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Serial

Serial Productions & The New York Times

65 episodes · in order

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Serial Productions makes narrative podcasts that have transformed the medium. Sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter to find out about new shows, get behind the scenes stories, and see photos and videos you can’t see on a podcast.

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Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at serialshows@nytimes.com

"Serial" began in 2014 as a spinoff of the public radio show "This American Life." In 2017, we formed Serial Productions when we launched the podcast “S-Town.” Since then, Serial Productions has produced every season of “Serial” along with shows like “Nice White Parents,” “The Trojan Horse Affair,” “The Coldest Case in Laramie,” “The Retrievals” and more. In 2020, we joined the New York Times Company. Our shows have reached many millions of listeners and have won nearly every major journalism award for audio, including the first-ever Peabody Award given to a podcast.

Episodes page 1 of 2

  1. Serial S01 - Ep. 1: The Alibi

    · 53 min · S1 E1 · Explicit

    It's Baltimore, 1999. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. He says he's innocent -…

  2. Serial S01 - Ep. 2: The Breakup

    · 36 min · S1 E2 · Explicit

    Their relationship began like a storybook high-school romance: a prom date, love notes, sneaking off to be alone. But unlike other kids at school, they had to keep their dating secret, because their parents…

  3. Serial S01 - Ep. 3: Leakin Park

    · 27 min · S1 E3 · Explicit

    It’s February 9, 1999. Hae has been missing for three weeks. A man on his lunch break pulls off a road to pee, and stumbles on her body in a city forest. His odd recounting of the discovery makes Detectives Ritz and…

  4. Serial S01 - Ep. 4: Inconsistencies

    · 33 min · S1 E4 · Explicit

    A few days after Hae’s body is found, the detectives get a lead that opens the case up for them. They find Jay at work late one night and bring him down to Homicide. At first, he insists he doesn’t know anything about…

  5. Serial S01 - Ep. 5: Route Talk

    · 43 min · S1 E5 · Explicit

    Adnan once issued a challenge to Sarah. He told her to test the state’s timeline of the murder by driving from Woodlawn High School to Best Buy in 21 minutes. It can’t be done, he said. So Sarah and Dana take up the…

  6. Serial S01 - Ep. 6: The Case Against Adnan Syed

    · 43 min · S1 E6 · Explicit

    The physical evidence against Adnan Syed was scant - a few underwhelming fingerprints. So aside from cell records, what did the prosecutors bring to the jury, to shore up Jay's testimony? Sarah weighs all the other…

  7. Serial S01 - Ep. 7: The Opposite of the Prosecution

    · 32 min · S1 E7 · Explicit

    Adnan told Sarah about a case in Virginia that had striking similarities to his own: one key witness, incriminating cell phone records, young people, drugs - and a defendant who has always maintained his innocence.…

  8. Serial S01 - Ep. 8: The Deal With Jay

    · 43 min · S1 E8 · Explicit

    The state’s case against Adnan Syed hinged on Jay’s credibility; he was their star witness and also, because of his changing statements to police, their chief liability. Naturally, Adnan’s lawyer tried hard to make Jay…

  9. Serial S01 - Ep. 9: To Be Suspected

    · 45 min · S1 E9 · Explicit

    New information is coming in about what maybe didn’t happen on January 13, 1999. And while Adnan’s memory of that day is foggy at best, he does remember what happened next: being questioned, being arrested and, a…

  10. Serial S01 - Ep. 10: The Best Defense is a Good Defense

    · 53 min · S1 E10 · Explicit

    Adnan’s trial lawyer was M. Cristina Gutierrez, a renowned defense attorney in Maryland – tough and savvy and smart. Other lawyers said she was exactly the kind of person you’d want defending you on a first-degree…

  11. Serial S01 - Ep. 11: Rumors

    · 40 min · S1 E11 · Explicit

    Almost everyone describes the 17-year-old Adnan the same way: good kid, helpful at the mosque, respectful to his elders. But a couple of months ago, Sarah started getting phone calls from people who knew Adnan back…

  12. Serial S01 - Ep. 12: What We Know

    · 54 min · S1 E12 · Explicit

    On January 13, 1999, Adnan Syed was a hurt and vengeful ex-boyfriend who carried out a premeditated murder. Or he was a bewildered bystander, framed for a crime he could never have committed. After 15 months of…

  13. Serial S01 - Update 1: Day 01, Adnan Syed’s Hearing

    · 15 min · Bonus

    February 2016: Sarah Koenig ducks back into the Adnan Syed case for a few days. There’s a hearing in Baltimore—a court proceeding that’s been nearly sixteen years in the making. Syed’s attorney will introduce new…

  14. Serial S01 - Update 2: Day 02, Adnan Syed’s Hearing

    · 15 min · Bonus

    February 2016: Sarah Koenig ducks back into the Adnan Syed case for a few days. There’s a hearing in Baltimore—a court proceeding that’s been nearly sixteen years in the making. Syed’s attorney will introduce new…

  15. Serial S01 - Update 3: Day 03, Adnan Syed’s Hearing

    · 14 min · Bonus

    February 2016: Sarah Koenig ducks back into the Adnan Syed case for a few days. There’s a hearing in Baltimore—a court proceeding that’s been nearly sixteen years in the making. Syed’s attorney will introduce new…

  16. Serial S01 - Ep. 13: Adnan Is Out

    · 17 min · S1 E13

    It’s Baltimore, 2022. Adnan Syed has spent the last 23 years incarcerated, serving a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee, a crime he says he didn’t commit. He has exhausted every legal avenue for relief,…

  17. Serial S02 - Ep. 1: DUSTWUN

    · 45 min · S2 E1 · Explicit

    In the middle of the night, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl grabs a notebook, snacks, water, some cash. Then he quietly slips off a remote U.S. Army outpost in eastern Afghanistan and into the dark, open desert. About 20 minutes…

  18. Serial S03 - Ep. 1: A Bar Fight Walks into the Justice Center

    · 53 min · S3 E1 · Explicit

    A young woman at a bar is slapped on the butt. So why’s she the one in jail? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  19. S-Town - Chapter I

    · 51 min · S5 E1

    “If you keep your mouth shut, you’ll be surprised what you can learn.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  20. S-Town - Chapter II

    · 47 min · S5 E2

    “Has anybody called you?” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  21. S-Town - Chapter III

    · 52 min · S5 E3

    “Tedious and brief.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  22. S-Town - Chapter IV

    · 1 h 01 min · S5 E4

    “If anybody could find it, it would be me.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  23. S-Town - Chapter V

    · 1 h 01 min · S5 E5

    “Nobody’ll ever change my mind about it.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  24. S-Town - Chapter VI

    · 45 min · S5 E6

    “Since everyone around here thinks I’m a queer anyway.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  25. Nice White Parents - Ep. 1

    · 1 h 03 min · S6 E1

    It’s 2015 and one Brooklyn middle school is about to receive a huge influx of new students. Reporter Chana Joffe Walt follows what happens when the School for International Studies’s 6th grade class swells from 30…

  26. The Improvement Association - Trailer

    · 3:37 · Trailer

    Listen to the trailer for our newest show, "The Improvement Association." From Serial Productions and The New York Times, hosted by Zoe Chace. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for…

  27. The Improvement Association - Ep. 1

    · 46 min · S7 E1

    Following a notorious case of election fraud in Bladen County, North Carolina, in 2018, the reporter Zoe Chace gets an invitation from Horace Munn, the leader of the Bladen County Improvement Association PAC, a Black…

  28. The Trojan Horse Affair - Trailer

    · 4:07 · Trailer

    A mysterious letter detailing a supposed Islamist plot to take over schools shocked Britain in 2014. But who wrote it? From Serial Productions and The New York Times, “The Trojan Horse Affair,” an investigation that…

  29. The Trojan Horse Affair - Part 1

    · 1 h 01 min · S8 E1 · Explicit

    A strange letter appears outlining a plot by Islamic extremists to infiltrate Birmingham schools. Hamza and Brian visit the supposed mastermind of the plot, and he tells them he did take over a bunch of schools – just…

  30. We Were Three - Trailer

    · 3:02 · Trailer · Explicit

    A three-part series from This American Life producer Nancy Updike. When Rachel McKibbens’s father and brother died suddenly last fall, two weeks apart, from Covid, she’d had no idea her father was sick, and no idea her…

  31. We Were Three - Ep. 1

    · 46 min · S9 E1 · Explicit

    Rachel goes back to California, to the place where she grew up and where her brother and father died, to find answers. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection…

  32. The Coldest Case In Laramie - Trailer

    · 4:41 · Trailer

    Kim Barker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times, revisits an unsolved murder that took place while she was in high school in Laramie, Wyoming, nearly 40 years ago. She confronts the…

  33. The Coldest Case In Laramie - Episode 1

    · 26 min · S10 E1

    A Times investigative reporter, Kim Barker, revisits the murder of Shelli Wiley — a long-unsolved case from Kim’s time in high school. She reaches out to Shelli’s family to understand why the police arrested a man…

  34. The Retrievals S01 - Trailer

    · 4:24 · Trailer

    The patients in this story came to the Yale Fertility Center to pursue pregnancy. They began their I.V.F. cycles full of expectation and hope. Then a surgical procedure called egg retrieval caused them excruciating…

  35. The Retrievals S01 - Ep. 1

    · 57 min · S11 E1

    Patients at a fertility clinic experience excruciating, unexpected pain. For months the reason for that pain remains hidden. Then they get a letter from the clinic. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See…

  36. The Retrievals S01 - Ep. 2

    · 33 min · S11 E2

    The patients know what happened to them. Now they learn who did it. The story of the nurse whose own pain was also unseen. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our…

  37. The Retrievals S01 - Ep. 3

    · 47 min · S11 E3

    At the nurse’s sentencing hearing, the patients learn a shocking detail that forces them to confront the limits of their compassion. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about…

  38. The Retrievals S01 - Ep. 4

    · 38 min · S11 E4

    What we know about what happened at the clinic. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  39. The Retrievals S01 - Ep. 5

    · 54 min · S11 E5

    In fertility treatment, a successful outcome is defined as a healthy baby. In this story, the outcomes are complicated for everyone involved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for…

  40. The Kids of Rutherford County - Trailer

    · 3:56 · Trailer

    For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two…

  41. The Kids of Rutherford County - Ep. 1

    · 30 min · S12 E1

    A police officer in Rutherford County, Tenn., sees a video of little kids fighting, and decides to investigate. This leads to the arrest of 11 kids for watching the fight. The arrests do not go smoothly. From Serial…

  42. Serial S04 - Trailer

    · 2:22 · Trailer

    From Serial Productions and The New York Times, Serial Season 4 is a history of Guantánamo told by people who lived through key moments in Guantánamo’s evolution, who know things the rest of us don’t about what it’s…

  43. Serial S04 - Ep. 1: Poor Baby Raul

    · 43 min · S4 E1

    Maybe you have an idea in your head about what it was like to work at Guantánamo, one of the most notorious prisons in the world. Think again. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for…

  44. The Good Whale - Trailer

    · 2:32 · Trailer

    After the movie “Free Willy” became a hit, word got out that the star of the film, a killer whale named Keiko, was sick and living in a tiny pool at a Mexican amusement park. Fans were outraged and pleaded for his…

  45. The Good Whale - Ep. 1

    · 48 min · S13 E1

    When the movie “Free Willy” is released, word gets out that the star, a killer whale named Keiko, is sick and living in a tiny pool at a Mexican amusement park. An environmentalist sets out to give the fans what they…

  46. The Retrievals S02 - Trailer

    · 4:24 · Trailer

    C-sections are the most frequently performed major surgeries in the world. So why do so many patients feel severe pain during them? Season 2 of the award-winning podcast “The Retrievals” is an investigation into this…

  47. The Retrievals S02 - Ep. 1

    · 47 min · S14 E1

    Clara is a labor and delivery nurse, so she has a pretty good idea of what to expect when she delivers her own twins at the same hospital where she works. But she wasn’t prepared for this. To find out about new shows…

  48. The Retrievals S02 - Ep. 2

    · 45 min · S14 E2

    What went wrong with Clara’s delivery? And can Heather get doctors to talk about it? To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at…

  49. The Retrievals S02 - Ep. 3

    · 55 min · S14 E3

    Pain during a cesarean section isn’t a new problem. But for a long time, it’s been a hidden one. In England, a patient named Susanna not only brings the problem to doctors’ attention, but also tries to solve it. To…

  50. The Retrievals S02 - Ep. 4

    · 45 min · S14 E4

    Sometimes you can’t wait for research to tell you what to do — you just have to go ahead and do it. We get back on L&D with Clara, Mindy and Heather. To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look…

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