How ambitious LA girl Heidi Fleiss rose to become a “Hollywood Madam” in the early 90s, and how she fell at the hands of American sexual hypocrisy. A kaleidoscopic look at sex, drugs, glamour and corruption in Los Angeles.
Chapter 1: An LA Story: How Heidi Fleiss’s Family Came To Be And How One Car Accident Changed Them Forever (The 1970s)
In Chapter One we meet young Heidi and the rest of the Fleiss family, delving into the bohemian California lifestyle of the 70s as Heidi ditches high school for her first hustles.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 2: Party Girl On The Sunset Strip: Heidi Chases Thrills Instead Of Stability And Finds Out There’s a Whole Secret Underground World Of Partying for the Super Rich (the 1980s)
In episode 2 we delve into the sordid history of the Sunset Strip, where Heidi Fleiss finds herself waitressing in the 80s. Then Heidi hits VIP club Helena’s with the stars and later makes a love connection with mysterious millionaire Berni...
Chapter 3: Midcentury Madam: Madam Alex Rules LA and Teaches Heidi The Rules Of The Game (60s, 70s, 80s)
The story of how Madam Alex left a Catholic girlhood in the Philippines for a mid-century marriage in America, only to become the most powerful madam in Beverly Hills with her high-end escort business. And how the madaming business leads her to a young woman named Heidi Fleiss who will eventually dethrone her.
Chapter 4: Little Black Book (late 80s, early 90s)
In episode 4, Madam Alex’s loss is Heidi Fleiss’s gain as her high end madaming empire takes off. Heidi recruits a new kind of call girl to suit her Gen X taste and sends them out to rich guys all around the world. She buys a mansion in the LA hills and throws an extravagant party. She even starts a Sunset Strip nightclub. But she also starts getting perhaps too comfort...
Chapter 5: Heidi’s Empire: From The Peak Of The Hollywood Hills To The Pits Of Despair (1992) Heidi’s madaming business takes off and crashes
Heidi’s empire peaks as she gets overconfident running her mouth around town. The stories of producers Don Simpson, Robert Evans and Jon Peters. The saga of JJ The Beeper King, Cookie Orgad and the LA ecstasy trade. And Heidi’s downfall at the hands of former Heidi gir...
Chapter 6: Media Frenzy (1993, 1994): The Heidi Fleiss scandal breaks wide in the media, making Heidi the most famous woman and sending her clients into a panic
Everybody wants a cut of the Heidi Fleiss story, and some of the people in Heidi’s orbit are selling her out to get theirs. Plus a rabbit hole into how Pretty Woman connects to illegal arms dealing, the stories of call girls “Marilyn” and “Leann,&rdq...
Chapter 7: The Trial Of The Century: 1995 How Court TV revolutionized the 24 hour news cycle and how Heidi Fleiss redefined tabloid celebrity with it
While awaiting her trials Heidi sits for another big magazine profile, this time with Vanity Fair. Her lawyer Anthony Brooklier makes a case against the johns, and we tell you about his father Dominic Brooklier the last mob don of Southern California. Ivan “Mackdaddy” Nagy...
Chapter 8: Heidi Wear: The Mid 90s Heidi Pioneers Personal branding And Cashes In With Her Own Line Of Branded Sleepwear
Heidi Fleiss goes to trial with the eyes of the world on her, and the Fleiss family’s close bonds are tested as they are asked to turn against each other in court. But Heidi Fleiss mania has already peaked as the OJ trial begins and takes focus. The jurors deliberate and then have second thoughts. Plus ...
Chapter 9: Reality Television: How Heidi Invented Reality Star Fame And Her Cousin Mike Fleiss Invented The Bachelor (late 90s/early 2000s)
Heidi Fleiss gets sentenced and goes to jail, doing 37 months in Dublin, California. Meanwhile, her second cousin Mike Fleiss climbs the ranks of early 2000s reality television and invents huge hit The Bachelor. And Don Simpson has one last box office mega-hit and then vanishes from the mortal ...
Chapter 10: The Desert And Beyond: Heidi Moves To Pahrump, Nevada To Start A Stud Farm And Starts A Bird Sanctuary Instead
After prison, Heidi Fleiss tries to hustle up some new work by starting a Stud Farm in Nevada and ends up on Celebrity Rehab instead. She also discovers a new passion: taking care of tropical birds. Dr. Paul Fleiss is embroiled in a new scandal unrelated to his daughter. Charlie Sheen becomes a sitcom star but ...
Today’s Latest News In 4 Minutes. Updated Hourly.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
This is what the news should sound like. The biggest stories of our time, told by the best journalists in the world. Hosted by Michael Barbaro and Sabrina Tavernise. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, ready by 6 a.m. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Listen to this podcast in New York Times Audio, our new iOS app for news subscribers. Download now at nytimes.com/audioapp