Episodes 5-8 (~163 minutes)
For this course you will be responsible for listening to a podcast series called “Serial.”
Episodes can be found through Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, via YouTube, and on the Serial
website. You will be listening to the entirety of Season One following the journey of Adnan
Syed. Make sure you are listening to the correct season; the episodes should be from 2014. For
SPR #2 you will be listening to Episodes 5-8. While listening to the episodes, you should be
taking notes and thinking about how to connect to course material. Your reflection should be at
least 4 pages and be written in APA format (i.e., 12-point font, Times New Roman, Double-
spaced, cover-page, and references). An abstract is NOT needed for this assignment. Reflections
must include: (1) introduction, (2) summary of the material presented in the podcast, (3) personal
reaction, (4) relation to the text (application of theories), and (5) a brief conclusion.
Your summary of the podcast and personal reflection should be no more than two
pages. Spend most of the time applying criminological theory to the podcast episodes. For this
SPR, you must select at least two theories that work. Remember, your reflection should: include
a description of each theory and explain (with details from the podcast episodes) how that theory
is demonstrated. In other words, don’t just talk about the theory’s components; show me
how/why this theory works in this case. You may use one theory discussed in the previous SPR,
but you must utilize new examples from episodes 4-6. Reusing/Copying your first SPR will
result in a failing grade. Remember to include at least two additional scholarly/peer reviewed
journal articles in your application of the theory. When discussing/connecting your journal
articles, you must describe the findings of each article and analyze how these findings relate to
your analysis.
