Friday, October 31, 2014

BINGE: So I guess I should start listening to Serial?

17 comments:

  1. Jenn C9:55 PM

    Yes! There is a great subreddit about it, which helps fill the void between episodes.

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  2. Yes! I started listening last week, and I'm all caught up and sad that I have to wait until next Thursday for the next episode.

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  3. Slowlylu10:25 PM

    Slightly related does anyone have a good recommendation for an app to listen to podcasts. ITunes killed me last year in terms of ease of use

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  4. Jordan11:05 PM

    I fell a couple episodes behind. So I thought I'd listen to one a night before bed. Next thing I knew it was well past 1 AM and the only thing I wanted more than sleep was another episode.

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  5. Joseph Finn8:23 AM

    I've been using PodCruncher. It's not the most intuitive but it is very flexible.

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  6. Roger2:55 PM

    I use Instacast, which I recommend with one reservation. The UI is slightly clunkier than necessary, but it's far, far better than using iTunes, and it's better than the other iPhone players I've tried. (Some people like Downcast better.) Overcast also looks nice, though it only works if your podcast listening style is to download every episode of every podcast you subscribe to. It's not mine, so it doesn't work for me.

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  7. I'm more obsessed with Serial than with anything since Breaking Bad. Sooooo fascinating. (Yesterday I found Jay's Facebook page...)

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  8. Ralph Sampson10:51 AM

    It's quite good and I am certainly hooked. However, it doesn't seem like there's much mystery to it-- exceedingly obvious Adnan (sic) did it.

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  9. Andrew11:10 AM

    I use Overcast for my my podcast listening. It has some nice unique features (like Smartspeed and smart EQ, which help on less-than NPR quality podcasts). It doesn't however, support video podcasts or streaming. So I also keep Downcast around, which is not quite as pretty, but very functional.


    And I caught up on Serial this weekend. Definitely worth catching up on.

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  10. I don’t know whether Adnan did it, but it definitely is not “exceedingly
    obvious.” The state had only one witness testifying that he did it, and that witness’s own story (which he changed multiple times in the months leading to trial) is contradicted by the cell phone evidence. That witness clearly was involved in some way, but had reasons to lie to the police about Adnan’s involvement. Adnan and the victim were, according to all witnesses, quite friendly in the weeks following the breakup. He called her to give her his new number when he got his phone the day before the murder, and she wrote the number in her diary. Another witness says
    she saw Adnan at the library (where he claimed to have been) during the time period in which, according to the state, the murder took place.

    Again, this is not to say he’s innocent. But “exceedingly obvious” is exceedingly strong.

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  11. Also, to make the point that maybe only lawyers care about: What matters for purposes of his conviction is not simply "did he do it?" but "was there proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he did it?" Even if Serial ends with "There's a 55% chance he did it," that leaves open questions about his conviction.

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  12. Tara Kennedy5:44 PM

    I am ruthlessly avoiding any spoilers, but I agree that it's very interesting as far as what information the lawyers had, what the jury heard, and what we may be able to determine now. (And I'm not a lawyer, but I am one of those people who gets excited for jury duty.)

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  13. Marnie2:26 AM

    I just started listening last week and I am all caught up. Greatly looking forward to Thursday. Such good storytelling.

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  14. Missa7:53 AM

    Does the subreddit give anything away? I'd LOVE to have something to fill the time between episode (can't this be a daily podcast?), but I'm avoiding spoilers like the plague.

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  15. Tara Kennedy11:23 AM

    My understanding (I have not read it) is that there might be some spoilery bits in the subreddit but that Rabia Chaudry is blogging concurrently with the promise not to spoil anything. Her bias is not unclear, but it's an interesting further peek. Her blog is Split the Moon.

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  16. Jenn C11:04 AM

    I would say...it's not spoilery, but there are a lot of theories and discussion which may veer into spoiler territory.

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  17. Nigel from Cameroon11:34 AM

    I agree that Adnan clearly did it...perhaps some mystery on the extent of Jay's involvement, although he was convicted of crimes related.


    Anyway, I don't think mystery of Adnan's guilt or innocence is really the central purpose of the show...it just tracks the case and seems to genuinely try to do so without judgement.


    Many (esp of the white, east coast, liberal do-gooder variety) are pre-programmed to assume a show with a premise like this is trying to convince the listener of the central character's innocence...to right a wrong. But I do not believe that to be true in the case of Serial

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