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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Peter McIndoe is the founder of the Birds Aren't Real movement-slash-conspiracy theory. He is also the author of the book, Birds Aren't Real: The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in U.S. History. Peter doesn’t believe any of that, by the way, but he has good insights on the type of people who do. Plus, how public access to subway brakes, the inability to license a pot store, and a 30-year-old San Fransisco "shanty town" clearance offer lessons in can-do (and can't-do) governance. Please follow the show!

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Justin Bonus talks to Steve and Dax about his journey from hiphop entrepreneur to nationally acclaimed attorney for the wrongfully convicted. 

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Did Steve and Dax get it wrong? Is Louie Scarcella as bad as his portrayal in the media?

Steve and Dax speak with several of Scarcella’s colleagues who share their admiration for him and stand by his work as a detective.

The Burden is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1

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