‘Serial’ Has Become One Of The World’s Most Listened To Podcasts

In 1999, a school girl was murdered, and after a lengthy investigation, her ex-boyfriend was sent to jail for the crime. Over 15 years later, one podcast is re-examining the evidence in the case, week by week. It’s called Serial, and according to new figures, it’s one of the world’s most popular podcasts.

The story is centred around Adnan Syed: the man now serving a life sentence in a Maryland correctional facility for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. She was murdered on 13 January 1999, and after a lengthy search, the body was found in a city park.

Enter Sarah Koenig, a journalist who was asked by a family friend to look into the case. It became her obsession, and out of that obsession, Serial was born. It’s one story told week by week that examines all of the evidence in the case.

We’re eight episodes into the series so far, and it’s riveting listening. If you’re not subscribed, you certainly should be. Although, according to new figures, it’s a fair bet that you’re in the minority if you’re not already listening.

Of the 285,000 podcasts and 9.2 million episodes available on iTunes, Serial has become the fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads and streams in the history of iTunes.

That’s crazy.

If you’re after something to listen to on the train, bus or car into work or uni this morning, go get into Serial.


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