Serial S01 - Ep. 11: Rumors
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What rumors are surfacing about Adnan's character?
We gave Times employees a preview of Crossplay from New York Times Games. And here's what they had to say.
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As an English as a second language speaker, I like to learn new words. Crossplay, the first two-player word game from New York Times Games. Download it for free today. Hello, Serial listeners. This is Sarah Koenig. If you're listening to this show, I'm hoping that means that you're into it, and maybe you want to hear more stories like it. Well, you're in luck, because we've got a brand new show called The Idiot coming at the end of March, 2026. Just like or follow this podcast, The Serial Podcast, on your podcast app, and you'll automatically be notified when The Idiot comes out. And I am predicting you're going to love it. Okay, on to Serial Season 1.
Previously on Serial. What did he tell you?
He told me that she had broke his heart. It was extremely wrong for anyone to treat him that way. He was like the community's golden child. I think like the odds of you getting the charming sociopath, you're just not that lucky. You don't think that I know you at all?
I mean, for you to say that I'm a great person, I mean, I'm like a nice person. I've only talked to you on the phone a few times. This is a Global Telelink prepaid call from An inmate at a Maryland correctional facility.
This call will be recorded and monitored.
From This American Life in WBEZ Chicago, it's Serial. One story told week by week. I'm Sarah Koenig. For two months now, I've been grappling with rumors about Adnan. People telling me, there's stuff you don't know about Adnan, stuff you need to know to understand who you're dealing with. These communications came in the form of phone calls, many phone calls, sometimes one-on-one, sometimes conference calls, also texts and nervous emails. I can't tell this one, I've spoken to that one, and then that one gets worried that I've broken my word, which I promise I haven't. When person two doesn't confirm the thing person one told me, and I report that back to person one, person one often tells me person two is lying to me.
All these rumors are coming from people Adnan knew growing up in the mosque community, the South Asian families who attend the Islamic Society of Baltimore.
How are the rumors affecting the community's perception of Adnan?
Some of these people I'd already talked to during my first round of reporting for this story, but then once the series started and they heard how Adnan was being portrayed, a new round of phone calls began. The rumors themselves are nothing too dastardly. Nobody is saying, I saw him do it, or I have proof. None of it is directly connected to the crime. But likely there are a great many things I don't know about Adnan. And some of the things I was hearing were giving me pause. So I checked them out as best I could. Not every single one. Some of them were so small that I initially was confused by the telling, waiting for the punchline that had already slid by. Such as, he took a piece of my clothing, a piece of designer sportswear, and then over-explained, claiming it wasn't mine or that he didn't know it was mine, and then apologized profusely.
I, Sarah Koenig, am going to confess something right now. I have done exactly the same thing. More than one side wager. On the other end of the scale was a story so incriminating that we thought, well, if this one is true, then we're done. Our story is over. We can all go home. This was the biggie, and I worked every angle I could to suss it out. I heard it secondhand that someone said something about Adnan at a party 15 years back. I spent weeks trying to learn first the name, then the location of that someone, then trying to contact that someone, and then finally driving several hours to question that someone in person. I nervously knock at the door. Nice guy comes out. We chat. He tells me what I've spent all these weeks and hours waiting for.
"'Oh yeah,' he says.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What rumors are surfacing about Adnan's character?
0:00–2:47
2
How are the rumors affecting the community's perception of Adnan?
2:47–5:47
3
What were the significant childhood stories shared about Adnan?
5:47–8:10
4
How did Adnan's community react to his arrest?
8:10–11:29
5
What is the significance of the rumors related to Adnan's behavior?
11:29–14:17
6
How does Adnan's past relate to the allegations against him?
14:17–16:17
7
What insights does the forensic psychologist provide about Adnan?
16:17–18:46
8
Can a seemingly normal person commit a crime impulsively?
18:46–41:00