Brow Beat

Serial Season 2 Is Here—and Yes, It Actually Is About Bowe Bergdahl

Bowe Bergdahl.

Photo by U.S. Army via Getty Images

At long last, Serials second season has landed. The rumors were true: As Maxim reported (to Serial’s chagrin) in September, it’s about Bowe Bergdahl. Last year, Bergdahl was successfully brought home to the U.S. after spending five years held captive by the Taliban. But controversy quickly erupted as soldiers from Bergdahl’s unit said he’d deserted. The army launched an investigation, and this year Bergdahl was charged with two crimes: desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The latter can carry a sentence of up to life in prison.

From Serial:

Through all of this, Bergdahl has been quiet. He hasn’t spoken to the press or done any interviews on TV. He’s been like a ghost at the center of a raucous fight.

Now, in Season Two, we get to hear what he has to say.

For this season, Sarah Koenig teams up with filmmaker Mark Boal and Page 1 to find out why one idiosyncratic guy decided to walk away, into Afghanistan, and how the consequences of that decision have spun out wider and wider. It’s a story that has played out in unexpected ways from the start. And it’s a story that’s still going on.

The first episode of Season 2 is available for download here.

Read more in Slate about Serial.