This week’s Storyworth prompt was very timely. My favorite hobby since 2014 has been listening to true crime podcasts. It all started with the podcast Serial. Unless you lived under a rock in 2014, you heard about Serial. It was the story of Adnan Syed who was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Podcasts were super new in 2014, but I was HOOKED after Serial and walked away from the last episode with more questions. Thankfully, the podcasts that followed provided some amazing investigative journalism. I started with Undisclosed and Truth and Justice. Undisclosed quickly became my favorite podcast, not just for Adnan’s case, but all the seasons that followed. The team of attorneys led by Rabia Chaudry are probably some of the most devoted and dedicated people in this world. They spent hours upon hours reviewing Adnan’s case files to understand how he was wrongfully convicted. This week all of that hard work paid off when Adnan’s sentence was vacated… after 23 years in prison. He was sentenced to life in prison, charged as a 17-year-old teenager. How that was even possible in the first place is unimaginable.
After Undisclosed, I found Crime Writers On. A podcast that reviews true crime podcasts, pop culture, and pretty much anything else I am interested in. Twice a week, I listen to this funny and super relatable foursome. I truly feel like a friend. And I have even submitted one of my kitties for Cat Of The Week! I will not listen or watch anything until I have their reviews. Sometimes I agree, other times I don’t, but their banter and back and forth make my commute so much more fun!
I will wrap up this post with my complete and total adoration for Rabia. As a family friend, also trained as an attorney, she literally drove around with Adnan’s files in the trunk of her car for years. She took those files to Sarah Koenig, which led to Serial and then all that followed, including her NY Times best-selling book Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial. In my mind, Rabia, not Serial, is the true hero in this story. I follow her on Insta, and she quietly watched his release and videotaped his first meal at home at age 41. We should all strive to be like her and the others from the Undisclosed team. Fast-talking Susan Simpson and Legal Siri Colin Miller will always be my true crime heroes.
So there you have it, my favorite hobby that has made me smarter, more engaged with the criminal justice system, and an official true crime nerd. A title I wear proudly!