I can still remember where I was standing in my basement when my sister asked me if I had listened to the Serial podcast.
It was early 2015, and I had never heard of Serial. In fact, as I wrote back in March, I really didn’t even know what a podcast was at the time.
After explaining this to my sister, who at the time was a blossoming podcast-junkie, she grinned with excitement.
"You should really check it out. It's certainly worth a listen," she told me.
With my curiosity peaked, it wasn't long before I became familiar with both Serial and the podcast medium in general. In fact, it didn't take me long to become a podcast-junkie myself.
Serial is a true-crime investigative podcast that is developed by This American Life. As an avid listener of the first two seasons of Serial, I was highly intrigued when rumors began to spread about the possibility of Cleveland being featured (on some level) during season three.
Well, Serial season three launched late last month, and the city of Cleveland is not only featured, it has landed the starring role.
Season three of Serial looks to dissect the entire criminal justice system through the eyes of a 'typical' American city by taking a deep-dive into the criminial courts of Cleveland.
“Serial is heading back to court. This time, in Cleveland. A year inside a typical American courthouse. This season we tell you the extraordinary stories of ordinary cases. One courthouse, told week by week,” the synopsis on their website reads.
Sarah Koenig, the host of the Serial, is considered to be the Queen of podcasting. Alongside new Serial reporter Emmanuel Dzotsi and producers of the show, they spent an entire year embedded inside the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland exploring dozens of courtrooms. Cases will range from aggravated murder and armed robbery to DUI and marijuana posession.
Season three's approach is a departure from the first two seasons, where the entire season focused entirely on a singluar court case or storyline.
"We wanted to look at cases that aren't in the news, to focus on the day-to-day life of a courthouse and what that means," Koenig told Cleveland.com. "These cases are important for the individuals involved, but really for all of us. We hope people who listen will feel, 'this is all of our system.'
"We were ready for a different kind of challenge. Following one murder trial and all that happened around it was fascinating, but we were like 'this isn't normal.' Most cases are not first degree murder. This is not typical."
So, why Cleveland?
"We chose Cleveland because it is so typical," says Koenig in an interview with Cleveland.com. "The size, the location, the system. Cleveland is not special, and it does not have unique problems. That's why we chose to focus on it. Ultimately this is not about the Cleveland justice system, but OUR justice system."
Perhaps more important than the demographics was the unencumbered freedom the Justice Center provided for the Serial team.
"We chose Cleveland because they let us record everywhere," Koenig said in an audio trailer for the new season. "Courtrooms, back hallways, judges chambers, the prosecutor's office. And then we followed those cases outside the building into neighborhoods, into people's houses, and into prison."
In order to understand the significance of Cleveland as the backdrop of Serial season three, it's important to understand the history and cultural impact Serialhas made in recent years.
Serial took the world by storm in November of 2014 with the release of their first season, a gripping, serialized exploration of whether Baltimore high-schooler Adnan Syed was rightfully convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend. Serial became the first mega-hit in the podcast world, and has been downloaded more than 340 million times since it launched.
Before Serial launched, podcasts were a niche interest at best. After its launch, podcasts have become an explosive, mainstream medium best exemplified by Serial becoming the first ever podcast to win a Peabody Award.
With all eyes on the the Justice Center, the criminal court system of Cleveland will most certainly garner increased levels of scrutiny over the next few months. In fact, the local landscape has already seen the impact of the Serial season three.
Judge Daniel Gaul, who has been a Cuyahoga County judge since 1991, was featured in the second episode of Serial. The episode, entitled "You've Got Some Gauls", examined Gaul's courtroom behavior and sentencing tactics.
Throughout the episode, Koenig paints a grim picture of Judge Gaul's courtroom, and even suggests that he should be investigated and sanctioned by the Ohio Supreme Court.
As fate would have it, Judge Gaul is up for re-election in November, where he will seek his fifth six-year term. Two days after episode two dropped, the Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com editorial board narrowly endorsed Wanda C. Jones, Gaul's opponent in the upcoming election. The board cited the pattern of Gaul's prejudicial behavior, which ran rampant during Serial's portrayal of the Cleveland native.
Serial has released four episodes thus far in season three, with the next scheduled to drop this Thursday.
If you haven't had a chance to listen to Serial yet, take it from my sister—'check it out. It’s certainly worth a listen.'
