The Ballad of Billy Balls
It’s 1982, and a man bursts into an East Village storefront apartment and shoots punk musician Billy Balls. Author and activist iO Tillett Wright and Crimetown Producer Austin Mitchell unravel a mystery of love and loss, the tender binds of family, and the stories we tell ourselves just to survive. Created by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier.
Episodes
"Crimetown Presents: The Ballad of Billy Balls" premiers March 28th, 2019.
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New York City. The 1970s. Artists flock to the East Village hoping to make a name for themselves. Enter Rebecca, an aspiring model, who meets Billy Balls, a rock and roll musician like no other. They fall madly in love and are inseparable, until one night, when Billy is mysteriously shot.
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After Billy dies, his body disappears and strange things start to happen. Rebecca insists the whole thing is a cover up and we set out to find the truth.
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As the investigation begins, iO explores Billy's journey to New York City.
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iO explores a darker side of Billy - did it lead to his death?
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Was there a conspiracy to murder Billy in order to keep him quiet? iO's search for an answer leads to a sobering reality.
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Amanda, a game-changing character, tells her story.
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iO and Austin track down some concrete evidence.
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Gangster Capitalism Season 1 is centered on the 2019 college admissions scandal that is exposing everyone from CEOs to celebrities. Award-winning documentarian Andrew Jenks uncovers the origins and inner workings of this unprecedented scam, introducing you to the people involved, and exploring the larger debate around higher education that is being brought to the forefront.
Gangster Capitalism is a production of C13Originals, a divi...
After months of anticipation, iO and Austin receive the biggest piece of evidence yet.
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Rebecca's grief in the years following Billy’s death leads her to an unlikely source of comfort, and a big surprise.
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iO's upbringing pushes him to a life or death moment, and his path toward healing leads straight to Billy.
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iO takes Rebecca on a trip 37 years in the making.
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The elusive character at the center of the mystery is found, and iO gets his story.
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As the show comes to an end, iO tries to figure out what the wisdom of it is.
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In the afterglow of the season, we play some voicemails we've received from our wonderful listeners.
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iO returns some of the many compelling listener calls, while Austin checks in with old friends.
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From the same team behind The Ballad of Billy Balls comes Crimetown, Season 2.
This season, Crimetown heads to Detroit, Michigan. From its heyday as the Motor City to its rebirth as the Brooklyn of the Midwest, Detroit’s history reflects a series of issues that strike at the heart of American identity: race, poverty, policing, loss of industry, the war on drugs, and our universal desire for a savior. Detroit’s a tough town, and its...
iO and Austin pay a final visit to everyone's favorite lawslinger, Ron Kuby.
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iO, Austin, and Zac sit down for a very special behind-the-scenes bonus episode.
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