Keiko has a new tank in Oregon and a dream team of experts that gets him into shape. But soon they start fighting over what a realistic future looks like for this golden retriever of an orca. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or[...]

When the movie “Free Willy” is released, word gets out that the star, a killer whale named Keiko, is sick and living in a tiny pool at a Mexican amusement park. An environmentalist sets out to give the fans what they want: their favorite celebrity orca back in the sea.   Our newest podcast, “The[...]

After the movie “Free Willy” became a hit, word got out that the star of the film, a killer whale named Keiko, was sick and living in a tiny pool at a Mexican amusement park. Fans were outraged and pleaded for his release. “The Good Whale” tells the story of the wildly ambitious science experiment[...]

The criminal case against the men accused of planning the Sept. 11 attacks is the one aspect of Guantánamo that would seem to make sense – until you start watching it. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full[...]

Majid Khan spent years locked away in CIA black sites. What would he tell the world when he finally got the chance to speak?  Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions[...]

One reporter has been covering Guantánamo since the day the prison opened. The military would like her to go home now. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York[...]

After the worst happens at Guantánamo, the warden tries to explain it to the outside world – and to himself. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times[...]

A new warden comes to Guantánamo and decides to make some changes. A prison’s a prison, he thinks. How hard could this be? Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and[...]

The case against a young airman gets even weirder when the government pulls in two fresh investigators. Part 2: A bride, an FBI agent, and a polygraph machine. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this[...]

An Arabic-speaking airman is sent to Guantánamo to translate, and soon finds himself at the center of a major scandal. Part 1: Suspicion swallows evidence.  Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial[...]

In 2002, an elite interrogation team secretly staged Guantánamo’s most elaborate intel operation — to try to get a single detainee to talk. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and[...]

Maybe you have an idea in your head about what it was like to work at Guantánamo, one of the most notorious prisons in the world. Think again. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this[...]

From Serial Productions and The New York Times, Serial Season 4 is a history of Guantánamo told by people who lived through key moments in Guantánamo’s evolution, who know things the rest of us don’t about what it’s like to be caught inside an improvised justice system. Episodes 1 and 2 arrive Thursday, March 28.[...]

The lawyers settle with the county, which agrees to pay the kids who were wrongfully arrested and illegally jailed; the hard part is actually getting the kids paid. From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight,[...]

Wes Clark reads a telling line in a police report about how Rutherford County’s juvenile justice system really works. He and his law partner Mark Downton realize they have a massive class action on their hands. From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford[...]

A young lawyer named Wes Clark can’t get the Rutherford County juvenile court to let his clients out of detention — even when the law says they shouldn’t have been held in the first place. He’s frustrated and demoralized, until he makes a friend. From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica[...]

A police officer in Rutherford County, Tenn., sees a video of little kids fighting, and decides to investigate. This leads to the arrest of 11 kids for watching the fight. The arrests do not go smoothly. From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford[...]

For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two lawyers, former juvenile delinquents themselves, who try to do something about it. From Serial Productions and The New York Times, “The Kids[...]

In fertility treatment, a successful outcome is defined as a healthy baby. In this story, the outcomes are complicated for everyone involved.  Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New[...]

What we know about what happened at the clinic. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out[...]

At the nurse’s sentencing hearing, the patients learn a shocking detail that forces them to confront the limits of their compassion. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York[...]

The patients know what happened to them. Now they learn who did it. The story of the nurse whose own pain was also unseen. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions[...]

Patients at a fertility clinic experience excruciating, unexpected pain. For months the reason for that pain remains hidden. Then they get a letter from the clinic. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other[...]

The patients in this story came to the Yale Fertility Center to pursue pregnancy. They began their I.V.F. cycles full of expectation and hope. Then a surgical procedure called egg retrieval caused them excruciating pain.Some of the patients screamed out in the procedure room. Others called the clinic from home to report pain in the[...]

Kim interviews Fred Lamb and takes a fresh look at the case. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at[...]

Kim takes stock of the evidence against Fred Lamb and gets to the bottom of the stories she’s heard about him — including one from his wife of more than 30 years. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get[...]

Kim examines the bizarre interrogation that led to Fred Lamb’s arrest. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To[...]

Kim talks to someone who confessed to Shelli’s murder from a jail in Arizona. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify,[...]

Kim digs into the early stages of the investigation into Shelli’s murder and follows up with old suspects.  Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on[...]

Kim heads to Laramie and hears two very different versions of the case against Fred Lamb. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts[...]

Kim talks to Shelli’s former roommate, who connects Kim with a man who was at the crime scene and has troubling memories about Fred Lamb and the police. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this[...]

A Times investigative reporter, Kim Barker, revisits the murder of Shelli Wiley — a long-unsolved case from Kim’s time in high school. She reaches out to Shelli’s family to understand why the police arrested a man named Fred Lamb for Shelli’s murder in 2016, and why prosecutors abruptly dropped the charges against him. Our newest[...]

Kim Barker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times, revisits an unsolved murder that took place while she was in high school in Laramie, Wyoming, nearly 40 years ago. She confronts the conflicting stories people have told themselves about the crime because of an unexpected development: the arrest of a former Laramie[...]

Rachel goes back to California, to the place where she grew up and where her brother and father died, to find answers.    Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New[...]

Rachel retraces how her family, over decades, fell apart and came back together.     Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify,[...]

Rachel goes back to California, to the place where she grew up and where her brother and father died, to find answers.   Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New[...]

A three-part series from This American Life producer Nancy Updike. When Rachel McKibbens’s father and brother died suddenly last fall, two weeks apart, from Covid, she’d had no idea her father was sick, and no idea her brother was dying. They were unvaccinated, but the story of what happened started long before that. All three[...]

A man banned from working in education in the aftermath of the Trojan Horse letter inspires Brian and Hamza to track down one last witness with him – in Australia. And all three travelers find their faith tested.Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or[...]

Birmingham authorities struggle to explain why they disavowed their own findings about the Trojan Horse plot. But when Brian and Hamza make a discovery deep inside some court documents, everything suddenly makes sense.Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whale To[...]

Hamza takes a long, hard look at what the government found when it investigated more than 20 majority-Muslim schools in Birmingham. And our two reporters have a confrontation – with each other. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whale To[...]

Hamza and Brian learn that the Trojan Horse letter wasn’t the only unsigned letter alleging an extremist operation was afoot in Birmingham. An interview with a couple who lodged complaints against their school starts out cordially, but six hours later, the atmosphere is so tense that not even an offer of tea can smooth things[...]

A series of frustrating interviews with Birmingham politicians leaves Brian and Hamza wondering if crucial information about the Trojan Horse letter was kept from officials in London. Then one rainy Friday afternoon, Brian hears back from a government source who wants to meet right away. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search[...]

In a state of surprise, Hamza and Brian leave a meeting with the man the Trojan Horse letter was first sent to. And they learn about an internal investigation report that local officials have kept hidden, but which they think could contain a bombshell. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for[...]

Hamza and Brian think the source of the Trojan Horse letter might be hiding in plain sight. After learning about the petty personnel dispute that probably gave rise to the letter, they’re even more bewildered about how it ever could have been taken seriously. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for[...]

A strange letter appears outlining a plot by Islamic extremists to infiltrate Birmingham schools. Hamza and Brian visit the supposed mastermind of the plot, and he tells them he did take over a bunch of schools – just not for the reasons in the letter.Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for[...]

A mysterious letter detailing a supposed Islamist plot to take over schools shocked Britain in 2014. But who wrote it? From Serial Productions and The New York Times, “The Trojan Horse Affair,” an investigation that became bigger than we ever imagined. All eight parts are available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Search "The Trojan[...]

The Improvement Association PAC’s power in the county is threatened when an unlikely candidate enters the race for county commissioner. Plenty of people outside the PAC now have their own ideas about how to build Black political power here. Zoe examines what this election could mean for the PAC’s future.   Our newest podcast, “The Good[...]

Zoe delves into one of the most serious allegations against the Bladen Improvement PAC: an accusation about stealing votes from vulnerable people that goes back 10 years. In trying to track down the veracity of this particularly persistent rumor, she comes to understand how and why election cheating allegations are so sticky. Our newest podcast,[...]

Zoe talks to people in the county who believe the Bladen Improvement PAC has been cheating for years. She tries to get beyond the rumors and into specifics, and comes face to face with the intense suspicion and scrutiny leveled against the organization. In the middle of another election, Zoe goes out with members of[...]

Following a notorious case of election fraud in Bladen County, North Carolina, in 2018, the reporter Zoe Chace gets an invitation from Horace Munn, the leader of the Bladen County Improvement Association PAC, a Black political advocacy group whose name was dragged into the scandal. Horace asks Zoe to come down and investigate for herself[...]

Listen to the trailer for our newest show, "The Improvement Association."  From Serial Productions and The New York Times, hosted by Zoe Chace. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and[...]

Chana has traced the history of the school from its founding and come to the present. But now: One unexpected last chapter. Last year, the school district for BHS mandated a change in the zoning process to ensure all middle schools would be racially integrated. No longer can white families hoard resources in a few[...]

Public schools are inequitable because the school systems are maniacally loyal to white families. We can’t have equitable public education unless schools limit the disproportionate power of white parents. But is that even possible? Chana finds two schools that are trying to do just that, and both are actually inside the 293 building. One is[...]

Chana Joffe-Walt explores how white parents can shape a school — even when they aren’t there. She traces the history of I.S. 293, now the Boerum Hill School for International Studies, from the 1980s through the modern education reforms of the 2000s. In the process, Chana talks to alumni who loved their school and never[...]

Chana Joffe-Walt searches the New York City Board of Education archives for more information about the School for International Studies, which was originally called I.S. 293. In the process, she finds a folder of letters written in 1963 by mostly white families in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. They are asking for the board to change the[...]

It’s 2015 and one Brooklyn middle school is about to receive a huge influx of new students.Reporter Chana Joffe Walt follows what happens when the School for International Studies’s 6th grade class swells from 30 mostly Latino, Black and Middle Eastern students, to a class of 103 —an influx almost entirely driven by white families.Everyone[...]

“Since everyone around here thinks I’m a queer anyway.” Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out[...]

“Nobody’ll ever change my mind about it.” Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new[...]

“If anybody could find it, it would be me.” Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out[...]

“Tedious and brief.” Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new shows from Serial Productions,[...]

“Has anybody called you?” Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new shows from Serial[...]

“If you keep your mouth shut, you’ll be surprised what you can learn.” Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe[...]

The state of Ohio decides where Joshua belongs. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about[...]

A teenager decides to cooperate. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new shows from[...]

If you listen closely to the trash-talking, you start to get the message. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe[...]

Life after you put a cop in jail. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about[...]

Don’t tell the judges, but the prosecutors have the most power in the building. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify,[...]

What happens when the right evidence points to the wrong man? Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To[...]

The smell of raw marijuana + acting nervous + hands in pockets = ? Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify,[...]

When a judge believes he knows you better than you know yourself. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at[...]

A young woman at a bar is slapped on the butt. So why’s she the one in jail? Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on[...]

The Season Two finale: What is Bowe’s fault, and what isn’t? Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To[...]

Are you hearing what I’m hearing? Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new shows[...]

You don’t make peace with your friends.  Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new[...]

Woulda, coulda, shoulda… Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new shows from Serial Productions,[...]

It makes sense if you’re Bowe Bergdahl. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new[...]

Why did Bowe Bergdahl walk off?  Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out about new shows[...]

CIA, FBI, YouTube, the Portland PD? There was no handbook for getting Bergdahl back. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify,[...]

What's happening on the other side of the door? Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts.To find out[...]

Bergdahl’s first year in captivity starts with an escape and ends with an escape. In between, he learns necessary, twisted lessons of survival. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get full access to this and other Serial Productions and[...]

On the move with Bergdahl, the Taliban slip past the U.S. Army’s massive effort to find him. During those days and weeks, each side is asking, what is Bergdahl worth to us? Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts, or follow it here: https://lnk.to/good-whaleTo get[...]

In the middle of the night, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl grabs a notebook, snacks, water, some cash. Then he quietly slips off a remote U.S. Army outpost in eastern Afghanistan and into the dark, open desert. About 20 minutes later, it occurs to him: he’s in over his head.  Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now.[...]

It’s Baltimore, 2022. Adnan Syed has spent the last 23 years incarcerated, serving a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee, a crime he says he didn’t commit. He has exhausted every legal avenue for relief, including a petition to the United States Supreme Court. But then, a prosecutor in the Baltimore State’s[...]

February 2016: Sarah Koenig ducks back into the Adnan Syed case for a few days. There’s a hearing in Baltimore—a court proceeding that’s been nearly sixteen years in the making. Syed’s attorney will introduce new evidence, and present a case for why his conviction should be overturned. Sarah and producer Dana Chivvis will discuss what[...]

February 2016: Sarah Koenig ducks back into the Adnan Syed case for a few days. There’s a hearing in Baltimore—a court proceeding that’s been nearly sixteen years in the making. Syed’s attorney will introduce new evidence, and present a case for why his conviction should be overturned. Sarah and producer Dana Chivvis will discuss what[...]

February 2016: Sarah Koenig ducks back into the Adnan Syed case for a few days. There’s a hearing in Baltimore—a court proceeding that’s been nearly sixteen years in the making. Syed’s attorney will introduce new evidence, and present a case for why his conviction should be overturned. Sarah and producer Dana Chivvis will discuss what[...]

On January 13, 1999, Adnan Syed was a hurt and vengeful ex-boyfriend who carried out a premeditated murder. Or he was a bewildered bystander, framed for a crime he could never have committed. After 15 months of reporting, we take out everything we’ve got - interviews and documents and police reports - we shake it all[...]

Almost everyone describes the 17-year-old Adnan the same way: good kid, helpful at the mosque, respectful to his elders. But a couple of months ago, Sarah started getting phone calls from people who knew Adnan back then, and told her stories of a different kind of boy. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out now.[...]

Adnan’s trial lawyer was M. Cristina Gutierrez, a renowned defense attorney in Maryland – tough and savvy and smart. Other lawyers said she was exactly the kind of person you’d want defending you on a first-degree murder charge. But Adnan was convicted, and a year later, Gutierrez was disbarred. What happened?  Our newest podcast, “The Good[...]

New information is coming in about what maybe didn’t happen on January 13, 1999.  And while Adnan’s memory of that day is foggy at best, he does remember what happened next: being questioned, being arrested and, a little more than a year later, being sentenced to life in prison. Our newest podcast, “The Good Whale,” is out[...]

The state’s case against Adnan Syed hinged on Jay’s credibility; he was their star witness and also, because of his changing statements to police, their chief liability. Naturally, Adnan’s lawyer tried hard to make Jay look untrustworthy at trial. So, how did the jurors make sense of Jay? For that matter, how did the cops[...]

Adnan told Sarah about a case in Virginia that had striking similarities to his own: one key witness, incriminating cell phone records, young people, drugs - and a defendant who has always maintained his innocence. Sarah called up one of the defense attorneys on that case to see if she could offer any insight into[...]

The physical evidence against Adnan Syed was scant - a few underwhelming fingerprints. So aside from cell records, what did the prosecutors bring to the jury, to shore up Jay's testimony? Sarah weighs all the other circumstantial evidence they had against Adnan, including curious behavior, a disconcerting note, and an unexplained mid-afternoon phone call. Our[...]

Adnan once issued a challenge to Sarah. He told her to test the state’s timeline of the murder by driving from Woodlawn High School to Best Buy in 21 minutes. It can’t be done, he said. So Sarah and Dana take up the challenge, and raise him one: They try to recreate the entire route[...]

A few days after Hae’s body is found, the detectives get a lead that opens the case up for them. They find Jay at work late one night and bring him down to Homicide. At first, he insists he doesn’t know anything about the murder. But eventually he comes clean. He tells them what happened[...]

It’s February 9, 1999. Hae has been missing for three weeks. A man on his lunch break pulls off a road to pee, and stumbles on her body in a city forest. His odd recounting of the discovery makes Detectives Ritz and MacGillivary suspicious. For instance, why did he walk so far into the woods[...]

Their relationship began like a storybook high-school romance: a prom date, love notes, sneaking off to be alone. But unlike other kids at school, they had to keep their dating secret, because their parents disapproved. Both of them, but especially Adnan, were under special pressure at home, and the stress of that spilled over into[...]

It's Baltimore, 1999. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. He says he's innocent - though he can't exactly remember what he was doing on that January afternoon. But someone can. A classmate at Woodlawn High[...]