The Ballad of Billy Balls

Imagine if, one day, you are accused of something. Something horrible, violent, heinous. Something you swear you did not do, and nothing you say can convince anyone otherwise — even the people closest to you.

That’s Sophia Johnson’s story.

Sophia was starting fresh: A new life, a new husband, a baby on the way. But it all unraveled on January 10, 2002, when her mother-in-law Marlyne Johnson was found bludgeoned to death in her home. Days later, Sophia was charged with the murder.

To this day, Sophia swears she didn’t do it. But someone says they witnessed it — her own brother.

When family betrays family, who do you believe? In this story of a sibling rivalry beyond compare, WBUR’s Amory Sivertson turns the clock back. She reexamines an unsolved case, a family torn apart, and a woman who wasn’t believed.

From WBUR and ZSP Media, Beyond All Repair is a 10-part true crime investigation into a cold case. The series ends with an answer.

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From the co-creator of The Ballad of Billy Balls, Crimetown and host of Morally Indefensible comes a new podcast, Firebug. In the early 1990s, a manuscript for a novel called “Points of Origin” lands at literary agencies across the country. It tells the story of a fictional serial arsonist who lights up southern California. The thing is… the fires described in the novel may actually be real. Was Points of Origin a work of fiction, or the confessions of a prolific arsonist and murderer? Host Kary Antholis goes on a journey to figure out where fiction meets reality. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

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1979 is the year that Ex-Green Beret Doctor Jeffrey MacDonald is convicted of the murders of his pregnant wife and two young daughters. It’s also the year he meets a new friend in famous journalist Joe McGinniss. Joe agrees to write a book about Jeff’s case. That book becomes a smash bestseller and a TV limited series watched by over 65 million people, but the story it tells isn’t quite the story Jeff expected and that sets off a series of events that ruin both men’s lives…Who’s the real bad guy here, the journalist or the murderer?

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iO, Austin, and Zac sit down for a very special behind-the-scenes bonus episode.

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iO and Austin pay a final visit to everyone's favorite lawslinger, Ron Kuby.

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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 residents are even tougher. They’ve weathered riots, a drug epidemic, political scandal, and innumerable other hardships, but they’re still here—and they have stories to tell.

Learn more at www.crimetownshow.com.

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iO returns some of the many compelling listener calls, while Austin checks in with old friends.

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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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As the show comes to an end, iO tries to figure out what the wisdom of it is.

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The elusive character at the center of the mystery is found, and iO gets his story.

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