Do you have December 18 circled on your calendar? You should, because it's an unofficial end of days. Both The Colbert Report and Serial are ending next Thursday. Where will we get our weekly fix of true crime reporting? How will we know at whom we should be tipping our hats or wagging our fingers?
Perhaps to alleviate our separation anxiety, the two cultural phenomenons had a meeting of the minds on last night's Colbert Report. Sarah Koenig sat down with a skeptical Stephen Colbert, who couldn't quite believe how quickly the podcast became a bonafide hit. He poked fun at Koenig in the beginning, ribbing her with questions like, "As a journalist, did you always want to do true crime reporting that people listen to on a treadmill?" He also points out that Serial takes place in Baltimore — "the same fictional city as from The Wire."
Things took a more serious turn when Colbert started pumping Koenig for the same answers we all seek. Koenig wouldn't give up anything, though, since she's still reporting the story and doesn't have all the answers yet herself. She also doesn't know the answer to the most important Serial-related question: "Can you just tell me if by the end of the series that girl ever learns to pronounce Mail Chimp?" Sarah, inquiring minds want to know.