I was all in on this podcast until episode 4. Minimizing him sending a document with detainees names on them as “sticky fingers” is ridiculous. Sending classified docs in the mail is so reckless and insane. Why would he need names of prisoners? I will still listen because I love Serial but I’m sad to finally get why people think this podcast is so biased.

Am I the only one bothered at the way Sarah Koenig speaks every line as though she’s reading off a list? It’s so distracting!! It’s like a SNL parody of an affected NPR reporter. If Serial wasn’t so interesting I’d stop listening.

Not a fan of this season. It was a swing and a miss in terms of bias.

The first season was excellent. However by season 4 it is a reporter playing “holier than thou”.

Season 1 of Serial was the very first podcast I really got into. So far, season 4 does not disappoint!

Very much a one sided story. Very disappointed in this kind of journalism.

It’s been a long time, Sarah. So nice to hear your voice again.

It's a controversial podcast. The reviews alone will tell you that. But, is it good? To me, yes, it is - 👍. Ads are skippable and I enjoy the format of their storytelling. Just finished Season 2 and will continue on... If my feelings change - so will my review.

I was very thrilled when I came across a podcast which would be focused on Guantanamo Bay. A few minutes in, I decided this was not the podcast for me.

The host got offended a few minutes in, when the what seemed polite driver, kindly asked them if they wanted to stop at the gift shop to get snacks.. she was bothered because at the end he said there were ‘souvenirs’…. Sadly, I felt because of that, the podcast was going to be misconstrued from the reporter based on feelings not factual information.

Maybe it’s a great podcast but I was really hoping to get a history lesson but because of this simple thing that bothered the reporter (when the driver was simply being polite) I didn’t know what else would be based on feeling not facts.

This podcast is a joke

Only on episode 3 but very disappointed in this season so far. There agenda is not what I was hoping for but it’s clear. I expected more from this Franchise.

Totally engrossed in this one. Great narration, interviews, and overall framing.

From some of the reviews, it’s obvious that some people don’t want to hear the ugly truth of the unfairness & brutality we committed in Guantanamo. But it’s a necessary story that has to be told to uncover the ugliness and to ensure that we do not repeat these horrible mistakes again. Well done Sarah & the Serial podcast team!

The first time you have a chance at

season 4 - Content, narration. production are all excellent. And it’s so nice to hear Sarah again!!

Didn’t realize how I felt about my time in GTMO. Listening to it is giving me anxiety. If you didn’t have a drinking problem before you got there you’re probably leaving with one.

This podcast just keeps getting worse. Should have known. Serial is nothing but a one hit wonder. Should have stopped with Season 1.

I don’t feel like this is at all an objective podcast. There’s clearly an agenda from journalists with zero credibility that don’t understand the context of immediate post 9/11 military. Most of us just wanted to do the right thing, but nobody knew what the right thing was. We just wanted to protect America and our democracy. I know that’s not the cool thing anymore so it’s easy to look back and criticize everyone. I’m listening because I always want to hear every perspective, but it’s hard to take this serious when there’s a clear and hard lopsided agenda. This is a confirmation bias story.

Despite the reporters best attempt to be neutral, their infinite smugness and bias is obvious within five minutes.

This isnt even about those that did wrong things at GB. This is a clear push to disparage military and America. Used to like this podcast but I can’t with the over the top one sided reporting. Haven’t you learned? People want facts and is tired of the media and reporters putting their bias in to manipulate their story.

Sarah Koenig is great at what she does and knows how to make a podcast. I thought the first three seasons were wonderful. Unfortunately the forth one seems hellbent on drilling a narrative. One of the subjects interviewed has already done extensive interviews, speeches, and already written a book on his experiences so this story feels a bit unnecessary for a podcast. And another one is excused for stealing documents (well, he just wanted a souvenir…) for it to support the “US Govt = the enemy” position.

I have worked in secure government areas and the rules are THOROUGHLY drilled into you as far as what you can and can’t record or take from the secure area. If you break well established rules you agreed to, you get in trouble. Who knew?

It feels as if this season regularly gives the benefit of the doubt to one side when they screw up but not the other. Every mistake from an anti-Gitmo guard is laughed off while every mistake from the pro-Gitmo side is seen as unacceptable. I expected more objectivity.

Sounds like a child narrating how awful you are disgusting!

As a listener to Serial since the beginning, I was looking forward to season 4. But I didn’t make it past the first episode. The reason? Right up front the narrative is about how terrible it is that we took almost 800 people and locked them up. And then IMMEDIATELY a figure of $13M dollars per prisoner per year is referenced as the cost for the operation. Which is a figure based on all of Guantanamo Bay’s costs (regardless if there are prisoners there or not), and uses a figure of 40 prisoners as the denominator for the equation. But it wouldn’t sound as “evil” or “wasteful” if they were consistent with their measurements, now would it? Either it is a case of lack of integrity for actual reporting and storytelling, or it is a laziness to just grab information that supports one side that the storyteller wishes to tell. Either way is an automatic pass and unsubscribe from future Serial content. And yes, armchair hindsight criticism 20 years after 9/11 had better damned well be accurate and fairly represented. FAIL.

Love hearing Sarah’s voice! Loving the 4th season!!! Sarah is the best narrator!

I’ve enjoyed every season of this podcast and really appreciate the decision to cover Guantanamo in season 4. Important content, compelling interviews and charming delivery, as always. To other listeners thinking about leaving a negative review because of the show’s “anti-american” or “liberal agenda”, nobody needs to hear this story more than you.

Should be required listening for the world. Enough said.

I enjoyed prior seasons but season 4 really let me down. I don’t appreciate the snarky tone about our military and think the hosts are twisting the facts to meet their preconceived notions.

I find it very interesting to see reviews claiming this is “liberal drivel” and reprimanding the hosts to “keep an open mind” as if they haven’t been to these places and interviewed countless people as first hand sources. Especially for season 4, I understand there are a myriad of reasons people join the military and you don’t get to choose your posts, but pretending that the US does everything right and we need to torture people to “protect our land” is not a good faith argument. Just say you hate that the industrial complex you love so much is being exposed for its crimes.

This is definitely an important story/issue that needs to be talked about and we know that no one tells a “radio“ story better than anyone associated with This American Life, but it’s hard to trust Sarah anymore after she has behaved so irresponsibly with the follow up to the Adnan Syed case. Whiile of course she deserves the credit for us all knowing about the case and ultimately his resulting release, there is lots of information in her initial podcast that has been proven demonstrably false, and she has not issued any corrections or directed listeners to the new information. Makes it hard to trust her regarding any story she reports on going forward.

I would rate it five stars if I could trust her, but I just can’t anymore.

I can’t with serial anymore. This latest season is so heavy handed and biased I cannot get passed the first episode.

For someone who actually lost my dad in 9/11 and not after the fact, has been to gtmo. This podcast is dangerous to the case that we are currently trying to achieve to hold the mastermind accountable for. It’s a mockery to what is really going on and this podcast is nothing more than an attempt for clout. If you want to know the real gtmo, ask a 9/11 family member or a prosecutor not some podcaster who wants listeners. And any 9/11 family that participated in her podcast are for the peaceful tomorrows. We are the victims.

Serial was my gateway to podcasts and now I’m hopelessly addicted to this type of story telling. There are many good ones, but no one does it better than this team. As good as it ever was.

The first episode of season four is pretty much all about gay sex (not kidding) and anecdotes about the German army having an eyebrow stylist, or something inane. I don’t know what’s more disappointing, the actual storytelling, or the anecdotal interviews of mystery interrogators, like Mr. X. The host runs in circles talking about people who can and can’t be interviewed predicated on book deals, and documentary deals with other media companies, this leaves the podcast feeling like we are really scraping the bottom of the barrel to piece together anything that’s left to make “a story”, any story, work. The whole podcast is sticky with holes and circular “evidence” which only further pushes the story’s narrative in the direction of the author’s interest. This isn’t a hard-story with hard-evidence against Gitmo. It’s sloppy “journalism“ and more of an opinion than a report. What’s most disappointing though is the slant of anti-Americanism. If you want to be critical of the military, wars, policy: go for it. But serial has a large, diverse megaphone. This 4th season feels wildly inappropriate due to the tunnel-vision narrative, peppered with the author’s personal moral-criticism, backed mostly by stories from mystery guest. One example, the host asks “Mr. X” if he remembers what he had for breakfast prior to an interrogation, seconds later she deemed the interrogation to be illegal during a monologue. The serial producers and authors have the responsibility to be better. This isn’t a good story. It’s certainly not journalism. Shame on anybody who approved this.

You disgust me you idiot

I find myself listening to podcasts to get away from the everyday news stories. A way to have a interesting background while getting work done. This podcast, however, reminded me all to quickly how the political strife of our country has seeped into all facets of life. Let’s just say if this podcast had a favorite color, it’s blue, and if it had a favorite animal, it would be a donkey.

Ever if you don’t really listen to it the girls voice is perfect to fall asleep to love it💖

My father died to cancer related to 9/11. I believe the history of the prison that was built afterwards must be told, must be understood, must be analyzed. I don’t know what should happen to the people at Guantanamo, but I know America has done things that aren’t right there. Individuals cannot report on Gitmo. It takes reporters. And Sarah Koenig is one who knows how to grab attention and tell an important story, even about a place that we’re sick of hearing about. It’s sad to see the low reviews claim a liberal bias when so little has been said so far and of course nothing concrete has been disputed. And meanwhile, so much is known about the issues at Guantanamo! I was shocked by the gift shop, and Disney’s involvement. I was sadly not shocked by the treatment of the detainees. I’m grateful for this reporting. I hope we let these people go. Thank you.

Succumbing to Fidel Castro bobble heads at the gift shop after turning up your noses?

Another podcast at swerves into amateur hour. The lack of preparation shows, but you did ask for a review.

Don’t waste your time. I got 7 minutes in and figured out what these “journalists” have on their agenda. They want to destroy America.

I’m loving season four so far. This is a part of American history I knew next to nothing about. I love how you try to give two sides of the story, what the American military wants us to think, and possibly what happened.

Really enjoying the gitmo season so far, I came in knowing very little about Guantanamo and have enjoyed hearing from different perspectives about life/imprisonment there and I’m excited for the rest of the season. If you’re seeing negative reviews and feel turned off from listening, don’t. This podcast is famous for a reason and set the standard for the genre of “true crime” podcast and continues to do so. It leads with empathy and realism.

Great storytelling so far in S4. However, the beginning of E1 is offensive; the hosts are insensitive as they get excited about buying Guantanamo merch. The hardest thing to listen to (sensory-wise) is the cheerful cutesy music. It doesn’t match the seriousness of the topic, it’s aggravating, and it’s incredibly distracting.

Every season surprises me with how nuanced and intricate the reporting is. Sarah Koenig is the BEST

This is what happens when you lower standards. Dissatisfaction maxed.

Reeks of liberalism right off the rip

I tried to be open minded. (You should try that too) but I got 12 minutes in and was so disgusted, sad, and offended, I gotta go. The word that comes to mind is shame. Let me be clear, not shame for having served my country for 20 years, which understandably, I merely had the privilege of being born in, but absolute shame that you share that birthright. I served for people like you, and for people like me too. Long live freedom!

Can’t imagine anyone is enjoying season four so far. Sounds like it should be X-rated and so much unnecessary sexual talk when I came to learn about Gitmo.

I’ve really loved the series, I’ve loved the reporting and the long form style. Then I found this season was about gitmo and I’m just not impressed. There’s been podcasts, movies, documentaries, and major in depth reporting done already. Personally I loved RadioLabs version with the two names, so why re-explore this topic? I’m highly doubt you have a different take other then everyone else of “it’s bad, but it’s also complicated”

…is off to a great start. Dana Chivvis taking over cohosting duties works really well. Looking forward to the rest of the season.

The new season on Gitmo is so liberal biased. Have unsubscribed!

If you are looking for a program, that is highly entertaining and fun to listen to, this is it if you’re looking for a program that tells you just the facts,this is not it. If you’re looking for a program that creates a left leaning liberal narrative regardless of the truth this is it..

Cannot stand the dude with the fake accent in season 3. Severely disturbing.

Been with Serial since season one. Catching up, it’s become clear to me that this podcast has become more of an art project than journalism. The artist in this case being someone who cuts out dissent by proclaiming it “inappropriate”. Someone who shapes the moral of the narrative and thereby reveals nothing of actual moral value. Whatever happened to telling both sides and letting us decide where truth lies? That was the old serial. This podcast has become another handholding exercise. It’s the op-edification of stories. Important stories I agree. I wish someone who didn’t think they were so important would tell them. Very disappointed they think readers lack the critical thinking required to find their way to a conclusion.

I’m am not trying to be mean-I am offering feedback. I’d say this same thing if it was a male or female presenter. The drawling voice and drawn out ends of the sentences of presenter Meribah Knight

make it hard for me to listen. I find it distracts from the content. I feel ok about offering this feedback because I’ve been listening to radio programs/NPR since I was a child-40 years ago. This is not a casual or mean spirited comment. I listen to podcasts All The Time. Not everyone is made to host/act/present, etc. I have often been offered “feedback,” ie criticism and been advised we are not always suited to the things we want to do. If you want to be the voice, please consider vocal lessons or voice training. Best of luck.