Serial, season 2

[Word Nerd]

Is anyone else listening to the second season of Serial? I don't think it's nearly as gripping as the first season, especially since Sarah Koenig can't ask Bowe Bergdahl any questions or talk with him personally and the segments where he's talking are from someone else's previous interviews. But it's still worth listening to, and she still has a lot of other people to interview about the case. It's also different in that I had no idea who Adnan Sayed was when I started listening to Serial, whereas I already knew who Bergdahl was and had a negative bias because at a minimum he is guilty of deserting his post and endangering the lives of other troops. Just curious whether others are listening.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Word Nerd

[Hoot]

I loved the first season, but after listening to the first episode of the second season I don't feel at all compelled to keep listening. I've found it pretty uninteresting this time around. It's a shame since I listened to the first season in 3 days.

 

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[aggie96]

I agree with OP.

 

We are listening.  DH knew about the story from the media.  I did not.  It's interesting.  IMO, Bergdahl is not a sympathetic character.  Because of the first season of Serial, I am really curious what light will be shed on the events and where they are going with this.

 

 

I was not as gripped by the story after the first episode either, but I want to know what the "catch" is.  It seems cut and dry about his desertion, etc.  So why is this news in the end?  Why a debate about how to handle him?  Because Serial 1 was done so well, I'm hanging in to see where this goes.

Edited January 7, 2016 by aggie96

[Word Nerd]

I agree completely.

 

We are listening.  DH knew about the story from the media.  I did not.  It's interesting.  IMO, Bergdahl is not a sympathetic character.  Because of the first season of Serial, I am really curious what light will be shed on the events and where they are going with this.

 

In some ways I think it's more about all the other people involved than it is Bergdahl himself. Today's episode made me want to hear more about David Rohde.

ETA: Here's a lengthy NYT story about Rohde from 2009.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Word Nerd

[aggie96]

Haven't heard today's yet.  Must wait until kids are in bed tonight,  :)  

[Runningmom80]

I'm listening, I agree it isn't as riveting, but I'm learning a lot about the military.  I still need to listen to today's. 

 

ETA:  I hadn't read a ton about the case previously, I was only vaguely familiar, and I actually went into it thinking she was going to convince me his desertion was justified.  I do get the idea that Sarah K thinks he was justified in leaving, but I'm not at all convinced.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Runningmom80

[SharonM]

I loved season 1. What an interesting story. I listened to it in just a couple days. But season 2 isn't as interesting to me. I hope there is a third season.

[Runningmom80]

I loved season 1. What an interesting story. I listened to it in just a couple days. But season 2 isn't as interesting to me. I hope there is a third season.

 

There will be.  I remember reading that they were working on a different story but the Bergdahl story became more timely so they switched to that.

[Word Nerd]

I do get the idea that Sarah K thinks he was justified in leaving, but I'm not at all convinced.

 

Interesting, as that hasn't been my impression.

[wendy not in HI]

I have not listened to season 2 at all, but I did hear a report on NPR about it recently.  They seemed to be suggesting that the interviews have actually sort of worked against Bergdahl.  I can't remember the details.... something like .... Before serial, the military was going to charge him? court martial him? for something that had minimal sentencing, but now they are charging him with something much bigger.  The report seemed to be saying that they are trying him for the larger crime because of the interviews on Serial. 

 

I think his story is really interesting, but for legal purposes, I think it is a mistake to talk to the media before the trial!

[Word Nerd]

 

I think his story is really interesting, but for legal purposes, I think it is a mistake to talk to the media before the trial!

 

Bergdahl isn't talking to the media, Koenig included. The segments where he's talking were done previously with a different interviewer.

[wendy not in HI]

Bergdahl isn't talking to the media, Koenig included. The segments where he's talking were done previously with a different interviewer.

 

His interview was recorded by someone, and I'm assuming he gave permission for Serial to use it!

 

edited to add: I haven't listened to this Serial season, just a report about it... 

Edited January 7, 2016 by wendy in HI

[Word Nerd]

His interview was recorded by someone, and I'm assuming he gave permission for Serial to use it!

 

edited to add: I haven't listened to this Serial season, just a report about it... 

 

Yes, but I don't think that previously recorded interview had anything to do with the military's decision.

 

I haven't found the NPR story you're referring to, but I did find this: "A spokesman for Army Forces Command, John Boyce, said there is no connection between the release of “Serial†and the Army pursuing a general court-martial, and moving forward with their case now. The podcast will air on a weekly basis for the foreseeable future."

[MelAR05]

I'm listening. I don't think Sarah K wanted Season 2 to be as popular. I think she feels it got out of hand last season so she is trying to be ahead of the game this time.

 

Also, this is strictly my theory and I am probably wrong, but I wonder if she is going to expose something about the military. Something big.

[Word Nerd]

One thing that has not been discussed in the show (unless I just didn't hear it) is that before Bergdahl joined the Army, he was discharged from the Coast Guard for psychological reasons. Today's episode would have seemed a good time to mention it, as she discussed his mental health while in captivity, and I can't imagine she doesn't know about the discharge. Maybe she thinks it's not relevant because the Army accepted him after that?

Edited January 7, 2016 by Word Nerd

[wendy not in HI]

https://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-12-18/friday-news-roundup-international

 

This is the discussion I listened to, a panel on the Diane Rehm show on Dec. 18th on her Friday News Roundup.  The guests are Mark Landler, White House Correspondent for the New York Times; Courntey Kume, national security producer, NBC News; Paul Danahar Washington bureau chief, BBC News, author of "The New Middle East: The World after the Arab Spring.  

 

It looks like a pretty smart group of news reporters.  They discuss Bergdahl at about the 20 min. mark.  

 

Diane says "it almost sounds as though what he's done with his podcast could be a lot more hurtful than helpful to his case."

 

a guest says "there a lost of discussion at the moment about why he did it, the timing of it, was he actually attempting to buttress his defense by offering a sort of, you know, some kind of credible reason for why he wandered off the base?  On the other hand, the podcast began airing right around the time that he was sentenced, er, that it was decided he would undergo this potentially much more serious legal proceeding. So while the Army denies a direct connection and says a ruling was not made because of what he said on the podcast, the suspicion remains that he's done himself some harm."

 

a different guest "especially since his attorney early on has been arguing for months now that he wants Beau Bergdahl's interviews released to the public.  the transcripts.  that he did with the military immediately after he came back and after he went through his, you know, reclamation...and the Army has said No.  They continue to say No.  So the fact that his attorney would then allow him to do the interviews with Serial is just kind of questionable.  It clearly flies right in the face of what the Army would or would not allow. And this is getting Bergdahl's story out.  As someone who covered Afghanistan, lived and breathed Afghanistan for a long time, who covered the story, you know, listening to these interviews on Serial is just fascinating.... nobody really knows. Bergdahl is the only person who knows why he left the base that day... in some points he's like he wanted to be like Jason Bourne, he was going to go out there and, you know, he would capture someone in the Taliban and bring them back to the base... so to hear this is just fascinating to me.  But the reality is, his behavior prior to when he left the base kind of fights his narrative now of why did.  He was only there for a matter of weeks, was that enough time for him to determine that the leadership there was so terrible he needed ... his argument here kind of fights reality... so to hear him talk about it, argue about it is just fascinating."

 

guest #3 "it does rather beg belief...at the end of the day if the idea was to make people feel sympathy for him, he's failed dramatically...it just hasn't worked as a piece of PR."....

 

the discussion goes on.  It is an interesting look at the story. Diane had to break in and say "we have to correct a statement, we've had several emails and the Pentagon has said "no soldiers were killed hunting for Beau Bergdahl."  Then a guest sort of questions that statement...

 

Anyway, it was an interesting discussion!  Please excuse my transcription errors.

[Farrar]

I'm behind an episode or so, but I'm listening.

 

I do find it riveting... but not as much as the first season. I feel like one of the flaws of it how political it is. I mean, I was at a family member's house when the first episode dropped and they're a Fox News on all the time family (I know...) and the Fox people were carrying on that he was a coward, how dare they give him such a positive podium, blah blah blah. Just absurd if you listen to it - it's very balanced and while she's sympathetic to him, she's also critical. Also, it's just like... listen, you may come away thinking he's a bad guy and deserves the worst the military can throw at him, but calling him a coward is just lazy. But I keep feeling like that sort of political back and forth overshadows the whole thing. One of the things I thought was good about season 1 was that it was mostly apolitical - it was just this story and her search to get to the bottom of it.

[Jenny in Florida]

I'm listening and finding it interesting, but I agree that it hasn't grabbed me the way season 1 did. I actually listened to a number of the season 1 episodes more than once, sometimes because I wanted to make sure I had caught all of the information but sometimes just because I was impatient for the next episode and wanted a fix. I'm definitely not having that feeling about this season.

 

As others have said, though, I am hanging in there, because I assume there's a reason they picked this case and that there will be unexpected twists and turns along the way.

[Frances]

I'm listening and finding it interesting, but I agree that it hasn't grabbed me the way season 1 did. I actually listened to a number of the season 1 episodes more than once, sometimes because I wanted to make sure I had caught all of the information but sometimes just because I was impatient for the next episode and wanted a fix. I'm definitely not having that feeling about this season.

 

As others have said, though, I am hanging in there, because I assume there's a reason they picked this case and that there will be unexpected twists and turns along the way.

Please come back and post if there are some unexpected twists and turns. I haven't been able to get into it like I did the first season. I wish they would have chosen a topic that hadn't already gotten so much national attention. I liked not knowing anything about the case before listening to the first season.