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'Serial' breaks iTunes record for fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads and streams

'Serial' breaks iTunes record for fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads and streams

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Serial, the ongoing true crime podcast that you should absolutely be listening to, has become a veritable phenomenon. According to Apple, the series has become the fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads in iTunes history. That number is sure to climb on the strength of healthy promotion and word of mouth, even in spite of a rising tide of criticism concerning how the show represents its core characters.

It's probably important to note (and it has been argued) that the show's explosion in popularity and the subsequent conversation on the supposed rebirth of the podcast is probably in thanks large part to the This American Life pedigree, even taking into account the show's quality. That being said, its rapid growth is great news for the medium.