THE BURDEN · SEASON 2
Empire on Blood
The Burden: Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he?
Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent years trying to untangle this dark intrigue. Then one day, his phone rang. It was the protege. The Burden: Empire on Blood is one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. But someone’s gotta pay.
The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic Empire on Blood, which reached #1 on the charts when it was released half a dozen years ago.
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Introducing - The Burden: Empire on Blood
The Burden: Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he?
Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent years trying to untangle this dark intrigue. Then one day, his phone rang. It was the protege. The Burden: Empire on Blood is one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. But someone’s gotta pay.
The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic Empire on Blood, which reached #1 on the charts when it was released half a dozen years ago.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood | 1. Calvin's Last Shot
Calvin Buari, who once drove BMWs and dealt crack from a violent corner in the Bronx, has served 22 years of a life sentence. The charge: double homicide. Cal insists he’s no murderer — someone else even confessed to the crime. Things are looking up for Cal when a legendary defense lawyer agrees to take on his final appeal. But then it all comes crashing down.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood | 2. Turtle Man Will Get His Man
Allen Karen was one of the best homicide prosecutors in the Bronx. He devotes his life to fighting crime – and to rescuing the 20 turtles that roam his bachelor pad. Karen uses his considerable skills – and his power to offer deals – to land a conviction in a three year old case no other prosecutor even wanted to try. Calvin Buari is in his sights. And Turtle Man is determined to take him down.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood | 3. Dwight, Poet of Evil
Calvin Buari’s former protégé in the Bronx crack trade, Dwight Robinson, loved and admired Cal. But then, feeling shunned and nursing his own ambitions, Dwight charts his own course — first with guns, then with something even more lethal: his testimony.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood | 4. Father Frank to the Rescue
Cal has been in prison for years as Dwight rules the Corner on Blood,which once belonged to Cal. Then Dwight “catches a body” and is sentenced to 25 years to life for murder. One day, Cal and Dwight, the man who testified against him, cross paths in a prison yard. Both Cal’s and Dwight’s worlds turn upside down, and alarmed prosecutors in the Bronx call in their ace. It’s all up to Father Frank now.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood | 5. Joe Barry, Private Eye
Joe Barry,Cal’s private investigator, hired in desperation when Cal’s case seems all but dead. Joe’s a hard drinking, Bible-toting P.I. who’s not afraid to lie in the service of the truth. When he connects with a witness who claims she has the answer, she gives Cal a sliver of hope.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood | 6. Evilina on the Stand
Cal’s last-shot hearing finally arrives: his new lawyers are in place, the new witness ready to testify. Turtle Man has called their written affidavits worthless “toilet paper.” He threatens to come out of retirement to make sure Cal stays locked away. But the Bronx DA has other ideas.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood | 7. This Too Shall Pass
In the aftermath of the court’s decision, Cal must adjust to a new reality. Where can a man like Cal find peace? With a mother he hasn’t seen in a decade? In a heatless van in the dead of winter? His girlfriend has waited for Cal for a decade, but he can’t bring himself to sleep inside her house. Freedom is hard.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood | 8. I Shot Him
Emel was a jailhouse legal maestro who had been locked up for 19 years for a murder he insisted he didn’t commit. Then he was forced to plead guilty to helping commit a murder in order to get home. But he clung to a letter. A letter that came from the real killer, and that one day might set him free. In body and mind.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood - Bonus Episode | Calvin Buari: Family Guy
When we last heard from Calvin Buari his murder conviction had just been overturned. But he didn't have a place to live. A lot has changed in Cal's life since then -- for one thing, you won't believe where he lives now. And Cal has brand new priorities. He says he wants to be a "family guy." So Cal is looking for love after lock-up. Or maybe it's not exactly love he's looking for? Listen now and let Cal explain.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood - Bonus Episode | Father Frank Meets His Maker
He was the detective who could get the confessions other cops couldn’t. Thus the nickname, Father Frank. It was Father Frank who rescued the prosecution’s case against Cal—until that conviction was overturned. And it was Father Frank who helped put away a 16-year-old for murder—until that conviction was also overturned. So how good was Father Frank really? The DA reopened his cases, and some even called him the Scarcella of The Bronx.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1
Empire on Blood - Bonus Episode | The TV Show
We know that after you listened to Empire on Blood: The Director's Cut, you immediately thought: Why isn't this a TV show? Remember, Malcolm Gladwell said the podcast was “The Wire” meets Shakespeare. Well, a prestigious production company thought the same thing, optioned the podcast and hired a writer to pen a pilot. In this episode we talk to the writer and his partner about the joys and heartbreak of turning a podcast into a TV pilot.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Credits
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1. Created by Steve Fishman.