Podcast Central

[old_gregg]

also, the whole lending his car to jay then asking for a ride from hae (and then changing his story about that later) thing is pretty weird to me. i don't know, jay is obviously culpable in some way. but adnan smells like a manipulative sociopath to me.

[Applejack]

also jay knew where the car was. jay's story is pretty clearly bullshit, but there's no way adnan didn't do it.

Jay knowing where the car was is pretty strong evidence that Jay was involved. It only implicates Adnan if you believe Jay's story.

I think there is definitely a way Adnan didn't do it - Jay did it (probably with someone else) and framed Adnan. For that story to work, you only need to believe that Jay had Adnan's cell phone for most of the day. Then, the only thing that needs explaining is how did Jay know about the Neisha "butt dial"?

[Clark Addison]

This is pretty good. I especially like Santa on the phone and the Cristina Gutierrez-like attorney.

[old_gregg]

I'm not sure you can complain that the podcast fails as a piece of journalism. This was infotainment. It's like complaining that 48 Hours Mystery didn't cut to the chase early enough. The whole point is to get you to think about whodunnit over weeks. But yes, the last few episodes were filler - she ran out of new info.

I think everyone will agree that he never should have been convicted. There is a boatload of reasonable doubt to this story.

To me there is only one thing that really cuts against Adnan's story and it wasn't really talked about in the podcast. It's the Neisha call, which was beat to death, but more importantly it seemed to me that Jay talked about the Neisha call ("we called some girl in Silver Spring") during his first interview with detectives, i.e. before the detectives could have obtained a warrant for the cell records and tipped Jay off. Thus, even if we buy the "butt dial" theory, Jay either made up a story about calling a girl in Silver Spring that matched the butt dial (miraculously) or Jay made the call to Neisha in a preemptive move to indict Adnan for a murder he would later commit (amazing foresight). The podcast never focused on the fact that Jay knew about the call, and that always troubled me.

also jay knew where the car was. jay's story is pretty clearly bullshit, but there's no way adnan didn't do it.

[Applejack]

I'm not sure you can complain that the podcast fails as a piece of journalism. This was infotainment. It's like complaining that 48 Hours Mystery didn't cut to the chase early enough. The whole point is to get you to think about whodunnit over weeks. But yes, the last few episodes were filler - she ran out of new info.

I think everyone will agree that he never should have been convicted. There is a boatload of reasonable doubt to this story.

To me there is only one thing that really cuts against Adnan's story and it wasn't really talked about in the podcast. It's the Neisha call, which was beat to death, but more importantly it seemed to me that Jay talked about the Neisha call ("we called some girl in Silver Spring") during his first interview with detectives, i.e. before the detectives could have obtained a warrant for the cell records and tipped Jay off. Thus, even if we buy the "butt dial" theory, Jay either made up a story about calling a girl in Silver Spring that matched the butt dial (miraculously) or Jay made the call to Neisha in a preemptive move to indict Adnan for a murder he would later commit (amazing foresight). The podcast never focused on the fact that Jay knew about the call, and that always troubled me.

[UVACoug]

I think the podcast was significantly flawed in several ways. As a piece of journalism, I think it fails completely. Sarah consistently withheld or delayed key information for dramatic effect in order to manipulate the audience. That makes for good story-telling, but I don't think it is a very good method of finding the truth. The last few episodes seemed a bit incoherent and thrown together because she ran out of other things to talk about.

As for whether Adnan is guilty or innocent, I ended up where Sarah did. There is no way in hell he should have been convicted. There is little, if any, credible evidence that he did it. The jury convicted him because they were presented with an obviously false story from Jay and didn't have any alternative explanation for the crime. That isn't how the system is supposed to work. Because of the lack of evidence, I am left with no choice but to believe he didn't do it. There are simply too many false convictions to condemn a guy because there is no better explanation, especially where all the information I have is second or third hand. Cases like this are one of the prime reasons why I am opposed to the death penalty.

Anyone interested in other false conviction cases should watch Central Park Five or West of Memphis. It is shocking what kind of confessions corrupt cops can get out of people ... especially teenagers.

[Northwestcoug]

I'm almost done listening to this, along with millions of other people obviously.

The take-home message I guess is that some murderers are just regular people who do something really stupid.

Is it really in doubt that Adnan killed the girl? Doesn't seem like it to me.

I thought as a whole the podcast was OK but not great. It doesn't deserve to be the most popular podcast of all time.

My oldest daughter is convinced that Adnan is innocent. She thinks he is just too nice of a guy to do something like that. Me? I can't get past the details Jay has given in the case. Either he, Adnan, or both, are lying. But like SU says, there is no way he should have been convicted. Just not enough evidence.

I agree, there's 'better' podcasts out there. But the format was fresh, it was a very interesting case, and Sarah Koenig has a sultry voice .

But even if you're not enamored with her voice like I am, she is an excellent storyteller. I'm looking forward to season 2.

[SeattleUte]

I'm almost done listening to this, along with millions of other people obviously.

The take-home message I guess is that some murderers are just regular people who do something really stupid.

Is it really in doubt that Adnan killed the girl? Doesn't seem like it to me.

I thought as a whole the podcast was OK but not great. It doesn't deserve to be the most popular podcast of all time.

Oh brother. Everyone agrees that there wasn't evidence to convict him.

[CardiacCoug]

This American Life has a spinoff podcast, Serial. It will be multiple episodes about a single story. The first two are out, and I'm hooked:

http://serialpodcast.org/

I'm almost done listening to this, along with millions of other people obviously.

The take-home message I guess is that some murderers are just regular people who do something really stupid.

Is it really in doubt that Adnan killed the girl? Doesn't seem like it to me.

I thought as a whole the podcast was OK but not great. It doesn't deserve to be the most popular podcast of all time.

[UVACoug]

Interesting episode of TAL this week:

http://m.thisamericanlife.org/radio-...-ive-had-a-few

Act II is about a guy that took his kids and left the FLDS Church. Pretty sad story, and some weird songs about Ogden.

[old_gregg]

what about the dude that "randomly" stumbled on the well hidden body? that doesn't make a lot of sense

[Northwestcoug]

It's a very entertaining podcast, but I'm concerned that the reporter has gotten a little too attached to Anand's side of the story. She is a lot quicker to explain away evidence that looks bad for Anand, and highlights evidence that would exculpate him if true. She is clearly infatuated with him, and admits as much in the latest episode. I understand where she is coming from. The story will be more interesting if it turns out he is innocent, and I want him to be innocent (he does seem like a nice guy). Not sure it is great journalism, or crime investigation, though.

It is good story telling though, which is what TAL has always excelled at. Very big thumbs up from me.

I felt the same way with the first couple of episodes. But with the last one I sense more fairness coming from her.

I want him to be innocent. I think Jay is not telling the whole truth. But Adnan's story is also shady...

[UVACoug]

This American Life has a spinoff podcast, Serial. It will be multiple episodes about a single story. The first two are out, and I'm hooked:

http://serialpodcast.org/

It's a very entertaining podcast, but I'm concerned that the reporter has gotten a little too attached to Anand's side of the story. She is a lot quicker to explain away evidence that looks bad for Anand, and highlights evidence that would exculpate him if true. She is clearly infatuated with him, and admits as much in the latest episode. I understand where she is coming from. The story will be more interesting if it turns out he is innocent, and I want him to be innocent (he does seem like a nice guy). Not sure it is great journalism, or crime investigation, though.

It is good story telling though, which is what TAL has always excelled at. Very big thumbs up from me.

[Northwestcoug]

Couple of really good podcasts that are related (spoiler below):

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radi...er-and-mr-hyde

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radi...ght-here?act=2

Spoiler for topic of podcasts:

The first podcast is really well done, and it makes you think about how responsible someone is for crimes when they have a debilitating brain disease. I found the second podcast (act 2) heartwrenching, when the protagonist found out she didn't have Huntington's and her niece (who does have it) had to leave the room. Just a terrible emotional situation.

[Northwestcoug]

This American Life has a spinoff podcast, Serial. It will be multiple episodes about a single story. The first two are out, and I'm hooked:

http://serialpodcast.org/