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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.

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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

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Act Two

Our story about Hemant Lakhani's case continues, through the sting and the trial.
142: Barbara
Oct. 15, 1999

Act One

Barbara Clinkscales grew up in Chicago's public housing projects, had her first child when she was 15, and is now—over two decades later—struggling to get her teenage son to finish his senior year of high school.
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Act Three: Righteous Gemstone

A new resident in Berlin is greeted like a minor celebrity wherever she goes.

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Apr. 18, 2008

Mistakes Were Made

Freezing dead people so scientists can reanimate them in the future is a lot harder than it sounds.

570
Oct. 16, 2015

The Night in Question

Conspiracy theories about the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin continue to shape Israel's politics and future.

This American Life

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

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