Since you’re here, consider checking out one of my podcasts, Crime Writers On…we critique other podcasts (TV, too!) and we’re honest when something’s really bad, even when other people are pretending it’s really good. Listen/follow on the app you like:
A lot of people have unvaccinated children. Like, a lot. I don’t think we think about those people enough when we talk about workplaces, gatherings, vaccinations, and masks.
Let me be clear: I already thought Adnan Syed was innocent. And I really don’t understand how people can still think otherwise, especially after learning about the plea deal, Kristy’s mistaken timeline, and the total lack of Adnan’s DNA. There. Is. No. Evidence.
Did HBO's The Case Against
#AdnanSyed
give us new answers in the Hae Min Lee murder case? Is it a good true crime documentary? Get our full breakdown and review of the finale on this week's Crime Writers On... podcast! Listen now:
Hey, friends. Rabia gave you everything you needed to come to the same conclusions this new investigation was able to reach in just a couple of months. I know how journalism works, you needed to do your own digging. But the cops were not “basically good guys,” for a start.
Regarding “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark” - It’s getting a lot of deserved attention for
@pattonoswalt
‘s dogged quest to get it published. But you should also know this: The book is a GD masterpiece of true crime for about a million reasons. Run, don’t walk, and get yourself a copy.
Honestly I’m so upset that the Meghan Markle interview and now the Grammys are airing at the same time as Allen v. Farrow. EVERYONE needs to watch this. Please On Demand it tomorrow. Please.
#AllenVFarrow
My husband
@kevinpflynn
got his first shot today and boy does that feel good. He’s a cancer survivor and we lost his wonderful dad to this GD pandemic. To me, the last year has been a marathon exercise in keeping the love of my life alive. Thanks, science.
Working with one eye and reading this Adnan Syed filing with the other. They cite the HBO Documentary in which "Cathy not Cathy" figures out that she had the WRONG DAY when she told Sarah Koenig (and the cops) that Adnan and Jay visited her house!
I'm still astonished when I hear credible journalists (including from NPR) glibly using the phrase "culture wars" to describe politics/stances that are about constitutional, civil, and human rights - and, generally speaking, coordinated attacks on those rights.
I have previously heralded Serial as a seminal piece of media and even made a podcast originally based on reviewing it. But given the facts of the case, Rabia’s analogy is precise. Serial doesn’t hold up. And its biggest crime is its abandonment of its own reporting.
Ppl keep telling me we wouldn’t be here who
@Serial
- true but here’s the best analogy I can come up with about it.
Imagine you ask someone to help renovate your house. Instead they set fire to it. The story about the fire brings thousands to your aid that rebuild your house.
I’ve been really angry lately and my tweets have reflected that. Here’s why. My father in-law was one of the best people I’ve ever known and it wasn’t his time. Not even close. Thanks to everyone who’s tried to help.
This is big news. For the first time, Baltimore prosecutors are saying they don't have confidence in Adnan Syed's conviction and are asking for his release.
YUGE news. TLDR: Adnan Syed is being represented by the Innocence Project at UB. And the STATE has signed on to a petition to test DNA that has never before been tested in the Hae Min Lee case. This is a BIG DEAL. Read on:
Today is a big day for Adnan and everyone who has been fighting for him! A DNA motion has been filed seeking testing of the victim Hae Min Lee's clothing and shoes and the rape kit. Items that HAVE NEVER BEEN TESTED BEFORE. This could literally lead to the killer. ALSO...
1/
It’s really worth emphasizing how both-sides journalism has fueled this false narrative, propping up bad-faith, discriminatory arguments as regular politics and “culture wars”
The podcast industry should be paying WAY more attention to the True Crime Obsessed/Obsessed Network phenomenon and the kinds of crowds and top-notch community that will show up for their live events. This is a FIRST YEAR CON, guys, and it’s GREAT.
@TrueCrimeObsess
#ObsessedFest
Ten years ago today, the tuxes arrived for my kiddos to wear to my wedding to
@kevinpflynn
- The immediately put them on, ran outside, slicked their hair back with hose water, and played James Bond for three hours. We didn’t mind the mud stains at all.
Yet, there's a whole episode of Serial still up in which those "pings" are reported as likely placing Adnan at the burial site, without a disclaimer or correction of any kind.
Feldman discussing cellphone location evidence now saying it shouldn't have been admissible in court. That's because they allowed incoming calls to be used to determine location data, which AT&T said in its own legal disclaimer at the time it may not be entirely accurate.
Dropping the charges is the only fair outcome, but everything the prosecutors put in that motion to vacate was known or knowable to detectives and prosecutors 23 years ago. And all of it—shady police practices, shaky forensics, withholding of exculpatory evidence—is common.
A thing I’d NEVER thought I’d see…people on the subreddit for Serial (a notoriously stubborn, angry, pro-guilt bunch) admitting they were wrong all along.
#AdnanSyed
How
@pattonoswalt
steered his late wife's brilliant final book to completion, via
@ew
: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara is on sale today.
I am very bad at embroidery but to be fair, this was my very first try and it was *hella* relaxing. Just don’t zoom in and FFS don’t EVER look at the back.
I know my intermittent soap content is jarring to some of you but
@MauraWest
is legit one of the best actors working right now on *any* screen and I’ve been waiting for her to get these scenes for a YEAR.
The Undisclosed podcast just re-dropped their three episodes where they debunk a bunch of the stuff you learned in Serial. Also, watch the HBO doc The Case Against Adnan Syed if you still have questions.
What’s funny (to me) about the people who think
@rabiasquared
is somehow lying about Adnan Syed being innocent is that she would TOTALLY TELL YOU if he were actually guilty. She doesn’t mess around, even if the truth is bad.
In case you’re wondering why so many people are triggered by Andy Mills hosting The Daily today: He led the *making* of Caliphate. That’s why he is the one actually *holding* the Peabody in this photo. The other (important) stuff (read The Cut) aside, this is blantanty not okay.
Perhaps *only* having your podcasts available on an app 25-30% of podcast listeners use isn’t the best way to grow audiences, after all. The good news is a few dudes got rich, I guess.
I am openly estranged from my father but that doesn’t stop certain family members from regularly encouraging me to “reach out.” For those with relatives/friends in similar situations, please understand that estrangement doesn’t just *happen.* It’s a survival thing.
So what’s super fun to think about is that Dateline and 20/20 and Investigation Discovery and Ann Rule and America’s Most Wanted have been around forever but we’re just *now* thinking true crime is popular?
I just dove in to Lake Winnipesaukee and lost my engagement and wedding rings (which are apparently too big now) to the silty depths. Then my friend Drew jumped in with a circa 1960s snorkel mask, dove down once, and retrieved both in ten seconds.
What’s VERY important to remember is that the original
@serial
feed is still up in its original version, without updates like “hey this cell tower thing we are telling you about right now - turns out, the prosecutor knew it wasn’t true!”
Breaking: Adnan Syed could be released Monday, as court sets hearing to consider petition to vacate his conviction and release him pending possible retrial, reports
@Tim_Prudente
&
@Dylan_Segelbaum
Okay since you’re asking - my OPINION is that Kate *might* simply be retreating to negotiate a new/better marital agreement. Or non-marital one. What better way than to show him what bad press actually feels like.
Don’t forget the reason Adnan was freed. Because the STATE failed to share EXCULPATORY evidence with the defense. These are the same folks trying to put him back in prison for a crime he did not commit, which would make their own misconduct…what, disappear?
Exactly:
“It seems likely that the court invented these rules because it believes Syed is guilty and disapproves of the state’s actions. Indeed, the court began its opinion with a lengthy, legally irrelevant section questioning Syed’s innocence”
I’m in
@Slate
(you’ll hear the full convo on the ICYMI podcast soon) with some thoughts on Serial’s role in
#AdnanSyed
case and why I understand
@rabiasquared
‘s feelings on the matter. Here are a few of ‘em…
So
@kevinpflynn
is in the hospital and son
#1
just got dropped at college and therefore I had two Golden Oreos, six pickle spears, and a strong AF screwdriver for dinner.
Listen to Rabia Chaudry talk about how Serial handled Adnan’s story and listen to Sarah Koenig’s response - this week’s On The Media is a very good listen.
@rabiasquared
@serial