“Serial” launched in 2014 as a spinoff of NPR’s “This American Life” and became an overnight podcasting hit. In the first season, Sarah Koenig investigated Syed’s murder conviction for the death of his girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in Baltimore. “Serial” raised questions about the evidence against him, including an account of Asia McClain, who claimed she saw Syed at a public library during the time of Lee’s murder. That led to a 2016 ruling granting Syed a retrial; last year the Maryland Court of Special Appeals found that Syed had received ineffective legal counsel for not calling McClain as a witness and that his conviction should be vacated. – Todd Spangler, Variety » https://trib.al/BvM4HCK [photo: Serial]