Stiffed

Stiffed is a podcast about the complications of gender and pornography. It explores questions of equality, commerce, and sexuality in a way that feels nuanced. More so, it succeeds at telling a compelling and unique story of a pioneering women's magazine.

The host of Stiffed is Sarah McCammon. She has worked as a journalism professional for two decades. She began her career as a newspaper reporter for the Daily Herald in Illinois. In 2015, McCammon joined the staff of National Public Radio. Her reporting often focuses on politics, reproductive rights, and social issues involving women.

In this podcast, the journalist reviews the work of Bob Guccione, one of the most controversial figures in modern American history. He is best known as the founder and publisher of Penthouse, one of the leading competitors to Playboy. The show focuses on one of Guccione's less well-known endeavors. That is the production of Viva magazine.

Viva introduced what was, at the time, a radical concept to the general public-a female-centered adult magazine. Prior to this, the idea of an erotic magazine made for women was unheard of. So was the fact that Guccione hired a group of young feminist writers as its staff. In addition to nude photos, the magazine also featured top-tier articles. Literary icons would receive full profiles. Before her time at Vogue, even a young Anna Wintour was part of the Viva roster.

However, Viva would only go on to last six years. The project, at least from a business perspective, would be a failure. What happened to the magazine? Why was its run so short-lived? Those are some of the questions that the Stiffed podcast sets out to answer in its eight episodes.