With 2015 coming to an end, many fans of the podcast "Serial" are gearing up and getting excited for the highly anticipated second season. Hosted by Sarah Koenig, the podcast has gained a lot of attention and recognition and is one of the most widely accredited podcasts by its listeners.
I was skeptical myself when I first heard about "Serial," having never really gotten into podcasts before. In fact, less than 20 percent of people in the United States ever listen to podcasts at all! This podcast, however, produced by This American Life, proves that podcasts can be just as addicting as your favorite HBO Go series.
I don't want to ruin too much for potential listeners, but in the first season, Sarah Koenig and her team are reporting and investigating the murder of a high school student, Hae Min Lee. Her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, is currently in prison, charged with first degree murder in Hai Min Lee's case, but here's the catch: Adnan Syed is adamantly saying he did not commit the crime, and Sarah Koenig and her team are trying to prove it. Over a 12 episode series, they run through the details of the case and his court hearing, but they spend the majority of their time contacting friends, relatives, and other possible witnesses that could prove Adnan's innocence or guilt.
The case against Adnan was relatively weak, and Koenig doesn't believe that the evidence proves that Adnan was imprisoned for information that proved his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Over the course of the season, Koenig uncovers new information and refutes existing information that may prove Adnan's innocence, but nothing is set in stone at the end of the season. However, knowing that cases like these take years to resolve, the progress they made was exponential. Adnan's case was recently re-opened, after he was allowed to appeal due to the work Koenig and her team put together.
Now that Koenig has gained enough attention that a man may be freed from jail because of her work, people are wondering what season two will look like. Each season has a new case, and while fans may be sad that Koenig will no longer be reporting Syed's case, the rumors and speculation about season two is still exciting enough for me.
Season two is rumored to be about a sergeant, Bowe Bergdahl, who was taken by the Taliban for five years and was just traded back to the United States in May 2014. The complications with his disappearance and his trade, however, is that Bowe was arrested and is facing a trial because, allegedly, he was abducted after leaving his base (potentially drunkenly). He is being charged with endangerment and abandonment of his platoon, and while these are just rumors, it all sounds very intriguing.
This American Life and "Serial" have been saying that the second season will be released "sometime in 2015," but the rumors expected it to come out in November. Being that it is already December, we only have a few weeks left until our wishes are granted and we can finally listen to the highly anticipated season two! If you haven't listened to season one, I highly encourage plugging in your headphones at the gym, library, or anywhere else you would listen to music, and giving it a try. If you like "CSI," "NCIS," "Law & Order," or any shows of that sort, this will be right up your ally!
