Bad news, Serial listeners (and The Serial Serial listeners)—the wait between episodes just became a little more excruciating. According to The New York Times, the podcast is moving to a biweekly schedule to give Serial staff time for “additional reporting” following an “unexpected development” in this season’s story, that of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured in 2009 by a Taliban-aligned group (after leaving his post) and released in 2014 as part of a prisoner exchange brokered by the White House.
Executive producer Julie Snyder told the Times that “[s]ince we started broadcasting the show, we have gotten more people willing to talk, and because of that, it has opened up more avenues of reporting.” Snyder wouldn’t divulge just whom the staff would interview, but did describe the recent developments as more “narrative” in nature: “I hesitate on calling them news developments,” she stated. The schedule change goes into effect immediately, with this week’s episode pushed to January 21.
[h/t Vulture]