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October 3, 2014

The Alibi

Baltimore, 1999. Hae Min Lee, a bright teenager, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed is arrested for her murder. He says he's innocent — though he can't remember what he was doing that afternoon. But someone can. A classmate at Woodlawn High School claims to know exactly where Adnan was. Trouble is, she’s nowhere to be found. This week features a pilot of our new podcast, Serial, hosted by Sarah Koenig.

Prologue

Ira explains that the show is different than usual this week. Instead of several acts surrounding a theme or even a single hour of This American Life, it's the first chapter of Serial, the new spin-off show from This American Life, hosted by Sarah Koenig.

Act One

Act One

Sarah Koenig tells the story of the murder of Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior in Baltimore County, Maryland. She disappeared after school one day in January, 1999. Six weeks after her disappearance, police arrested her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for the crime. Though he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, he still maintains his innocence. But, he also can't really remember what he was doing on that January afternoon. As Sarah digs into the case, she learns that there's someone who does remember where Adnan was.

Song:

“I Don't Know What to Believe” by Daniel Pettitt