HBO's The Case Against Adnan Syed is perfect for people who hate podcasts

The Outline

"As a journalist and almost constant consumer of media, I feel a hint of guilt admitting this, but: I didn’t listen to the first season of Serial, and I don’t plan to," says Samuel Argyle. "It isn’t for lack of quality; I just don’t really like podcasts. When I’ve found myself tuning in, I eventually get distracted enough to research the story with visual aides, and forget the podcast entirely. I’ll listen to them when a friend is involved, making me feel obligated, or when they include interviews with my favorite musicians. But overall, when I’m in the mood to listen to something, I’ll pick music over someone yapping in my ear any day. So when I saw the ads for The Case Against Adnan Syed, HBO’s new documentary that picks up where Serial left off, I was intrigued. Of course, my interest was partly based on hype from friends and colleagues, because it wasn’t a documentary about another white male serial killer we all know is guilty, and because of the underlying concept of investigative journalism’s potential to influence legal cases, but nothing caught my attention more than the simple addition of a visual element."