ATN’s business is at its peak, but a national exposé on Dateline brings unwanted attention to the 1-900 industry. Pardes thinks there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but Michael Self disagrees and starts looking for a way out.




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Being on Top | 5

During the 1-900 number craze of the Nineties, one company provided the vast majority of phone sex. American Telnet was an empire founded by the man who called himself “The Telephone Pimp.” He ran the company “like General Motors” and got filthy rich doing it. But for the (mostly) women who answered the calls and delivered fantasies 24-7, it was a different story. The powerful stigma against sex work was always lurking just beneath the surface, until it threatened to tear apart the whole company. Hosted by Tina Horn (Why Are People Into That?), OPERATOR is an eight-part series about big ambitions, Shakespearean-level corporate backstabbing, men and women at the cutting edge of a technological revolution...and on the front lines of a sexual one. You can binge all episodes of Operator exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Find Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. 


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In the first episode of Operator, you met Mike Pardes, a colorful character with an even more colorful career history. So, when he first heard about pay-per-call phone sex, still in its infancy, he realized there was no better way to make millions. Once he got the go-ahead from a lawyer, American TelNet was born and, shortly after, the 1-900 phone sex craze hit the stratosphere.




If you want to hear the rest of Operator, you can binge all eight episodes exclusively on Wondery plus.




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Where to find Episodes 2-8 of Operator

When a charismatic young doctor announces revolutionary treatments for cancer and HIV, patients from around the world turn to him for their last chance. As medical experts praise Serhat Gumrukcu’s genius, the company he co-founded rockets in value to over half a billion dollars. But when a team of researchers makes a startling discovery, they begin to suspect the brilliant doctor is hiding a secret. From Wondery, the new season of Dr. Death: Bad Magic is a story of miraculous cures, magic and murder. Hosted by Laura Beil.




Listen to Dr. Death - Bad Magic: Wondery.fm/Dr.Death

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Listen Now: Dr. Death: Bad Magic

For real life royals, the crown jewels can be more like shiny handcuffs. There are expectations and rules – and if you break them, the consequences are big, and very public. And no, we’re not just talking about Harry and Meghan. There are royal families and wild royal tales from around the world and throughout history that you have never heard before. From Wondery comes the latest from Even the Rich co-hosts Brooke Siffrinn and Aricia Skidmore-Williams. Even the Royals takes us inside the cloistered world of royal families, past and present, where wealth and status often come at the expense of your freedom – and maybe even your life. In these stories, very human emotions, like jealousy, love, disgust, have the power to reshape the world. 

 

This is just a preview of Even the Royals. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or at wondery.fm/eventheroyals.

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Listen Now: Even the Royals

Wouldn’t you love to be a famous? Money. Red carpets. Adoring fans. Did we mention the money? But you’re also on a tightrope. Because when everyone’s watching, you’re only one misstep away from it all going terribly wrong. It’s like Rihanna said: there's a long way to fall when you're so far from earth. Join hosts Anna Leong Brophy and Emily Lloyd-Saini in Wondery’s new show Terribly Famous, as they tell the stories of our most iconic stars. After all, it’s fun to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes – especially when they’re Manolos.

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Listen Now: Terribly Famous

Dr. Robert Hadden was a trusted OB-GYN at Columbia University. Friendly, caring, unassuming… and behind the closed door of exam rooms, one of the most prolific sexual predators in New York City. During his 25-year career, he assaulted hundreds, perhaps thousands, of patients, under the guise of medical exams. Those who tried to warn Columbia were ignored or not believed. When it appeared that no one — not Hadden, not Columbia — would be held to account, it was the survivors who undertook a decade-long fight for justice.




From Wondery, Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University is a story about power: who has it, who loses it, and what it takes to get it back.




Follow Exposed on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app.




Listen to Exposed: Wondery.fm/Exposed

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Being on Top | 5

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