Culture

A Group Of Lawyers Are Making A New Podcast About Serial’s Adnan Syed

The story continues without Sarah Koenig.

by Meg Watson  9 April 2015

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NPR’s hit podcast Serial finished up at the end of last year, but the story of its main character Adnan Syed has continued. Of course, he’s still serving time in a Maryland correctional facility for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, but he’s also been making headway in the court of special appeals.

Now, some lawyers who have consulted on Syed’s initial case have banded together to bring us more of this story. Rabia Chaudry, a lawyer whose name made an appearance in the initial podcast as a longtime advocate of Syed, has been working on a new podcast called Undisclosed: The State v. Adnan Syed. It will be released every two weeks from April 13, it’s sponsored by the Adnan Syed Legal Trust, and it has no connections with the producers of Serial.

“[Everyone is] still intrigued, they still want to know more,” Chaudry told PBS News Hour. “They want Serial to do updates, and Serial isn’t. So we will.”

Of course without Sarah Koenig’s involvement, the show will be very different. Chaudry has stated there will be less focus on narrative and more raw details from the case. Herself and two other lawyers, Susan Simpson and Colin Miller, will be examining existing information and adding new discoveries.

It will also have a more transparent bias, after being crowdfunded by more than 1,000 people to help help with Syed’s legal defence.

“The more public support we have in terms of skepticism toward the case, I think it has an impact on the case itself. That’s my goal,” Chaudry told Vanity Fair.

Serial famously amassed an enormous following in this way, becoming the fastest podcast to pass five million downloads and streams. Time will tell if those people are still interested enough for a follow-up.

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The first episode of Undisclosed: The State v. Adnan Syed will be released on April 13.