Back before there was "Caliphate" or "Slow Burn" or many of the podcasts you probably have downloaded right now, there was "Serial," the investigative serialized podcast from Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder. Narrated by Koenig, "Serial" became the first mega-hit in the podcast world (it's been downloaded more than 340 million times) and was the first podcast ever to win a Peabody Award. The first season gripped audiences with the case of Adnan Syed; the second was a look into the court-martial of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.Now, "Serial" is officially back with its third season, and this time it's tackling the less "flashy" side of the criminal justice system. Koenig, along with her co-reporter Emmanuel Dzotsi, spent more than a year inside Cleveland's criminal courts, learning the ins and outs of cases. The first two episodes will drop on Sept. 20, with new episodes released each Thursday after that (though you can listen to a trailer right now). Below, Koenig talks to ELLE.com about the inspiration behind this year's season, what it's like to be podcast famous, and the instrumental partnership that makes "Serial" what it is.How did you decide on this topic for season 3?Sarah Koenig: I have to rewind my head like, "What were we thinking?" One answer is that 맥스카지노� we did season 1 and it was about this case and, in some ways, it was a story about: Did this person do this or did they not? A more interesting question to me was: What is this trial and what does it mean and how is our system working? And what we realized kind of at the end was, I think it맥스카지노�s hard to say based on one case, and especially one case that맥스카지노�s not your typical . wasn맥스카지노�t the usual kind of defendant that you see. He has no criminal record. He has this private attorney. This kid goes to trial and has, not one, but two trials, and they last a long time. And some of that is sort of what맥스카지노�s really happening in our system, all day long in our courthouses.Julie , my partner, had read this book by Steve Bogira called "Courtroom 302." He spends a year inside a courtroom in Chicago. We all read it, and we were like, "It맥스카지노�d be cool if we could do something like that for radio." So that맥스카지노�s kind of what we set out to do. Let맥스카지노�s see if we can get our arms around the system in a bigger way, by looking at smaller, less flashy cases, more the day-to-day grind of the courts. What would we learn?It sounds like you'll be telling many stories within the court, as opposed to one longer story.Right, it is not one single case.Is the format going to be the same as before? How does it differ from past seasons?I guess it is different in that, if you맥스카지노�re a purist in terms of what a serial actually is, this is not a pure serial. It맥스카지노�s not one story that맥스카지노�s continuing over time. But in every other way, I think you맥스카지노�re going to recognize that it맥스카지노�s "Serial." Also, some of the stories do last more than one episode ... so people do come back and their cases come back, but they맥스카지노�re not so tightly linked. There맥스카지노�s one episode that맥스카지노�s about this one judge and what his courtroom is like, and there맥스카지노�s another episode that맥스카지노�s inside the prosecutor맥스카지노�s office. Other ones are more about the actual criminal, a specific criminal case. It맥스카지노�s a mix of things, which was hard, because we didn맥스카지노�t know what we were looking for. When we went, we were like, "I맥스카지노�m just going to sit here and wander around and listen and see what I see," which you think would be like, "Oh that맥스카지노�s so freeing, so much liberty," but it was terrifying because you맥스카지노�re like, "I don맥스카지노�t know what my story is. What맥스카지노�s my story? What is this, what is this, what is this?" So it took us a while to figure out what we were doing. Then all of the sudden, it just sort of clicked in.I read that you once said people might not like season 2 as much as season 1. Do you think people will like season 3? I don맥스카지노�t think I said people wouldn맥스카지노�t like season 2. Season 2 has a piece of my heart. Season 3 is very close to my heart. The stories are really good, and we맥스카지노�re really excited to tell them to people. Then again 맥스카지노� if you맥스카지노�re looking for a murder mystery, this is not it.At the end of the day, you can맥스카지노�t worry about it because it맥스카지노�ll make you nuts. You맥스카지노�re either going to do the stories you want to do or you맥스카지노�re going to do the thing you know will be some sort of pop culture sensation. I suppose if you hit gold then both of those come together, but whatever. We don맥스카지노�t worry about it because you can맥스카지노�t.I really want to ask about your partnership with Julie. I love seeing two women dominate in this arena. What is that like for you? What does she help bring out?"Serial" doesn맥스카지노�t exist without Julie. I honestly think that she맥스카지노�s the best radio editor in the world. Her talent is so strong and so specific that it맥스카지노�s hard for me to actually articulate. She맥스카지노�s the one who we맥스카지노�re sort of dumping all of our reporting back at as it맥스카지노�s happening. She맥스카지노�s the one that맥스카지노�s processing all of that information. And then at the end, we all come together, and she맥스카지노�s the one맥스카지노�we맥스카지노�re all doing it맥스카지노�but she맥스카지노�s the one that맥스카지노�s like, "Wait. I see it. I see what this could be," in a way that none of the rest of us are quite capable of doing. She just has an extraordinary narrative talent. I definitely can맥스카지노�t do what I do without Julie. I don맥스카지노�t know if she feels the same way about me. Honestly, I don맥스카지노�t think she does because she can do her thing with anybody, but I can맥스카지노�t do my thing with anybody else.So, what맥스카지노�s it been like to be Sarah Koenig in the last couple of years?Busy in a good way, in a way entirely of my own choosing, especially the last couple of years because I was going back and forth to Cleveland. I have two kids, who are not babies or anything, but I like to be home with my kids. I think, like many busy, working people, that was a constant push-pull. I know this is the most boring answer I could possibly give, but it맥스카지노�s real. My life is a constant family, work, family, work, family, work and trying to figure that out. And it맥스카지노�s not easy. I have a very understanding family. If whether or not it맥스카지노�s glamorous, the answer is no. . Not at all.So the life of a big time podcaster isn맥스카지노�t all limousines and맥스카지노�No, no. Very grubby. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.