Crimetown Presents is an investigative anthology podcast series created by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier. Every season they introduce you to a new serialized story that pushes the boundaries of storytelling, sound design and music.
Season Two, 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.
Season One, The RFK Tapes: Zac Stuart-Pontier and Bill Klaber take a trip down a rabbit hole surrounding the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Featuring never-before heard police recordings, The RFK Tapes starts out a murder investigation and ends up revealing the power of conspiracy theories, and why it’s human nature to believe in them.
* scroll down to see the episodes of Crimetown Presents: The Ballad of Billy Balls.
I enjoyed the show. It took me on a journey, and shone the spotlight on the importance of RFK’s message as well as the intrigue behind his murder.
My only criticism was the of the last bonus episode. It felt like Bill was having his face rubbed in it. He may be barking up the wrong tree but the other chap is clearly an arrogant ding dong.
I thought the conversation with Zac’s father was the fitting place to leave it. Gentle, measured and convincing. But what I know?
