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Undisclosed: The State Vs. Adnan Syed
The Undisclosed Podcast is a listening experience that reframes, enhances or otherwise shifts everything you've come to know about the State of Maryland's case against Adnan Syed, especially as you've come to know it through listening to Serial. In order to do that, we intend to revisit the case from the beginning, looking at all the available evidence. Not only will we look at the evidence that was presented in Serial, but we will also provide new evidence that we've uncovered in our investigation. We have combed through police and court records that the Serial team did not possess during the podcast, and done much, much more to get to the truth. Accordingly, we aspire to present the best possible version of the events as we believe those events to be. We will also present theories that we believe the evidence best construes. Perhaps most importantly, we will provide you with all of our evidence as part of that process.
We want our listeners to know that this podcast will not give you purely pro-Adnan information or intentionally slant it in his favor. We will present a smart, nuanced legal argument based on the totality of the facts in the case. As attorneys, we pride ourselves on looking dispassionately at facts, analyzing those facts, and applying the appropriate law in our analysis. Our coverage of Adnan's case on our blogs has taken this tack, and we aim to continue our assessments in this new medium. We promise you, our listeners, that our goal in this podcast is not to exonerate Adnan. Our goal is to get to the truth of what happened on January 13, 1999, and we believe that the best way to do so is to analyze all of the available information to come to an informed conclusion. That's what this podcast is all about.
We want our listeners to know that this podcast will not give you purely pro-Adnan information or intentionally slant it in his favor. We will present a smart, nuanced legal argument based on the totality of the facts in the case. As attorneys, we pride ourselves on looking dispassionately at facts, analyzing those facts, and applying the appropriate law in our analysis. Our coverage of Adnan's case on our blogs has taken this tack, and we aim to continue our assessments in this new medium. We promise you, our listeners, that our goal in this podcast is not to exonerate Adnan. Our goal is to get to the truth of what happened on January 13, 1999, and we believe that the best way to do so is to analyze all of the available information to come to an informed conclusion. That's what this podcast is all about.
- GenresNonfictionTrue Crime
1150 pages, Audiobook
Published January 4, 2016
128 people want to read
About the author
Rabia Chaudry
7Ìýbooks300ÌýfollowersQ&A with The Innocence Project (Innocence Blog): August 2016
In 2014, attorney and writer Rabia Chaudry contacted producer Sarah Koenig at This American Life to pitch a story about the 1999 murder case of Maryland teenager Hae Min Lee. The result was Serial, one of the most successful podcast ever produced. The series—downloaded 100 million times—put Adnan Syed, the young man convicted of the 1999 murder, in the spotlight, and highlighted aspects of the investigation that Syed’s supporters, including Chaudry, say reveal his innocence.
But Chaudry says that Serial didn’t tell the whole story. In response, she’s released Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial, her new book which delves into important case details not covered in Serial. The book also includes written recollections and insights from Syed himself.
Earlier this week, Chaudry spoke with the Innocence Blog about her reasons for writing the book and how Serial got some of the story wrong.
Innocence Blog: You have been an incredible champion for Adnan. Did you ever think, back in 2000 when he was convicted, that you would eventually play such an important role in his case?
Rabia Chaudry: Absolutely not. I was in law school [when the case started]. I had no experience in criminal law—not then, not even now really. The thing that I hoped to do, after the conviction especially, was help the family select good attorneys.
I really had a lot of confidence in the system—that there had been a tremendous mistake. Especially after Cristina Gutierrez (Adnan’s trial attorney) was disbarred and became ill. I thought: “The Maryland judiciary system knows—everybody knows—what she went through and how that must have affected her clients.� There was a part of me that thought, “How could those cases that she had in her last couple of years not be given a little more attention to see what really went wrong?�
But I never imagined that it would be like this. And I didn’t want it to be like this. I wanted the system to work. It’s ridiculous that it would take this long. And it’s crazy that it would take so much media and so many resources and investigators to correct something like this.
IB: Knowing all of the information that was out there—with Serial, with your podcast Undisclosed and your blog—what then spurred the book?
RC: Actually, it started before the Undisclosed podcast even began. When Serial was airing I was blogging every week in response to it. And I had been writing for many years for different outlets and across a spectrum of issues—a lot of political issues and issues around bigotry and civil rights. There was a literary agent who read my blog and had seen my other writing and said, “You should consider writing a book.� And I said, “Oh, that would be great. I’d love to write a book. I’ve always wanted to write a novel.� And she said, “No, I mean about Adnan’s case.�
I had never considered it. It was overwhelming. I didn’t know the case as well as I needed to, even at that point. The case documents—I hadn’t seen them in many, many years. They had gone from Adnan’s home to Sarah Koenig. And she had given me an electronic copy once, but for me to have my daily full-time job, plus my family, plus a blog—I didn’t have the time to go through the documents.
So when the agent contacted me, I said, “Absolutely not. I can’t do it. And, it would feel a little exploitive. I’m not comfortable with that.� But then she raised an excellent point.
She told me that somebody was eventually going to write the book. It could be me—someone who knows Adnan, knows the lawyers, knows Sarah Koenig, knows more about the story than anyone could know, and who also is very concerned about protecting Adnan’s interest. Or, it could be another journalist. “It’s your choice,� she said. So, I talked to Adnan about it and told him that she made a good argument. He told me that if I wanted to do it, I had his permission.
I ended up writing 800
In 2014, attorney and writer Rabia Chaudry contacted producer Sarah Koenig at This American Life to pitch a story about the 1999 murder case of Maryland teenager Hae Min Lee. The result was Serial, one of the most successful podcast ever produced. The series—downloaded 100 million times—put Adnan Syed, the young man convicted of the 1999 murder, in the spotlight, and highlighted aspects of the investigation that Syed’s supporters, including Chaudry, say reveal his innocence.
But Chaudry says that Serial didn’t tell the whole story. In response, she’s released Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial, her new book which delves into important case details not covered in Serial. The book also includes written recollections and insights from Syed himself.
Earlier this week, Chaudry spoke with the Innocence Blog about her reasons for writing the book and how Serial got some of the story wrong.
Innocence Blog: You have been an incredible champion for Adnan. Did you ever think, back in 2000 when he was convicted, that you would eventually play such an important role in his case?
Rabia Chaudry: Absolutely not. I was in law school [when the case started]. I had no experience in criminal law—not then, not even now really. The thing that I hoped to do, after the conviction especially, was help the family select good attorneys.
I really had a lot of confidence in the system—that there had been a tremendous mistake. Especially after Cristina Gutierrez (Adnan’s trial attorney) was disbarred and became ill. I thought: “The Maryland judiciary system knows—everybody knows—what she went through and how that must have affected her clients.� There was a part of me that thought, “How could those cases that she had in her last couple of years not be given a little more attention to see what really went wrong?�
But I never imagined that it would be like this. And I didn’t want it to be like this. I wanted the system to work. It’s ridiculous that it would take this long. And it’s crazy that it would take so much media and so many resources and investigators to correct something like this.
IB: Knowing all of the information that was out there—with Serial, with your podcast Undisclosed and your blog—what then spurred the book?
RC: Actually, it started before the Undisclosed podcast even began. When Serial was airing I was blogging every week in response to it. And I had been writing for many years for different outlets and across a spectrum of issues—a lot of political issues and issues around bigotry and civil rights. There was a literary agent who read my blog and had seen my other writing and said, “You should consider writing a book.� And I said, “Oh, that would be great. I’d love to write a book. I’ve always wanted to write a novel.� And she said, “No, I mean about Adnan’s case.�
I had never considered it. It was overwhelming. I didn’t know the case as well as I needed to, even at that point. The case documents—I hadn’t seen them in many, many years. They had gone from Adnan’s home to Sarah Koenig. And she had given me an electronic copy once, but for me to have my daily full-time job, plus my family, plus a blog—I didn’t have the time to go through the documents.
So when the agent contacted me, I said, “Absolutely not. I can’t do it. And, it would feel a little exploitive. I’m not comfortable with that.� But then she raised an excellent point.
She told me that somebody was eventually going to write the book. It could be me—someone who knows Adnan, knows the lawyers, knows Sarah Koenig, knows more about the story than anyone could know, and who also is very concerned about protecting Adnan’s interest. Or, it could be another journalist. “It’s your choice,� she said. So, I talked to Adnan about it and told him that she made a good argument. He told me that if I wanted to do it, I had his permission.
I ended up writing 800
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 29, 2016
I would like to start off saying that I am obsessed with True Crime, especially current True Crime. The case against Adnan Syed has been a huge current addiction for me. (This podcast is about that case.)
"The Undisclosed Podcast is a listening experience that reframes, enhances or otherwise shifts everything you've come to know about the State of Maryland's case against Adnan Syed, especially as you've come to know it through listening to Serial. In order to do that, we intend to revisit the case from the beginning, looking at all the available evidence. Not only will we look at the evidence that was presented in Serial, but we will also provide new evidence that we've uncovered in our investigation. We have combed through police and court records that the Serial team did not possess during the podcast, and done much, much more to get to the truth. Accordingly, we aspire to present the best possible version of the events as we believe those events to be. We will also present theories that we believe the evidence best construes. Perhaps most importantly, we will provide you with all of our evidence as part of that process." - This is part of the podcast summery.
This was a fascinating podcast that is still on going, but I completed the first season today. Before you listen to this podcast you have to listen to the first season of Serial. "Serial is a podcast from the creators of This American Life, hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial tells one story—a true story—over the course of a season. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. ... A classmate at Woodlawn High School says she knows where Adnan was." Below is the link to my review of that podcast:
/review/show...
I started listening to this podcast because I read the book Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial by Rabia Chaudry, this year, and the author mentioned she had a podcast. Below is the link to my review of that book:
/review/show...
Also, I read the book Confessions of a Serial Alibi by Asia McClain Chapman, this year. When Adnan was accused of the crime, Asia McClain claims she saw Syed at the local library. This book is about her as an alibi and everything that she had to go through. Below is the link to my review of that book: /review/show...
I highly suggest this podcast to everyone! Also, if you like true crime I highly suggest listening and reading all the books I have listed!
"The Undisclosed Podcast is a listening experience that reframes, enhances or otherwise shifts everything you've come to know about the State of Maryland's case against Adnan Syed, especially as you've come to know it through listening to Serial. In order to do that, we intend to revisit the case from the beginning, looking at all the available evidence. Not only will we look at the evidence that was presented in Serial, but we will also provide new evidence that we've uncovered in our investigation. We have combed through police and court records that the Serial team did not possess during the podcast, and done much, much more to get to the truth. Accordingly, we aspire to present the best possible version of the events as we believe those events to be. We will also present theories that we believe the evidence best construes. Perhaps most importantly, we will provide you with all of our evidence as part of that process." - This is part of the podcast summery.
This was a fascinating podcast that is still on going, but I completed the first season today. Before you listen to this podcast you have to listen to the first season of Serial. "Serial is a podcast from the creators of This American Life, hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial tells one story—a true story—over the course of a season. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. ... A classmate at Woodlawn High School says she knows where Adnan was." Below is the link to my review of that podcast:
/review/show...
I started listening to this podcast because I read the book Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial by Rabia Chaudry, this year, and the author mentioned she had a podcast. Below is the link to my review of that book:
/review/show...
Also, I read the book Confessions of a Serial Alibi by Asia McClain Chapman, this year. When Adnan was accused of the crime, Asia McClain claims she saw Syed at the local library. This book is about her as an alibi and everything that she had to go through. Below is the link to my review of that book: /review/show...
I highly suggest this podcast to everyone! Also, if you like true crime I highly suggest listening and reading all the books I have listed!
March 18, 2017
Loved i. Great story telling but also stuck to the facts of the case. The passion and dedication of the writers won me over.
February 3, 2023
Started to listen to this, but count me out. I mean, I don't know if the guy did it or not, but I know if you're gonna pay for his defense you lose absolutely all claim to objectivity.
September 1, 2016
1 star for quality. 4 stars for content. I had to stop listening after Episode 11 because the episodes were skipping around randomly from one to another and the sound skipped backwards often. Wish this was available on a more reliable platform. I've moved on to Rabia's book "Adnan's Story" which is a much smoother listen.
September 17, 2018
Not this book
Serial Season 1
Adnan Syed
Serial Season 1
Adnan Syed
April 17, 2016
Got better as they got further into the story and added music and editing.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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