10 episodes

New York City, 1973. Bob Guccione, the founder of the men’s magazine Penthouse, is about to drop his latest project, and it’s not quite what anyone is expecting. Enter Viva, an erotic magazine for women published by a porn king but staffed by – drumroll – a bunch of feminist writers and editors. Viva features groundbreaking full-frontal male nudes, writing by feminist icons like Betty Friedan, and profiles of literary legends like Maya Angelou. Its cover stars include Bianca Jagger and Shelley Duvall. Anna Wintour is even Viva’s fashion editor at one point. But what is originally conceived as a high-end, progressive, sexual utopia for women… doesn't quite turn out that way.

Stiffed is an Original Series from Crooked Media and iHeartPodcasts. You can listen to all 8 episodes out now, wherever you get your podcasts.

Stiffed iHeartPodcasts

    • History
    • 4.3 • 180 Ratings

New York City, 1973. Bob Guccione, the founder of the men’s magazine Penthouse, is about to drop his latest project, and it’s not quite what anyone is expecting. Enter Viva, an erotic magazine for women published by a porn king but staffed by – drumroll – a bunch of feminist writers and editors. Viva features groundbreaking full-frontal male nudes, writing by feminist icons like Betty Friedan, and profiles of literary legends like Maya Angelou. Its cover stars include Bianca Jagger and Shelley Duvall. Anna Wintour is even Viva’s fashion editor at one point. But what is originally conceived as a high-end, progressive, sexual utopia for women… doesn't quite turn out that way.

Stiffed is an Original Series from Crooked Media and iHeartPodcasts. You can listen to all 8 episodes out now, wherever you get your podcasts.

    Introducing: Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto

    Introducing: Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto

    What happens when a city on the verge of collapse tries to reinvent itself? How much will it cost? Who will pay the price? Reporter David Weinberg spent years following one city in California’s Mojave desert as it tried to transform itself from a city of prisons to a city of pot. And it worked…for a while. Until it, spectacularly, didn’t. From Crooked Media, this is Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto. Listen to Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto starting June 7th, wherever you get your podcasts.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 2 min
    The Last Word

    The Last Word

    As the 1970s come to a close, so does Viva’s run as one of America’s first feminist porn magazines. We explore what the legacy of Viva magazine tells us about issues of female sexuality and sexual autonomy, and how many of these battles are still being fought today.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 29 min
    Wintour of Their Discontent

    Wintour of Their Discontent

    As a last Hail Mary to save Viva, Bob and Kathy hire a young, up-and-coming fashion director — none other than a fresh-faced, pre-Vogue Anna Wintour. But will she be enough to save the floundering publication?
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 28 min
    Midlife Crisis

    Midlife Crisis

    As Viva reaches the third of its six-year run, it’s having its own version of a midlife crisis, and the editors have to make some tough decisions about what kind of magazine Viva needs to be to survive.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 29 min
    Not-So-Porno Chic

    Not-So-Porno Chic

    As Viva continues to stumble along and figure itself out, so does seemingly everyone else in the 1970s. In the midst of the sexual revolution and the rise of “Porno Chic,” there’s a chorus of anti-porn feminists attacking Bob Guccione’s publishing empire, and Viva’s caught in the middle.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 30 min
    Phallus in Wonderland

    Phallus in Wonderland

    The Viva staff have hit their stride and are finally publishing smart, progressive, feminist content alongside the magazine’s male nudes, and their latest issue is about to be their most revolutionary – and controversial – one to date.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 26 min

Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5
180 Ratings

180 Ratings

Future PFAS Researcher ,

Great storytelling, too many ads

Love the storytelling but I could only make it through the first episode with all the ad breaks.

GigiOliviere ,

Podcasts rely on ads, too..

Some of the companies this network/series (?) approved for ad sponsorship really threw me. Most were generically terrible as advertisements usually are, but others were blatantly, outright racist and/or promoting - no joke- “patriotic farm food” and assuring listeners to “remember.. we’re definitely not trying to sell you survival food”. What’s happening here, guys? This type of ad experience was a first for me and hopefully it will be the last. There are too many other quality shows out there to support any of that nonsense with my listenership.

Anyway with that said, I really enjoyed this series- it was interesting, well-researched, and the host has a lovely voice and presentation. Well done.

NolaJulie ,

6 minutes of ads in the first 20

This isn’t cool to listen to with a disruptive quantity of ads

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