Lawyers defending a Bibb County man who is featured in the popular podcast “S-Town” have asked a judge to remove any mention of the show during an upcoming trial.

Attorneys Cedrick Coleman and J.D. Terry recently filed a request to prevent the podcast from being mentioned, introduced as evidence or alluded to by “any attorney, party or witness” during the burglary trial of Tyler Goodson, who was friends with John B. McLemore, the central figure of “S-Town.”

Goodson, 26, is charged with several counts of burglary, theft of property and criminal trespass for going onto McLemore’s property and taking items after McLemore's death in June 2015.

The trial is set to begin Oct. 16 with some motions set to be taken up Friday, including the one to keep “S-Town” from being discussed.

“S-Town,” which has been downloaded more than 65 million times since its debut in March, plays an integral role in the case. After the podcast’s debut back in March, prosecutor Bryan Jones listened to the show and added more charges against Goodson based on what he heard on the program.

In addition, there is a recording of McLemore on the podcast saying he would like to leave things for Goodson and his family in the event of his death. However, McLemore never left a written will and his estate went to his mother. Goodson claims he only took things that already belonged to him.

While Jones said he has plans to submit portions of “S-Town” as evidence, Coleman told The Tuscaloosa News it should not be submitted at all because of how it was edited.

“We don’t have the raw audio,” Coleman said. “All we have is an edited, seven-hour series from more than 100 hours of interviews.

“Without the original, we don’t believe any of it should come out.”

If either the state or the defense wanted to subpoena the full audio records from the show, they would have to file a motion for the recordings in a court in New York, where the show’s production company, “This American Life,” is headquartered. Coleman said it was not feasible for either him or Terry to go to New York to request the recordings.

In an email sent to The Tuscaloosa News back in June, “S-Town” creator and host Brian Reed declined to comment on the case. It is not known whether the state has plans to secure Reed’s appearance during the trial. Attempts to reach Jones for comment were not successful Monday.

Goodson’s attorneys have tried to use the show’s popularity as reason to move the trial outside Bibb County. On Sept. 19, Circuit Judge Don McMillan denied their motion to have the trial moved to somewhere else in the circuit — specifically Wilcox County — where people may not be aware of the podcast.

During the hearing, Jones said it would be premature to move the trial elsewhere without voir dire, the process of striking an impartial jury. Coleman said he would like to be able to ask jurors if they had heard of “S-Town” and whether they could be an objective juror, while not giving any details about the show itself.

Coleman said he and Terry would continue to push having the trial elsewhere if they feel an impartial jury could not be struck in Bibb County.

Since its release, “S-Town” has remained one of the most popular podcasts on the iTunes charts and has received critical acclaim.

Reach Drew Taylor at drew.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.