We made a listening guide
for the maps, videos, graphics, and documents that accompany each
episode, if you’re just starting this season or listening again.
Thanks
for a great season and sending us so many notes and messages (we read
them all).
Site editor Whitney Dangerfield wrote up our process for working with artist Carl Burton on the animations for this season, including some early drafts and the reason why we refined the below sailboat gif.
When artist Carl Burton and I started working on the art for this season, we came up with one overall rule: no people. “I personally like that,” Carl said, “because then it’s about creating a space where you’re not stepping on the imagination of the listener.”
If you want to see all the animations I did for Serial Season Two at full-size in one place go here: https://serialpodcast.org/season-two/artwork
You can also download each as a wallpaper for desktop or mobile.
Indeed you can. Thanks, Carl.
How do army analysts help a recovered hostage remember good intel? Andrea and Michelle (not their real names) talk about how an intel debriefing works.
Emails between Obama administration officials about leaks in the months, weeks and days leading up to Bowe Bergdahl’s release. The House Armed Service Committee referenced these emails, among others, in an inquiry into the prisoner swap. (From the new Episode 10.)
Barney Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the Taliban’s views during the early years of the war and why the five detainees swapped for Bowe Bergdahl were important to them.
Sarah on secrecy, from episode 9.
Episode 10: March 17th (and please keep sending in questions and thoughts, we read them)
We’ve been receiving your submissions in the past week for tickets to the California speaking engagements with Sarah and Julie. (You can still submit for tomorrow’s event in Rohnert Park and Wednesday’s event in Carmel.) The author of the below submission gave permission for us to share it with you. Thanks to all of you for attending the talks and asking questions and sending us stories of how and why you listen. - KT
My dad served in the Air Force for over 20 years. He was a mechanic for cargo planes, primarily the C-17s and C-5s you can see flying over Davis almost every day, the pilots practice loops around Travis Air Force Base, about 20 miles south of here. Despite ending up here, he didn’t start here. He was born in Illinois, enlisted after graduating high school and slowly made his way around the world, with visits to Japan, Indonesia, Egypt, Alaska, Indonesia again (where he met and married my mother), and tons of other places.
Because of his Air Force history, my dad has always been invested in foreign affairs, specifically regarding the US’s involvement in the Middle East. When Bowe Bergdahl made his way onto national news, I thought little of it, while my dad poured over it. I was just starting high school when he went missing, and I was halfway through college when he was rescued, which is really unsettling to think about. We didn’t talk about it then, despite the occasional grumbling on his part when Bergdahl came onto the news. Even as my own political opinions began to form, I avoided any kind of talk of politics because we tend to butt heads (gotta love those generational gaps).
While I shelve books at my job at the public library, I usually
listen to Serial and started listening to Bowe Bergdahl’s story on
Friday. By the end of my shift on Sunday, I was caught up and totally
immersed in his story. So he’s not a traitor - but does that justify
what he’s done? And what about the Colemans? Why didn’t we do enough
for them - and the rest of our Americans that we vow to protect? How did
he manage to slip through the Army recruiting process? These
questions I hadn’t considered before, not just about Bowe, but about our
lengthy involvement overseas sprung up like weeds.
I visited my parents that night for dinner (perks of attending a college 20 minutes away from home), still reeling with information - I had just learned about Bowe’s schizotypal personality disorder diagnosis. My dad had just finished making dinner, and I decided to ask him about the podcast.
“So you’ve heard about Bowe Bergdahl, right? You remember him? The guy who left his post in Afghanistan?“
His face scrunched up, like he was remembering something stupid that had happened, and not wrongfully so - what Bergdahl did was undeniably stupid. "I remember him.”
I launched into a spiel about what I had learned - his story, the DUSTWUN, the stories of his platoon-mates, his problems with military authority, C.O.I.N., the struggling personnel recovery team, the inability to find Bowe and bring him home - and what to do with him now. What was ethical? Bursting out helped me to process some of my thoughts and questions on it, and by the end of it my dad nodded.
“What he did was stupid. You can’t just walk off like that. And yeah, those problems are there but you just have to suck it up and make the best of your circumstances. Maybe he doesn’t deserve the life sentence, but he needs to be held accountable.”
“What about his time with the Taliban? Some people would say that’s punishment enough.”
“He needs to be held accountable - especially for those soldiers who died looking for him.”
We discussed it for a few more minutes - our peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, what it was like to be out there, the trust he betrayed and the crime he committed. As the conversation went on, I felt like I understood more and more what his time in the military was like. Although I grew up knowing my dad was in the Air Force, I never fully understood what that meant to him. Not that I fully understand it after a 10 minute conversation, but I have a better idea now.
It embodied all of his strongest ideals - dealing with the consequences of your actions, the responsibility you have, going the extra mile to help those you’re with and finish the job. They were all things I had grown up (sometimes, reluctantly) learning from him, and they were seeping through this conversation. Although he doesn’t listen to Serial, (yet. hopefully!) I hope I can take him to the Mondavi Center tonight to show it to him and fuel more conversations like that one. At the end of the day, I’m grateful for this conversation that sparked from a podcast I listen to at work, that gave me a chance to get to know my dad a little better and understand how this huge part of his life affected mine.
carlburton
If you want to see all the animations I did for Serial Season Two at full-size in one place go here: https://serialpodcast.org/season-two/artwork
You can also download each as a wallpaper for desktop or mobile.
