While Serial producers aren't revealing any details about what's to come in the podcast's upcoming season, Maxim reports that anonymous sources have been doing some sleuthing of their own. This time, according to sources, Serial will be switching it up from revisiting a little-known crime story to spending time investigating a story that has already gripped America and been widely covered by the media: the case of Bowe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant who disappeared from his post in Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban for five years.
Bergdahl was released last year in exchange for five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay, sparking controversy thanks to several conflicting accounts of why Bergdahl left the base in the first place (Bergdahl claims he was abducted after intentionally walking off his post). Bergdahl was recently charged with desertion and the endangerment of troops who searched for him, and he is currently on trial to determine whether he will be court-martialed and sentenced to life in prison.
So far, Serial host and investigative journalist Sarah Koenig has reportedly attended Bergdahl's hearing last week, interviewed Bergdahl, and interviewed two former members of Bergdahl's unit. The soldiers that were interviewed, however, weren't confident that Serial would be able to crack the case — or even "do the story justice," The Daily Intelligencer reports.
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"I get it that... Serial is trying to make a nifty diorama for hipsters to marvel at, but I think it's the height of crassness for them to do this when it could potentially affect the legal proceedings," one soldier told Maxim. "I assume it will be a great way to paint us as kooks and sore losers."
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