for breakfast, what we generally do on a Tuesday and so on.</p>
<p>This generic information is both friend and foe. On the whole it makes memory efficient and effective, allowing us to store repeated events as generalised memories which are more quickly and easily recalled. And when something unusual happens we often tend to remember it because it stands out as being different. </p>
<p>However, the price we pay for this is that it is incredibly difficult to remember very specific details for days or events that are otherwise unremarkable. Unless we revisit these events, much of this fades away within a few days.</p>
<h2>Why some things and not others?</h2>
<p>So why do we seem to remember some things so clearly? And how reliable are those memories? The key factor here is a process called “consolidation”. This is a complex process, generally believed to involve the hippocampal system, whereby memories are periodically reactivated, thus strengthening the neural connections. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66324/original/image-20141204-7283-1bc4pgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66324/original/image-20141204-7283-1bc4pgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66324/original/image-20141204-7283-1bc4pgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66324/original/image-20141204-7283-1bc4pgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66324/original/image-20141204-7283-1bc4pgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66324/original/image-20141204-7283-1bc4pgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66324/original/image-20141204-7283-1bc4pgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66324/original/image-20141204-7283-1bc4pgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Physical mechanisms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/malcubed/2312113090/sizes/l/in/photolist-4wjbEN-4vMXeF-4vRYco-4vME8a-4s5Nms-4wf7pc-4wjyfL-4wjfao-4vMG8c-4s5LPU-3MHq4M-3MMGK1/">Mal Cubed</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In simple terms, the sooner and the more often you revisit a specific memory, the more easily you will be able to access it in the future. Again, this is efficient because we let go of what we don’t need and hang on to what we do. </p>
<p>But bear in mind the important points I made earlier. Each time we “remember” we are effectively reconstructing that memory in the context of a constantly changing knowledge base and perspective. On the whole this is an adaptive function. It allows us to make sense of our past in the context of our present. </p>
<p>However, this also means that our memories are <a href="http://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/12/4/361.short">prone to errors and contamination</a>, which has particular consequences for the legal system. And we can sometimes <a href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.5406/amerjpsyc.126.3.0301?uid=3738032&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104728375371">reinterpret things differently</a> in the light of new information so that the original memory is over-written with a new, slightly altered one.</p>
<p>While listening to Serial, I have thought a lot about the nature of autobiographical memory. A <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022757">2011 study</a> by Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris found that 37.1% of the general population believed that the testimony of one confident eye-witness should be enough to convict a defendant. Sixteen experts who were asked the same question all disagreed. </p>
<p>Wherever you stand on the case of Adnan Syed, there is no question that autobiographical memory is a complex phenomenon and that however brilliant it is, at times we cannot even trust our own memory, let alone that of others. I’ve checked the internet for weather reports on that day I flew back into London, and it turns out that we were both wrong.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34827/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Loveday does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Six weeks ago I arrived back in London after my first trip to Australia. It felt considerably colder than the 34 degrees we’d left behind in Sydney, but the skies were clear and blue. Or were they? My…Catherine Loveday, Neuropsychologist, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/342482014-11-20T19:27:46Z2014-11-20T19:27:46ZSerial: murder, mystery and the science of memory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65045/original/image-20141120-29263-shmioy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C403%2C5616%2C3001&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The podcast Serial investigates the murder of 18-year-old American student Hae Min Lee 15 years ago.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-227430652/stock-photo-crime-scene-investigation.html?src=sIO4vneEohlOhGeOjaH8dw-1-21">LukaTDB/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Can you recall what you were doing last Wednesday between 2.15pm and 2.36pm? Where were you? What did you see? Who did you talk to? How well do you remember those 21 minutes? </p>
<p>Now try to recall Wednesday six weeks ago. What about a Wednesday 15 years ago?</p>
<p>How detailed and accurate do you think your memories are of these recent or long-ago events? </p>
<p>An <a href="http://dailyreview.crikey.com.au/the-serial-phenomenon-signals-the-arrival-of-the-blockbuster-podcast/15722">addictive</a> new weekly podcast, <a href="http://serialpodcast.org">Serial</a>, asks questions <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/537/transcript">such as these</a> to “search for the truth” about the murder of 18-year-old American student Hae Min Lee. </p>
<p>On Wednesday, January 13 1999, Hae disappeared in Baltimore County, Maryland. Four weeks later her body was found in a shallow grave in nearby parkland; she had been strangled. Six weeks later Baltimore City detectives arrested Hae’s ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed.</p>
<p>Adnan’s <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/537/transcript">trial</a> hinged on where he was for 21 minutes between 2.15pm and 2.36pm on the day Hae disappeared; the time she died. </p>
<p>The state’s case against Adnan and his eventual conviction for first-degree murder relied on the testimony — the reported memories — of another teenage boy named Jay. There was little or no physical evidence linking Adnan to the crime. Jay said Adnan murdered Hae. Adnan said he had nothing to do with it and didn’t know who did.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65132/original/image-20141120-4461-1t2ykvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65132/original/image-20141120-4461-1t2ykvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65132/original/image-20141120-4461-1t2ykvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65132/original/image-20141120-4461-1t2ykvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65132/original/image-20141120-4461-1t2ykvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1093&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65132/original/image-20141120-4461-1t2ykvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1093&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65132/original/image-20141120-4461-1t2ykvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1093&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adnan Syed in 1998.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of Serial</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Serial’s host and co-producer, Sarah Koenig, tries to piece together what happened through memories: memory reports from then, as told at the trial; and memory reports from now, 15 years after these events, of Adnan (who is serving a life sentence in jail), Jay, their classmates, friends, families, the police and even Hae (via the diary she left behind). </p>
<p>Koenig’s search, successful or not, raises fascinating questions about the nature, meaning and complexities of personal recollections. </p>
<h2>How does memory work?</h2>
<p>In essence, memory can be thought of as a sequence of information-processing stages with three basic tasks: </p>
<ol>
<li>get information in (encoding)</li>
<li>save information over time (storage)</li>
<li>get information out (retrieval).</li>
</ol>
<p>As we go about our daily business, we perceive and experience things that are captured in great detail and go into sensory memory for a brief period of three to four seconds. Most of this information we lose. But information that we pay attention to or that captures our attention is transferred to short-term memory; this is what is in your mind right now (the words of this article, for instance, and their meaning). </p>
<p>Short-term memory can hold a small amount of information (seven items, plus or minus two) for a limited time (about 15 to 20 seconds). If we don’t use that information almost immediately (such as dial a phone number we’ve just been told) or rehearse it, we forget it. But if rehearsed, it becomes encoded and can be stored in long-term memory. </p>
<p>Information that reaches long-term memory can last there for long periods of time and be retrieved – brought to consciousness – as a memory report or behaviour, such as dialling that phone number again. </p>
<p>So for Adnan, Jay and their friends to remember what happened on the day Hae disappeared 15 years ago they need to have encoded, stored and be able to retrieve those memories. </p>
<p>But memory is never guaranteed. An event may not be encoded in the first place, it may be difficult to retrieve, or it may be lost from storage. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65064/original/image-20141120-29241-1u6j1p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65064/original/image-20141120-29241-1u6j1p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65064/original/image-20141120-29241-1u6j1p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65064/original/image-20141120-29241-1u6j1p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65064/original/image-20141120-29241-1u6j1p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65064/original/image-20141120-29241-1u6j1p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65064/original/image-20141120-29241-1u6j1p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A tribute to Hae in the 1999 Woodlawn Yearbook, posted by a Reddit user.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://i.imgur.com/ZymawoH.jpg">Reddit</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Memories decay over time, as Koenig discovered when in episode five she interviewed Will, one of Adnan’s friends who might have been able to confirm Adnan’s alibi of where he was when Hae died:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Will: It’s hard to remember that one interaction.</p>
<p>Koenig: You mean I should have asked you 15 years ago?</p>
<p>Will: Maybe five I would have remembered.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Of course, people forget for other reasons, such as intentionally trying to suppress or not think about certain, perhaps upsetting, events. And people can <a href="http://www.forcescience.org/articles/Memory&TheLaw.pdf">misremember</a> in myriad ways that have nothing to do with deception. They confuse events from different days, or confuse details and events they experienced themselves with ones they learnt about from someone else. </p>
<p>Or they fill in gaps in memory with their best guess of what they probably did and later confuse this with their original memory.</p>
<h2>What should we expect from memory?</h2>
<p>In most situations, we don’t need to recall everything that happens to us every minute of any particular day. Remembering the gist of what happened is often sufficient. But in the legal setting, a high level of precision is usually expected and needed, even when long periods have elapsed since the event in question. </p>
<p><a href="http://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-27/edition-7/beliefs-about-autobiographical-memory">Surveys suggest</a> that people expect they can accurately reproduce details of long-ago events, especially emotional events, even though research shows we are prone to memory failures and errors. </p>
<p>In episode one of Serial, Koenig describes Adnan’s memories of January 13 as “mushy”, “unhelpful” and “problematic”. This is because he remembers only the gist of the day and not details, although he is adamant he did not kill Hae Min Lee. “Why can’t you remember anything?” Koenig challenges Adnan.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65134/original/image-20141120-4493-kee79b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65134/original/image-20141120-4493-kee79b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65134/original/image-20141120-4493-kee79b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65134/original/image-20141120-4493-kee79b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65134/original/image-20141120-4493-kee79b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65134/original/image-20141120-4493-kee79b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65134/original/image-20141120-4493-kee79b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adnan remembers the gist of the day but not the details.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of Serial</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Koenig seeks (but often does not find) detailed and consistent accounts of events she now knows are significant. Significant or emotional events typically are <a href="http://www.forcescience.org/articles/Memory&TheLaw.pdf">better remembered</a>, especially when well rehearsed. But even reported memories of significant, well-rehearsed events can vary over time. Such fluctuations may be important or unimportant; it is difficult to tell. </p>
<p>This is an area of great <a href="https://theconversation.com/total-recall-truth-memory-and-the-trial-of-oscar-pistorius-25496">practical significance</a> for the legal system and needs more research. </p>
<h2>How can we tell if memories are accurate?</h2>
<p>In one episode of Serial, Koenig worries that Adnan is lying to her — “playing her” — because his memory reports of the day Hae disappeared seem so vague. In another episode, Koenig points out major inconsistencies in Jay’s seemingly more complete accounts of what happened that day.</p>
<p>In the absence of definitive physical evidence or corroboration, how do we judge memories?</p>
<p>People routinely make judgements about the origin or reality of their own memories: “Did I experience it, imagine it, hear about it on the radio?” Memory researchers <a href="http://memlab.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/2006_Johnson_AmerPsych.pdf">call this</a> “personal source monitoring”. And we routinely make judgements about other people’s memories; researchers <a href="http://memlab.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/2006_Johnson_AmerPsych.pdf">call this</a> “interpersonal source monitoring”. </p>
<p>Everyone has intuitions about what a true memory looks and sounds like. In fact, we use the presence or absence of certain memory qualities — such as completeness, coherence, confidence, emotion — to judge the source or accuracy of our own and others’ memories. </p>
<p>On average, memories based in reality contain more perceptual, conceptual, emotional and contextual details. But lots of different kinds of details do not guarantee that a memory is accurate even if the details are persuasive to yourself and others. An event you imagined, for instance, <a href="http://memlab.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/2006_Johnson_AmerPsych.pdf">can have similar qualities</a> to an event you genuinely experienced. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65068/original/image-20141120-29219-7k5bdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65068/original/image-20141120-29219-7k5bdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65068/original/image-20141120-29219-7k5bdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65068/original/image-20141120-29219-7k5bdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65068/original/image-20141120-29219-7k5bdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65068/original/image-20141120-29219-7k5bdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65068/original/image-20141120-29219-7k5bdo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Memories aren’t like photographs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-191122838/stock-photo-disabled-with-nurse-viewing-family-photo-album.html?src=tZuFrwEt8ubQUUnEKX6r3Q-1-50">Photographee.eu/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Still, in Serial, in courtrooms and in everyday life, detailed, complete and consistent memory reports often are <a href="http://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-27/edition-7/beliefs-about-autobiographical-memory">given more weight</a> than vague, fragmented and/or inconsistent memories, which are treated with suspicion. </p>
<p>Since eyewitness memory remains a central form of evidence in criminal proceedings, we need to be aware – as courts increasingly are – that incompleteness doesn’t mean inaccurate and completeness doesn’t mean accurate. And honest witnesses can be mistaken about the past.</p>
<h2>Shouldn’t our memories make sense?</h2>
<p>In the latest episodes of Serial, Koenig complains that at times neither Adnan’s nor Jay’s stories make sense. “It doesn’t add up,” she says.</p>
<p>We like memories to make sense. We strive for meaning and coherence in stories of our personal and collective pasts. If we can’t find meaning, we sometimes impose it. </p>
<p>There is risk in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/nov/07/serial-listeners-detectives-troubling-results">looking for or imposing meaning</a> where there is none or where there is messiness. Psychologists Kevin McConkey and Peter Sheehan, who collaborated with Australian police forces to evaluate the use of hypnosis to help victims and witnesses recall information, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hypnosis-Memory-Behavior-Criminal-Investigation/dp/1572300086">described</a> choices and behaviours of some people involved in the forensic cases as perplexing: “apparent simplicity”, they wrote, “clouds considerable complexity”. </p>
<p>In the search for meaning in Serial, the past cannot simply be remembered as it was experienced 15 years ago but in light of both the present and events across the intervening years. As memory researcher Martin Conway <a href="http://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-27/edition-7/beliefs-about-autobiographical-memory">argues</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Memories are psychological representations and not like photographs, videos or other types of recording. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This reconstructive rather than reproductive nature of memory means that our knowledge <em>now</em> <a href="http://www.forcescience.org/articles/Memory&TheLaw.pdf">invariably influences</a> our reported memories of <em>then</em>. So the present — Adnan convicted of Hae’s murder and incarcerated — must infuse those memories of the past that Serial is trying to faithfully reconstruct.</p>
<p>It’s unclear whether Koenig will find the truth of Hae Min Lee’s murder. Memory research suggests that in the absence of physical evidence, she may get no further than a constructed tapestry of what is now believed in reported memories rather than the genuine reality of what happened to Hae. </p>
<p>In any case, Serial is compelling listening. It has been the <a href="http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/serial-podcast-reopens-case-of-murdered-highschool-student-hae-min-lee/story-fnndfy6b-1227126516090">most downloaded iTunes podcast</a> in recent weeks and has sparked countless <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/serial-podcast-quiz.html">water-cooler conversations</a> about who is telling the truth, how memory works and who is responsible for the murder of Hae Min Lee.</p>
<p><em>Listen to or download the first nine episodes of Serial <a href="http://serialpodcast.org/">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: Amanda will be answering questions between 4 and 5pm AEDT on November 21. Ask your questions about memory in the comments below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34248/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Barnier receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Can you recall what you were doing last Wednesday between 2.15pm and 2.36pm? Where were you? What did you see? Who did you talk to? How well do you remember those 21 minutes? Now try to recall Wednesday…Amanda Barnier, Professor of Cognitive Science and Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/343882014-11-20T14:46:13Z2014-11-20T14:46:13ZSerial breaks iTunes records – and it’s easy to see why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65119/original/image-20141120-4487-1eo78nc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sarah Koenig recording Serial.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elise Bergerson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I have to confess I made a big mistake in not reviewing the real life whodunit podcast <a href="http://serialpodcast.org/">Serial</a> when I listened to the first episode in October. Initially little-known, the podcast has just <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/18/serial-podcast-itunes-apple-downloads-streams">broken iTunes records</a> by passing five million downloads and streams.</p>
<p>Journalist Sarah Koenig is investigating an alleged miscarriage of justice. High school student Hae Min Lee was murdered on January 13 1999 in Baltimore County, Maryland, when she was 17. She had been strangled and buried in a shallow grave. Her former boyfriend, Adnan Syed, also then 17, was convicted and jailed for 30 years.</p>
<p>We are 15 years on. Rabia Chaudry, a family friend, is now an attorney. She believes in his innocence. There was no physical DNA evidence linking him with the crime. He was too good a boy to kill anyone. Sarah decided to get involved after receiving an email from Rabia.</p>
<p>Eight weeks on and it has become a global audio-file sensation. But I held back on a review initially because of an underlying unease, despite reviewers and feature writers being orgasmic with praise – this podcast has “<a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/serial-podcast-catches-fire-1415921853">caught fire</a>”, is “<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenkilloran/2014/11/13/the-serial-podcast-is-eating-us-for-breakfast/">eating us for breakfast</a>”. It is the “<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/11230770/Why-Serial-is-the-greatest-podcast-ever-made.html">greatest podcast ever made</a>”. It “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/13/the-serial-podcast-shows-us-the-sausage-factory-of-journalism-its-a-different-approach-to-objectivity">shows us the sausage factory of journalism</a>”, is a “<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2830737/New-hope-convicted-murderer-brilliant-high-school-girlfriend-case-cult-podcast-hit-Serial.html">cult podcast that may free an innocent man</a>”. It is undeniably a phenomenon.</p>
<h2>Storytelling</h2>
<p>It’s easy to explain why Serial is such a big hit. It sells the listener a shot of story-telling heroin, the buzz you get when treading the the borderline between drama and documentary, factual journalism and fiction. This separation can be very thin. The same narrative devices work on each side of the binary.</p>
<p>At the end of the day the success of the podcast is down to extraordinary storytelling. Sarah Koenig is a brilliant observer of human personality. Her linking is novelistic. Her turn of phrase is folksy and sparks the imagination. She introduces the story as a Shakespearean mash-up of teenage love. </p>
<p>The radio production is filmic. Sarah is our camera, ambient sound recorder – and always from a personal perspective. We always remain with her point of view, through every twist and turn. The podcast panders to the voyeuristic joy of knowing this is real life. </p>
<p>We hear her phone calls with Adnan who calls twice a week from his maximum security facility, we meet and get very close to the people involved in the saga. It is intimate. One minute you’re in Rabia Chaudry’s shabby and disorganised office, the next in the police interrogation room, or the trial, or the appeal hearing, or on the telephone with an alibi witness tracked down after 15 years.</p>
<p>Serial exploits the frisson and excitement of investigative gumshoe crime journalism with the drama of <a href="http://www.jgrisham.com/">John Grisham</a> at his best. But as with some crime novels it’s easy to forget that at the centre of all this lies the very real and ghastly killing of a young woman. </p>
<h2>Unease</h2>
<p>This is where my unease stems from – the fact that two of the most important women in this narrative are silent because they are dead. Serial has not done enough to give them a voice.</p>
<p>It’s striking we did not hear much about Hae Min Lee or her family until nine episodes in. She certainly hasn’t been characterised fully. Her role as a dead body stuffed in a car trunk, then buried in a park, imagined as post-mortem evidence is somewhat exploitative and undignified. Someone who claims to be her younger brother <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/brother-of-hae-min-lee-responds-to-serial-podcast-2014-11?r=US">has condemned the sensationalism</a> and lack of insight into her family’s grief. </p>
<p>Likewise we have heard very little about <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-01-31/news/0401310246_1_roberto-gutierrez-carlos-gutierrez-lawyer">Maria Cristina Gutierrez</a>, the tenacious lawyer who represented Adnan and was later disbarred for apparently misusing client’s money. She died in 2004. From the beginning we’re made to consider whether Cristina was responsible for a “fuck up” in her last big murder brief, but she hasn’t yet been explored further. The next episode promises to address this issue, but it may be too little too late.</p>
<p>Gutierrez had a formidable reputation for fighting for her clients, for not giving up if she thought an injustice had been perpetrated. In reality it was multiple sclerosis and heart disease that made it difficult to keep up with her workload and <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2001-06-02/news/0106020237_1_lawyer-gutierrez-clients">she actually disbarred herself</a> when complaints were made. </p>
<p>As she cannot speak for herself, I feel it would have been fairer to hear others speak for her and explain and justify the decisions and strategy she took, rather than imply that her incompetence is a factor.</p>
<p>So I’m not sure that Serial will inspire and herald the birth of the investigative podcast as long-form journalism in the multimedia age, as many are proclaiming. Its first imitator is a rather funny <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob3dak72FG8">parody on YouTube</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ob3dak72FG8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Serial parody.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And there is only one <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/contributors/sarah-koenig">Sarah Koenig</a>. Her personality, intelligence and charm are the backbone of the podcast and account for the success of Serial.</p>
<p>Serial is a brilliant conceit. But I fear it will end in unresolved ambiguity and may leave the audience somewhat cheated.</p>
<p>And we must remember that in the real world there is rarely a novelist or Sarah Koenig to <em>deus ex machina</em> your tears, hopes, and insecurities, or indeed to get giant brown-eyed Adnan Syed out of jail for the murder he may or may not have committed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34388/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
I have to confess I made a big mistake in not reviewing the real life whodunit podcast Serial when I listened to the first episode in October. Initially little-known, the podcast has just broken iTunes…Tim Crook, Reader in Media and Communication (Goldsmiths), Visiting Professor of Broadcast Journalism (Birmingham City University), Goldsmiths, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.