A couple of weeks ago, I read about a podcast that’s taking America by storm: Serial from the creators of This American Life and produced by WBEZ Chicago.

Led by journalist, Sarah Koenig, Serial is a real-life investigative crime series that examines every angle of the case of Hae Min Lee, a teenager who was murdered in Baltimore in 1999. Her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was convicted of the murder and has been in prison for the past 15 years – but Sarah questions whether Adnan is guilty or not.

Millions have listened to the podcast, which shared its tenth episode yesterday, and the media are saying it’s one of the most popular podcasts ever. There’s even a podcast that analyzes Serial and thousands of people have contributed their theories to a thread on Reddit that’s dedicated to the series.

As soon as I started listening to Serial, I was hooked. ‘Who did it’ murder mysteries have always been popular in the fictional and real world, but many additional elements make this podcast so fascinating. The journalist, Sarah Koenig, is instantly likable.  The media these days is so fast-paced – reports churned out at ridiculous speeds over a 24-hour news cycle – so it’s refreshing to follow her detailed, sometimes truly exhaustive, investigation into the case.

The series is also a scary reminder of the flaws that exist in the ‘justice’ system. That witnesses’ memories cannot always be trusted as the accurate ‘truth’; that sometimes unconscious prejudices influence a verdict; that the outcome of a case can depend on the strength of the defense/prosecution lawyers, the members of the jury and the judge presiding over the case.

Whether Serial will help to free Adnan Syed remains unknown, but he has just been granted an appeal hearing in January. As a listener, I’ve been left with the overall impression that he didn’t do it – although that’s probably because Sarah Koenig is so determined to prove his innocence.

Either way, it’s important to remember that this is real-life. As a listener, it can be easy to get swept up in the entertainment of following a murder mystery. But don’t forget, a young girl suffered a tragic death and her family have to cope with that loss everyday.