We use cookies and other tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience. If you continue to use our site, you agree to the use of such cookies. For more info, see our privacy policy.
Skip to main content

Hi. We love you. Be our Life Partner.

Support the show to get ad-free listening, bonus content, and our new Greatest Hits Archive.

Learn more
This American Life Partners logo
00:00
00:00
  • Transcript
  • Share
This American Life
  • Life Partners
  • How to Listen
  • Episodes
  • Recommended
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Announcements
    • Fellowships
    • Jobs
    • Music
    • Make Radio
    • On The Road
    • FAQ
    • Submissions
    • Merch
    • Contact Us
    • Our Other Shows
  • Merch
  • Follow Us
  • Life Partners
537
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.

  • Download
    Control-click (or right-click) Tap and hold to download
  • Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe in Apple Podcasts Subscribe
  • Transcript

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.

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.

By

Sarah Koenig

Song:

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

Related

If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these
526: Is That What I Look Like? (2014)
May 23, 2014

Act One: Blunt Force

Writer Domingo Martinez tells a story from his memoir The Boy Kings of Texas, about when he was forced to face how he might look in 20 years, if he kept doing what he was doing.
158: Mob Mentality
May 5, 2000

Act One: Among The Thugs

Writer Bill Buford reads from his book Among the Thugs. In it he sets out to try and understand the soccer hooligans who were rioting in ways large and small on a regular basis after soccer matches.
197: Before It Had A Name
Oct. 26, 2001

Act Two: Of Course I Remember Your Name

A short story about the moment when we suddenly learn the name of something that has heretofore been unnamed for us...and about the difference between knowing the person, and knowing the person's name.

Staff Recommendations

View all
492
Apr. 12, 2013

Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde

Did a beloved family doctor with no criminal history suddenly up and strangle his own father?

387
Aug. 7, 2009

Arms Trader (2009)

The U.S. government spent two years on a sting operation trapping an Indian man suspected of being an illegal arms dealer.

This American Life

This American Life is produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange.

  • How to Listen
  • Episodes
  • Recommended
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Announcements
    • Fellowships
    • Jobs
    • Music
    • Make Radio
    • On The Road
    • FAQ
    • Submissions
    • Merch
    • Contact Us
    • Our Other Shows
  • Merch
  • Contact
  • Life Partners
  • Serial
  • S-Town
© 1995 - 2025 This American Life Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Subscribe

  • on Spotify
  • in Apple Podcasts

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email