How Serial Changed My Journey
When Serial came out in 2014, I binged listened to it like pretty much everyone else in the world. Released in 12 episodes, Serial (season one) is still widely cited as the most listened-to podcast in the world, with more than 300 million downloads. WHAT?
I’ve always been drawn to the world of audio, from going to deejay school- Spin Gurus-when Parth and I moved to India (yes, I have hung up my deejay degree in between my husband’s two Ivy League degrees. I mean, it just makes sense.) to working for radio stations in Mumbai and Chicago to listening to my music guru, big brother, teach me the ways of New Wave.
Once I figured out I could fake my way into writing for established publications and actually got paid for a handful of interviews with various local and global celebrities, I was hooked with the concept of talking to people for a living. That’s my jam in daily life anyway.
Point being, after listening to Serial (twice) and having the experience in radio and writing, podcasting just made sense to me. It is everything I’ve ever loved doing.
So when I got a chance to interview the woman who brought the Adnan Syed’s case to Serial, I thought I was in some sort of weird simulation. After obsessing over this podcast I was getting the chance- 7 years after Serial was published-to talk to someone so close to the case. To ask her everything about that time. Understand her personal story. Get her point of view on what really happened.
I can’t emphasize how kind and generous she was during the interview. Here is this well-established podcaster, author, and attorney who had no reason to give a podcaster like me the time of day. She didn’t even know me. But she gave me the time and she most certainly gave me her all.
In all honesty, I was hesitant to even bring up the case, assuming she was sick of talking about it. Turns out, she was happy to share her thoughts on the case, on the making of Serial, and exchanges that happened “behind the scenes”. I wanted to share a video clip of our interview with you so you can get a glimpse into this very special episode.
I still can’t believe that it all came full circle for me on episode 75 of the podcast. If I am in some sort of weird simulation, leave me in please. I’ll gladly continue on this journey.