SERIAL podcast season 2 - Bowe Bergdahl: hero, deserter, both? (1 Viewer)

[jhib]

I listen to a lot of podcast so usually the biweekly switch would be welcomed but it just made me drop the show

It's definitely making me waver, but I'll stick with it a bit longer. It's not exactly the kind of story where I'm dying to hear what happens next, anyway, so the extra time in between isn't a big deal.

Talking about it with my wife, we decided on a couple of reasons why this season isn't grabbing us like the first. One is that the story's setting and the characters involved just aren't as relatable this time around. We can all picture ourselves in high school and think about how we'd react to this kind of thing happening. This one is in a whole different world. The second thing (which is especially important to my wife) is that the narrator seems much less personally invested in this story, and it seems to make a difference in the story-telling.

Anyway, my wife is out, but I'm curious enough to see where this goes.

 

[bentley]

Yeah, this season is the suck. Agree with whoever said Making a Murderer is the kind of show Serial should be. Which is too bad because I'm sure there are a ton of interesting stories out there.

 

[Righetti]

I've listened to all 6 episodes and it's interesting but my complaints are probably best laid out like this


- it just feels disjointed, the story doesn't weave as well. I actually really liked a lot of the insight on the situation in Afghanistan and on the border.. but each episode really feels like it's own story with very little flow
- the fact they aren't going weekly is a bit of a letdown because in combination of the episodes not flowing that well, you really lose momentum with it with these huge gaps.. I know why they are doing it (at least why she says they are doing it officially but...)
- it's just not Serial. that doesn't make it bad, it makes it different and that's OK but it's not nearly as good. With Serial I was dying to listen to the next episode.. here I listen but it's not right away and I find myself kind of turning out while listening..not bad just not as good

 

[FUBAR]

I've listened to all 6 episodes and it's interesting but my complaints are probably best laid out like this


- it just feels disjointed, the story doesn't weave as well. I actually really liked a lot of the insight on the situation in Afghanistan and on the border.. but each episode really feels like it's own story with very little flow
- the fact they aren't going weekly is a bit of a letdown because in combination of the episodes not flowing that well, you really lose momentum with it with these huge gaps.. I know why they are doing it (at least why she says they are doing it officially but...)
- it's just not Serial. that doesn't make it bad, it makes it different and that's OK but it's not nearly as good. With Serial I was dying to listen to the next episode.. here I listen but it's not right away and I find myself kind of turning out while listening..not bad just not as good

agreed on all counts.

Pretty sure she went to biweekly not because of the additional leads but as she says "a longer season than she anticipated" because the case is pushed to August and there isn't much to add weekly.

While I'm very interested in the case and situation, Serial isn't doing anything for me this time.

 

[Tom Skerritt]

I won't spoil too much, but I've started listening again, picking up at Episode 6. 

One interesting point is that BB had enlisted in the Coast Guard prior to his Army enlistment. And he couldn't hack basic training for the CG. He was given a psych discharge with weird circumstances. 

And so the issue is how was he later able to enlist in the army given the psych discharge? Is the Army at all responsible for recruiting a mentally questionable recruit?

I also read recently that BB was diagnosed with Schizotypal Personality Disorder and PTSD upon evaluation after his return. I'm not excusing his actions, but there is no way this guy should have been able to enlist. I understand that it must be difficult to foresee these things, but some signs were there. 

 

[FUBAR]

As far as Hero, Deserter, or Both is concerned, is it even a question? He's very obviously a deserter. I guess the catch for me is did he desert because he was scared, because he actually was trying to shine a light on poor leadership, or because he's got something more sinister in mind. He's very obviously guilty regardless of his intent.

In my quick 45 minutes of education on this, I'm not buying what he's selling, but he also seems too dumb to pull of anything grand. More than likely, I think he just got spooked and then caught himself in a predicament.

If anyone is interested:  http://www.americanbar.org/groups/young_lawyers/events_cle/Case_of_SGT_Bowe_Bergdahl.html

Hero or Traitor?
An Overview of the Military Justice System and the Case For (and Against) the Prosecution of SGT Bowe Bergdahl


Join us on July 13 at 1 PM ET for this Free Webinar



While SGT Bowe Bergdahl's return to the United States after nearly five years in captivity in Afghanistan was celebrated by some--including President Obama's very public remarks from the Rose Garden upon his release--things began spiraling quickly for Bergdahl as allegations arose in the news media and through American's most popular and talked about podcast, Serial, that shed a different light on the circumstances of his disappearance and time in captivity.  Now Bergdahl finds himself standing trial before a U.S. Army court-martial.  Tune in to hear military justice policy experts discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the government's case, a primer on the military legal system, and how Bergdahl will--and is--defending himself against the government's charges.

 

[bigmarc27]

I won't spoil too much, but I've started listening again, picking up at Episode 6. 

One interesting point is that BB had enlisted in the Coast Guard prior to his Army enlistment. And he couldn't hack basic training for the CG. He was given a psych discharge with weird circumstances. 

And so the issue is how was he later able to enlist in the army given the psych discharge? Is the Army at all responsible for recruiting a mentally questionable recruit?

I also read recently that BB was diagnosed with Schizotypal Personality Disorder and PTSD upon evaluation after his return. I'm not excusing his actions, but there is no way this guy should have been able to enlist. I understand that it must be difficult to foresee these things, but some signs were there. 

I finished this awhile ago, but the part about his personality disorder stuck with me for a bit. My bro-in-law has a similar personality disorder / mild autism. I can kinda see him getting really narrowly-focused on things like Bergdahl did and think he's doing something courageous even though it completely flies in the face of logic (again, possibly like Bergdahl).  That point that was made way late in the season kinda changed my perspective on things and even listening back on some of Berdahls interviews on the show, my wife and both said "that sounds just like something *bro-in law* would say.  

Anyway, I guess my perspective changed. Definitely not a hero, but I won't say he was solely responsible I guess. He should have never been there to begin with. 

 

[whoknew]

I finished this awhile ago, but the part about his personality disorder stuck with me for a bit. My bro-in-law has a similar personality disorder / mild autism. I can kinda see him getting really narrowly-focused on things like Bergdahl did and think he's doing something courageous even though it completely flies in the face of logic (again, possibly like Bergdahl).  That point that was made way late in the season kinda changed my perspective on things and even listening back on some of Berdahls interviews on the show, my wife and both said "that sounds just like something *bro-in law* would say.  

Anyway, I guess my perspective changed. Definitely not a hero, but I won't say he was solely responsible I guess. He should have never been there to begin with. 

I listened to the whole season also and that's generally where I come out. He abandoned his post and, in doing so, risked the lives of other men and women in the unit. But I tend to agree with the initial investigator - the 5 years imprisonment by the Taliban is sufficient punishment. Discharge him and move on.

 

[Maelstrom]

Weirdly enough, I was really interested in season 2, but had a hard time making it through season 1. I didn't listen live, so maybe the shared experience helped for some people, but the season 1 story didn't really catch my interest. I wanted to finish it before starting season 2, which interested me a lot to hear about the reasons behind why Bergdahl walked off. I agree with the last two comments, no hero, and was guilty of AWOL, but has probably suffered enough and shouldn't have been there to begin with.

 

[whoknew]

S-Town released on March 28.

Looks awesome -

S-Town started after a listener, John, reached out to long-time This American Life producer Brian Reed about a rumored murder in his rural Alabama town. He asked Reed to help investigate the son of a wealthy family who, according to John, had been bragging that he got away with murder.

But then, someone else died, and more mysteries about a feud and treasure emerged. So you might want to take the long way home that Tuesday.