Gimlet

Crimetown

News EN ↓ 54 episodes

Welcome to Crimetown, a series produced by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier in partnership with Gimlet Media. Each season, we investigate the culture of crime in a different city. In Season 2, Crimetown heads to the heart of the Rust Belt: Detroit, Michigan. From its heyday as 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...

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: www.gimletmedia.com

Author

Gimlet

Category

News

Podcast website

www.gimletmedia.com

Latest episode

Feb 25, 2025

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Episodes

Crook County: The Secret Double Life of a Mafia Hitman 25.02.2025

For over 20 years, Ken Tekiela was a celebrated firefighter, husband, and father of two —but he led a secret, double life as a hitman for the Chicago mob. When the truth came out, it destroyed his family. Now, his son Kyle, host of Crook County, is left to pick up the pieces. Crook County is the shocking true crime podcast about Kenny “The Kid” Tekiela’s rise through the ranks of the legendary org...

You Might Also Like: The Confessions of Anthony Raimondi 30.07.2024

Marc heads to Williamsburg, Brooklyn to meet a 70-year old gangster and hear him confess to the murder of Pope John Paul I. What he learns is that there’s a lot more to Anthony Raimondi than meets the eye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Introducing | Beyond All Repair 24.04.2024

A new 10-part true-crime podcast, Executive Produced and Edited by Zac Stuart-Pontier, co-creator of Crimetown. 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 hus...

Introducing “Operation: Tradebom” 27.02.2023

Everybody remembers the morning of September 11, 2001, when two passenger jets flew into the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. But the idea of toppling the towers was not new. Thirty years ago, a group of men set off a bomb in the garage beneath the North Tower, hoping it would tumble into the South Tower. At the time, this was the largest improvised explosive device ever ignited on Americ...

Bonus Episode: The Streets Don't Love You Back 05.09.2019

Growing up, Rob Boyd is ignored by his absent, womanizing father, a well-known local preacher. His mother marries a kindhearted factory worker, who helps raise Rob and his siblings. But after his stepfather is murdered, Rob goes astray, entering a brutal world of drugs and violence. To learn more about Rob's work today, visit thestreetsdontloveyouback.ning.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

S2 E19: From the Ashes 29.08.2019

In the Crimetown Season 2 finale, Kwame Kilpatrick begins his 28-year prison sentence. Although he still maintains his innocence, his chances of a retrial are slim. Meanwhile, Detroit is undergoing a remarkable economic transformation. But who is benefitting from the Motor City miracle? And is the era of crime and corruption really over? For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com...

S2 E18: United States v. Kwame Kilpatrick 22.08.2019

After a decade of scandals and a sprawling corruption investigation, Kwame Kilpatrick faces his most daunting challenge yet: a federal trial that could put him in prison for decades. The former mayor is no longer fighting for his political life or his marriage — now, he’s fighting for his freedom. For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

S2 E17: Operation Bombay Dreams 15.08.2019

For years, the FBI has been running a wide-ranging corruption investigation into the Kilpatrick administration. As they dig deeper, the feds uncover a massive pay-to-play enterprise that reaches every level of City Hall. Is Kwame Kilpatrick a crook? Or are his associates just exploiting his name in order to enrich themselves? For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com.  Learn mor...

S2 E16: Surrendered 08.08.2019

After serving 99 days in jail, former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick walks free. He heads to Texas and tries to settle into a new life. But Detroit isn’t quite ready to let him go. For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

S2 E15: The Murder of Tamara Greene 01.08.2019

With the mayor behind bars, a crusading lawyer takes up the case of slain exotic dancer Tamara Greene. Could Kwame Kilpatrick have ordered her murder — or is it all an urban legend? For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Introducing The Ballad of Billy Balls 31.07.2019

From the same team that brought you Crimetown comes Crimetown Presents: The Ballad of Billy Balls. It’s 1982 in New York City, and a man bursts into an East Village storefront apartment and shoots punk musician Billy Balls. What follows is a mystery of love and loss that examines the tender binds of family, and the stories we tell ourselves just to survive. Learn more at www.theballadofbillyballs....

S2 E14: The Affair 25.07.2019

The revelation that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had an affair with his chief of staff — a romance detailed in thousands of explicit text messages — rocks Detroit. But it’s only the beginning of their troubles. For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

S2 E13: Gary Brown v. Mayor of Detroit 18.07.2019

Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown files a whistleblower suit against City Hall, alleging he was fired for investigating the long-rumored Manoogian Mansion party. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick denies the accusations. But while he’s on the stand, he’s asked a surprising, seemingly unrelated question — one that just might bring him down.  For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com.  Learn mor...

Introducing Man in the Window 17.07.2019

From the partnership that brought you Dirty John, comes Man in the Window. Pulitzer prize winning reporter Paige St. John investigates The Golden State Killer, and traces his path of devastation through the eyes of his victims. Binge the series now at wondery.fm/CT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

S2 E12: Fake News 11.07.2019

As rumors about a wild party at the mayor’s mansion continue to spread, Kwame Kilpatrick must fend off an increasingly unsympathetic media. Meanwhile, his opponent in the next election has a double-digit lead. Can the hip hop mayor survive?  For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

S2 E11: The Hip Hop Mayor 04.07.2019

To his supporters, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is a new breed of politician: young, cool, and in touch with black culture. To his critics, his flashy appearance and taste for nightlife are evidence of his immaturity. Rumors about Kilpatrick begin to swirl: sky-high spending, an out-of-control entourage, and wild parties at the mayoral mansion. Is Kwame Kilpatrick in over his head? Or is he being target...

S2 E10: Right Here, Right Now 27.06.2019

When Mayor Coleman Young dies after twenty years in office, he leaves a yawning vacuum in Detroit’s power structure. But a successor quickly arises: a young, ambitious state legislator named Kwame Kilpatrick. He’s charismatic, larger than life, and has an impeccable political pedigree. There’s only one person who can stop Kwame Kilpatrick: himself.  For bonus content from this episode, visit crime...

S2 E09: Dimitri 20.06.2019

Dimitri Mugianis is a rarity in Detroit: a white kid whose family stayed after everyone like them left. Growing up, he throws himself into the city’s avant-garde underworld, playing in art-punk bands and partying in gay clubs. But when his taste for the nightlife becomes a full-blown heroin addiction, he realizes that he’s in trouble—and, with a hot new drug called crack hitting the streets, it’s...

S2 E08: Operation Backbone 13.06.2019

Still hung up on the unsolved murder of Damion Lucas, FBI agent Herm Groman devises an elaborate sting to ensnare the corrupt cops of the Detroit Police Department. Will it bring down Mayor Coleman Young, too?  For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

S2 E07: Who Killed Damion Lucas? 06.06.2019

A thirteen-year-old boy is murdered in a drive-by shooting. The Detroit police quickly apprehend a suspect. But the FBI is convinced that the wrong man is in jail — and that the real killers are escaping justice thanks to friends in high places.  For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

S2 E06: The Mayor, the Barber, and the Babysitter 30.05.2019

Coleman Young has more underworld connections than you might expect of a big-city mayor. Sometimes those connections come in handy. But when his favorite niece starts dating an infamous drug dealer, Mayor Young must choose between keeping her out of trouble and keeping his hands clean.  For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...

S2 E05: YBI to the Day I Die 23.05.2019

It’s the early eighties, and a new organization is revolutionizing the heroin trade: Young Boys Inc. Unlike other drug operations, YBI recruits juveniles, brands smack as if it were designer clothing, and moves the industry out of the dope houses and onto the corners. As YBI’s relentless expansion causes more and more bloodshed, its foot soldiers must reckon with their impact on Detroit.  For bonu...

S2 E04: The Kingpins' Kids 16.05.2019

When a hungry young DEA agent arrives in Detroit, he picks the perfect case to make his bones: taking down Eddie Jackson and Courtney Brown’s sprawling heroin organization. But if the drug kingpins fall, what will happen to their kids? As the feds close in, Eddie Jr. and Courtney Jr. must face the possibility of growing up without their fathers.  For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetow...

S2 E03: The Fat Man and the Field Marshall 09.05.2019

Eddie Jackson and Courtney Brown are childhood friends from a poor neighborhood. Eddie is the troublemaker, drawn to Detroit’s seamier side; Courtney is his quiet, serious sidekick. As they grow older in a city with dwindling job options, they go their separate ways. But when Eddie dives into the heroin trade, Courtney faces a choice: play it safe and stay broke, or join his friend’s burgeoning em...

S2 E02: The Battle for Detroit 02.05.2019

A police shooting outside a community center leaves two black teenagers dead. Protesters take to the streets, igniting a movement to elect the city’s first black mayor. As election day approaches, the future of a racially polarized city hangs in the balance. For bonus content from this episode, visit crimetownshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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