Serial vs S-Town: Which Investigative Podcast Should You Listen to First?

Serial and S-Town are two of the most celebrated podcasts ever made. Serial invented binge-podcast culture. S-Town may be the greatest single audio achievement in the medium's history. Both come from the same team at This American Life. But they're completely different experiences—and only one of them is right for your first listen.

📊 Quick Comparison

📻 Serial

What It Is

Serial premiered in October 2014 and changed podcasting forever. Sarah Koenig, a veteran This American Life producer, spent a year investigating the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and the conviction of her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed. She released her findings week by week, in real time, not knowing how the story would end. The result was the fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads in iTunes history and the beginning of the true crime podcast boom. Three more seasons followed, each tackling a different story and form.

Strengths

• Invented the format: Serial created the investigative podcast genre. Before Serial, podcasts were mostly radio reruns and talking heads. After Serial, narrative podcasting became an art form.
• Genuine uncertainty: Sarah doesn't know how Season 1 ends when she starts recording. Her confusion is your confusion. The not-knowing is the point.
• Addictive pacing: Each episode ends with a new revelation or new doubt. Season 1 is binge-worthy in a way that rivals prestige television.
• Season variety: Each season is a completely different story. Season 3 (the Cleveland courthouse) is underrated journalism. Season 4 (Guantanamo) is chilling.
• Cultural moment: Listening to Serial Season 1 for the first time is a shared cultural experience. Millions of people went through it together.

Weaknesses

• No clean resolution: Serial doesn't give you answers. It gives you doubt. If you need closure, you won't find it here.
• Ethical questions: The show raised real concerns about journalism ethics—particularly around Adnan Syed and the Lee family, who did not consent to their tragedy becoming entertainment.
• Season quality varies: Season 1 is a 10/10. Season 2 (Bowe Bergdahl) is compelling but complicated. Seasons 3 and 4 are underappreciated but feel different in texture.
• It's been analyzed to death: Season 1 has spawned so many follow-up documentaries, podcasts, and takes that you may arrive feeling like you already know the story.

Best Episodes / Seasons to Start

• Season 1, Episode 1 - "The Alibi": The best pilot episode in podcast history. You will not stop after one.
• Season 1, Episode 5 - "Route Talk": Sarah drives the route with Adnan. Gripping, methodical journalism.
• Season 3 (entire): The most underrated season. A ground-level look at the American criminal justice system through dozens of small cases.
• Season 4 (entire): The most ambitious season. Deeply reported on Guantanamo Bay and the men still held there.

Who Should Listen

✅ True crime fans who want substantive journalism
✅ Mystery lovers comfortable with ambiguity
✅ Anyone interested in the American justice system
✅ Podcast newcomers who want to understand what the medium can do

🕰️ S-Town

What It Is

S-Town was released on March 28, 2017, all seven chapters at once, by Serial Productions and This American Life. Brian Reed, a TAL producer, was contacted by a brilliant, eccentric clockmaker in Woodstock, Alabama named John B. McLemore, who claimed there had been a murder cover-up in his town and wanted Brian to investigate. Brian traveled to Alabama. The murder story turned out to be nothing. But John B. McLemore turned out to be one of the most extraordinary human beings anyone had ever encountered—and then everything changed. S-Town became the most downloaded podcast in history within weeks of its release.

Strengths

• Nothing like it exists: S-Town is not a true crime podcast. It's not an investigative podcast in any traditional sense. It is a portrait of a human being—rendered in audio with the craft of literary fiction.
• John B. McLemore: One of the most fascinating people ever captured on tape. A genius, a recluse, a climate doomsayer, a horologist, a maze-builder, and someone in profound pain. You will not forget him.
• The pivot: What happens at the end of Chapter 2 completely reframes everything. The best structural surprise in podcasting history.
• Brian Reed's reporting: Reed spent years on this story. The depth of his reporting—and his evident affection for his subject—makes every chapter feel earned.
• The writing: S-Town is written with the precision and care of literary journalism. Sentences matter. Metaphors land. It rewards re-listening.
• Complete and finite: Seven chapters. Done. Unlike ongoing true crime podcasts, S-Town has a beginning, middle, and end. It is a perfect object.

Weaknesses

• Ethical controversy: S-Town received criticism for revealing private details about John B. McLemore—his sexuality, his unconventional relationships, his mental health—without his consent (he died before the show aired). This is a legitimate concern worth sitting with.
• Slow start: Chapter 1 is a conventional setup that gives no hint of what's coming. Some listeners bounce off it before Chapter 2 redefines the project.
• Not for every mood: S-Town is melancholy. It deals with depression, climate despair, death, and isolation. It is not light listening.
• Not what it advertises: If you arrive expecting a murder mystery, you'll be disoriented. The show is something far stranger and richer than its premise suggests.

Best Chapters to Start (and the Right Order)

• Start at Chapter 1: The setup matters. Don't skip it even if it feels slow.
• Chapter 2 - The pivot: The moment S-Town becomes something else entirely. Everything after this chapter is different.
• Chapter 4 - The maze: John's maze-building and his relationship with Tyler. One of the most beautiful things in audio journalism.
• Chapter 7 - The end: A perfect, heartbreaking conclusion. Listen to it twice.

Who Should Listen

✅ Fans of literary fiction and narrative nonfiction
✅ Anyone fascinated by extraordinary people
✅ Listeners who can handle ambiguity and melancholy
✅ People who want the single greatest podcast ever made

🥊 Head-to-Head

Addictiveness

Winner: Serial (Season 1)
Serial was designed to keep you clicking next. The cliffhangers, the uncertainty, the "wait, what?" endings—nothing in podcasting is more binge-worthy. S-Town is captivating, but slower and more contemplative.

Artistic Achievement

Winner: S-Town
S-Town is a work of art. Serial is extraordinary journalism. Both are brilliant, but S-Town achieves something in audio that has never been replicated before or since.

Replayability

Winner: S-Town
S-Town rewards re-listening like a great novel. Details in early chapters take on new meaning once you know where the story goes. Serial is best experienced fresh, not revisited.

Emotional Impact

Winner: S-Town
S-Town will break your heart in a way that stays with you for months. Serial is gripping and disturbing, but the emotional register is different—anxiety and outrage versus grief and love.

Cultural Impact

Winner: Serial
Serial changed the podcast industry. S-Town was a sensation—but Serial came first and created the conditions that made S-Town possible.

Completeness

Winner: S-Town
S-Town is a finished work. Serial Season 1 ends without resolution. If you need a story that ends, S-Town is the clear choice.

🎯 Which One Should You Listen to First?

Listen to Serial first if you:

• Are new to investigative podcasts
• Love true crime and murder mysteries
• Want something you can discuss with friends who've already heard it
• Prefer episodic structure to a seven-chapter arc
• Want to understand why podcasting exploded as a medium

Listen to S-Town first if you:

• Are comfortable with literary, non-linear storytelling
• Want the single most acclaimed podcast ever made
• Prefer character over case
• Can commit seven hours to something that starts slowly
• Want an experience that will genuinely move you

The Honest Answer

Listen to both. They're both essential. But most people find Serial easier to enter—the true crime hook is immediately gripping. Start with Serial Season 1 (9 hours), then go straight to S-Town. In that order, you'll understand exactly how the medium evolved from compulsive mystery machine to genuine art form.

🔗 Related Reading

For more from this world, read our guide to the best Serial podcast episodes across all four seasons and the best narrative and storytelling podcasts of 2026. If true crime is your thing, see our full best true crime podcasts list.

✨ The Verdict

For your first listen: Serial Season 1. The most accessible, addictive, world-changing podcast ever made. Start here.

For the greatest podcast ever made: S-Town. Seven chapters. Seven hours. One extraordinary human being. Unmissable.

For the full experience: Serial, then S-Town, in that order. You'll understand not just two great podcasts but the entire arc of what narrative audio journalism can do.