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Sarah Koenig says she’ll be reporting on the case right down to the wire. Source: YouTube
SERIAL listeners are reaching the end of their tether over the most maddeningly suspenseful podcast of all time.
Many are ready to throw in the towel, convinced there’s no more to learn.
But presenter Sarah Koenig says otherwise.
With just a week to go, she is still actively reporting on the case, she revealed on The Colbert Show.
“Things could change between now and then,†she added, with next week’s finale to be released on Thursday night AEST.
Serial is a global phenomenon. It has quickly become the most popular podcast in history, reaching five million iTunes downloads faster than any other.
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Koenig told Stephen Colbert the case had gripped her as much as the rest of the world.
“I just became so confused so quickly,†she said.
The podcast is re-examining the 1999 murder of Baltimore teenager Hae Min Lee.
After her body was found strangled in a local park, her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed was arrested and convicted of the crime, and has been in jail for 15 years.
Hae Min Lee, a popular US high school senior, was found strangled in a shallow grave. Source: Supplied
Adnan Syed called a friend from the payphone outside Best Buy after the murder. Source: Supplied
But Serial has made detectives of us all, causing no little pain to the families and friends of those involved.
Colbert discussed the unprecedented popularity of the series, calling Ms Koenig “the world’s first superstar podcaster†and asking whether she always wanted to do “true crime reporting that people listen to on a treadmill?â€
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Finally, he asked the question on everyone’s lips — whether the girl from the pre-episode advert ever learns to pronounce Mail Chimp.
“We still have a week to go,†replied Koenig. “Next week is when you’ll know the answer.â€
Meanwhile, American retail giant Best Buy today issued a hasty apology after online outrage over a lighthearted tweet it made about the murder.
The Maryland Best Buy outlet has become a macabre tourist attraction for fans of the podcast.
Adnan’s mother Shamim Syed, left, at home with her son Yusef Source: AP
In an apparent attempt to cash in on that attraction, Best Buy issued the now deleted tweet: “We have everything you need. Unless you need a payphone. #Serialâ€.
The reactions to the tweet, which was retweeted more than 1000 times, ranged from the offended to the unprintable, forcing a retraction a short while later.
Best Buy is not the first company to try to be edgy on social media and then plummet over that edge. But making jokes about a murder takes dumb corporate tweets to a new level.