31 episodes

In a sport famed for money and excess, what does it take to get to the top...and stay there? Rising from a life of hardship and crime, Don King became the most successful boxing promoter the sport has ever seen—and the first Black man to do so. He is his own American Dream. His flamboyant appearance and commanding personality made him a star in and out of the ring, as did his promotion of greats like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and even America’s musical dynasty, the Jacksons. But his less-than-honest exploits? They made him legendary.

Season two of Power tells the story of Hugh Hefner. Who was Hugh Hefner? Centerfold models, Playboy Bunnies, and other women from the Playboy founder’s inner circle, like TV personality and author Holly Madison, tell journalist Amy Rose Spiegel their side of his story. We hear how Playboy changed their lives, for better and for worse. Beyond the bunny tails are darker questions: What actually went on at the notorious Playboy Mansion? How can we square Hefner's progressive legacy with his abuse of vulnerable people? What can the Playboy saga tell us about sex and power—then and now?

Season one of Power tells the story of Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged partner in crime). Everyone’s heard of her, but there’s a shadowy figure who hangs above her who you likely don’t know: her father, media tycoon Robert Maxwell. His rise from nothing to fall… from the deck of his super yacht under mysterious circumstances is straight out of a crime novel. His favourite daughter Ghislaine’s theory: her father was murdered.

Power is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Power: Don King Sony Music Entertainment

    • True Crime
    • 4.2 • 145 Ratings

In a sport famed for money and excess, what does it take to get to the top...and stay there? Rising from a life of hardship and crime, Don King became the most successful boxing promoter the sport has ever seen—and the first Black man to do so. He is his own American Dream. His flamboyant appearance and commanding personality made him a star in and out of the ring, as did his promotion of greats like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and even America’s musical dynasty, the Jacksons. But his less-than-honest exploits? They made him legendary.

Season two of Power tells the story of Hugh Hefner. Who was Hugh Hefner? Centerfold models, Playboy Bunnies, and other women from the Playboy founder’s inner circle, like TV personality and author Holly Madison, tell journalist Amy Rose Spiegel their side of his story. We hear how Playboy changed their lives, for better and for worse. Beyond the bunny tails are darker questions: What actually went on at the notorious Playboy Mansion? How can we square Hefner's progressive legacy with his abuse of vulnerable people? What can the Playboy saga tell us about sex and power—then and now?

Season one of Power tells the story of Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged partner in crime). Everyone’s heard of her, but there’s a shadowy figure who hangs above her who you likely don’t know: her father, media tycoon Robert Maxwell. His rise from nothing to fall… from the deck of his super yacht under mysterious circumstances is straight out of a crime novel. His favourite daughter Ghislaine’s theory: her father was murdered.

Power is a Sony Music Entertainment production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Don King | 1. Make Me Big

    Don King | 1. Make Me Big

    We track Don King’s path to boxing, from a poverty-stricken childhood, to a crime-laden young adulthood, and finally to the moment he enters the arena by attaching himself to greatest fighter of all time. But when you go from the bottom to the top, or at least pretty close, not everyone is happy. 



    Power is a Somethin’ Else production with Sony Music Entertainment. 



    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 



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    • 36 min
    Don King | 2. The Greatest

    Don King | 2. The Greatest

    Don builds his masterpiece, one of the greatest boxing matches in history, his piece de resistance: The Rumble in the Jungle. But when he tries to capitalize on that success to take over control of The Greatest…well that might not turn out as well as he hoped.



    Power is a Somethin’ Else production with Sony Music Entertainment. 



    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 



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    • 35 min
    Don King | 3. Never Fall in Love with your Fighter

    Don King | 3. Never Fall in Love with your Fighter

    Don moves on after his first failure and realizes instead of trying to control one fighter, he’s going to control them all. He assembles a whole stable of fighters including Tim Witherspoon. The business side sours fast, and soon Don is getting sued. Even if he walks away unscathed, people are taking notice… 



    Power is a Somethin’ Else production with Sony Music Entertainment. 



    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 



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    • 39 min
    Don King | 4. Catch Me if You Can

    Don King | 4. Catch Me if You Can

    Don finds himself on the wrong end of the FBI. They set up an undercover operation to take down boxing’s number one promoter, figuring he’ll be able to show them just how deep the mob’s ties go in the boxing world. Who is passing envelopes of cash? Who is rigging things? In this one FBI agent’s quest to clean up the sport, would he be able to make an example of Don King?



    Power is a Somethin’ Else production with Sony Music Entertainment. 



    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 


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    • 30 min
    Don King | 5. The Dream

    Don King | 5. The Dream

    Don King meets his future in Mike Tyson. Tyson is a prodigy, a boxer overflowing with talent and hunger—and he falls early into Don’s orbit. Don gets on board Tyson’s wild ride and they prop each other up, all the way to the top. But when Tyson’s winning streak ends in a way no one expected, Don has to figure out, what happens now? 



    Power is a Somethin’ Else production with Sony Music Entertainment. 



    Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 


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    • 37 min

Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5
145 Ratings

145 Ratings

Petzaluna ,

Fascinating background

It’s fascinating to understand where Ghislaine Maxwell came from and compare the corrupt, exploitative narcissists she looked to for protection.

Some of the pronunciation is distracting.

“Ghislaine” is a french name pronounced
gee-H-lane the host says “guhl-lane” and it sounds a bit lazy.

I’m more distracted by the constant pronunciation of “anti Semitic” as “anti seh-MEH-teck“, this imprecise pronunciation seems poor form from someone who should have had to spell this word hundreds of times during research and scripting and know the difference between “ih” and “eh”. The apparent ignorance of the word takes away from some of the sharp research and journalistic professionalism.

Content is good and I’m enjoying the investigation of the theories conspiracies and facades of the rich and powerful

FinnyKD ,

What’s with the sexy voice

Good topic but the hosts ‘sexy/sultry’ voice is so irritating. Just tell the story.

frafka ,

Tedious Brits

Mostly the opinions of former staffers, including British journalists, who love nothing better to gloat about Robert Maxwells’s social ambitions. Lots of whining and unsubstantiated anecdotes. While I gather we are supposed to be horrified by the behaviour of the Maxwells, it’s the whinging testamurs that are most grating. So what if Robert and Ghislaine “Miaowed” on the phone?
I’m not really willing to go further and am ditching this at episode 3.

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