My weekly conversation with Rabia Chaudry on the metanarrative aspects of Serial below in which we’re joined by Chris Flohr who served as Adnan Syed’s legal counsel during the bail hearing.
Conversations on the Serial Podcast: Seven
Published inSerial
A really good conversation that, in part, intersects the act of storytelling with those who are acting the story.
Hello, Peter and Adnan’s friends on the “hangout video,”
I know I’m posting this at an inappropriate point chronologically, but I’ve just finished watching your video and want to thank you all — and Rabia, too — for sharing your stories and feelings. It was good to see and hear you all, to get in touch with the reactions of Adnan’s friends and community. Though I’ve not been part of the chattering classes about Serial, I wish I could to apologize for the hurtful comments, for the tendency of many to interact unthinkingly in this medium. Besides learning a lot about the judicial system, especially when it involves people of color, lots of us have been reminded of how internet communications can tend to make us callous toward each other.
You all spoke repeatedly of Adnan’s being a caring person. I wish all of us who have become engrossed in this story shared that characteristic more consistently. I think you can be proud of the caring you all expressed toward your friend. One day soon let’s hope Adnan will share that caring in person.
I’d be proud to have you as friends. Thanks again for sharing.
Food for thought as you wrap things up next week–I was particularly moved by the hangout you moderated with Adnan’s friends and brothers. They seem like such an extraordinary group of men who all seem to have reached a certain level of success in their careers and personal lives. I thought a lot about what Adnan has missed out on and how, if not for the injustice done to him, he would be just as successful as his peers. With the possibility of freedom becoming more rooting in reality, I wonder if he has thought/ dared to dream about what he could do with his life? I hope that he will be exonerated. I hope that he dreams big. And I hope that all his dreams are fulfilled.