By Maxwell Ryan
I’ve just finished listening to Serial, the 12-part podcast spinoff of This American Life narrated by Sarah Koenig. It’s taken about ten days of time in the car, on a plane or just at night before bed to work my way through the whole thing. It was gripping, intimate and so stickily led by Koenig’s sharp, slightly gravelly voice, as she injected this 15-year-old murder case with her own personal conviction. “I am going to figure this out,” you can hear her thinking. Why? Because she’s smart, a seasoned reporter (ie. good at digging for facts) and what CAN’T be figured out these days? Well, this case for one, but that’s another issue and she comes darn close.
But what fascinated me the most was how I couldn’t stop listening to something that was so long that it almost defies the current Laws of Media where everything needs to be 30 seconds long. I thought we’d lost our ability to have any reasonable attention span? Well, maybe not. So, as an advocate of living the Good Life and slowing down, I thought I’d put together a few thoughts on why I think — and this is a good thing — Serial has been so popular. (Note: spoilers ahead!)
