Great story, great telling, great detail, great narration.

While the story itself is well crafted and engaging, but the number of ad breaks made this show extremely hard to listen to. I see this as a bit of a trend with iHeart shows, and will probably avoid iHeart properties in the future for this reason alone.

Iheart radio podcast… of course they’re gonna ruin everything with too many ads. This was green lit to make $$$$$$. Too bad they can’t buy the whole internet and decide what we all hear and see like they did to all the radio stations.

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

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

I haven’t listened to one second of the podcast yet. I’m scared to hear all the ads interrupting rhe content and the content (true crime ads) of the interruptions. Maybe there’s a different way to listen outside of Apple Podcasts with ads?

I was intrigued when this podcast came to my attention. As young woman in the 70’s I was excited when Viva appeared on the stands. I faithfully collected them and savored them for many years. It seemed as none my friends were aware of the magazine, or even expressed any interest in it. It made feel isolated in a surreal world whenever I looked at the magazines or thought of them. I kept issues for many years until a cleaning frenzy and a move compelled me to discard all the but the first issue. Even now when I look at that issue I wonder at the young woman who was thrilled to have a magazine that focused on women’s sexuality. That’s really all I wanted from it.

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.

This show is well researched and the host has such a good voice. However, the ads are vile. Graphic true crime ads are one (bad) thing but I got ads for companies announcing they only hire Americans (feeding into the racist idea that people with accents cannot help you do simple IT) at their call center, ads for tumors??, and constant health ads. There were five ads between sections that led to five minutes of podcast and another slew of ads. This show talks a lot about a magazine divided and I think there’s something to be said for how well researched and thoughtful the show is compared to its ads that are, well, vile.

I get it but also… it’s very disruptive. Especially on Spotify where I already pay for the service. Anyway good pod

Such a well told story with so many great voices.

Just way too many ads.

This is one the best, most informative, and most fun podcast series I have ever heard! I love it so much and I have learned an incredible amount about women and feminism during this time period. I was a little kid during the 70s so I missed all this. A child of the 80s, it’s disappointing to me that times changed so much for the worse. Better days are ahead, for sure, in part because of podcasting!

But the intrusiveness and repetitiveness of the ads made listening utterly tedious. I do think there’s a value to examining this part of publishing history, and I remember when Viva was rolled out - it was such a weird hybrid. Clearly a Guccione project but which aimed to be the counterpoint to Penthouse. Except. It really wasn’t. Because it had his aesthetic all over it. He was a fascinating and contradictory character.

I don’t have a problem with advertising as a means of paying everyone a good wage, but for the love of all the creatures in the universe PLEASE keep the true crime ads on the true crime shows. The ads on this show are so messed up and triggering and are not cool to have to hear when driving or running or doing anything that makes skipping through them nearly impossible. Love the show itself. Excellent journalism and storytelling! Would have loved to hear perspectives on Viva from any regular women from the time, any of the anti-porn activists, and fans of the magazine. It also would have been fun to hear from the creators of HBO’s Minx on how Viva inspired them and perhaps what the Viva women think of Minx. But, as it is, the show is tight, focused, and fascinating! Great work! Still waiting with baited breath for that feminist porn magazine!

This was a fantastic social/cultural history. It captured the moment of Viva including the messy contradictions. It doesn’t sacrifice nuance for cheap clarity. Would love to see more from this team.

This was a well done, well produced and fascinating look at Viva Magazine. It’s easy to do backstories on Playboy or Penthouse but honing in on a magazine that was for women is much more fascinating. I would have loved to have heard from readers but the interviews with former staff was very good, it painted a good picture of the working dynamic that helped the magazine thrive then ultimately shutter.

Really interesting telling of a story and the context of the time it occurred in that contemplates the history of feminism, the sexual revolution and the lost opportunity around a magazine that could’ve been ahead of its time. Really enjoying this pod, highly recommend

I really wish a reader from back in the day had been interviewed. It was the one biiiig glaring hole. That being said, many thanks for this - not enough has ever been put forth about how truly groundbreaking Viva was. And yes, I know ads are the price one pays for content, but these were really annoying.

I lost interest in the show after three episodes, but kept listening because I wanted to hear about Anna Wintour. I will NEVER listen to that radio murder podcast even after hearing its annoying ad 40 times….

Well researched, written, and delivered. Highly recommend!

I really like the show and will definitely listen to the end. Like other reviewers, I hate the ads. For me though, it’s not necessarily the quantity, but the content. There’s enough death in the news, I don’t need to hear ads with more of it while I’m escaping into a podcast. Literally the only podcast I bother to skip ahead during the ads.

Oh how I loved this one. I got such a good sense of her impact on the magazine. And I’m glad she declined to comment. It made perfect sense and said more about her than any comment would have.

Wanted to like this series - started out strong but then fizzled. Episodes are too short and there too many ads. This really felt like it could have been 4 longer episodes not eight mini ones. It kind of hits like a Vanity Fair article: good writing but the actual substance doesn’t live up to the promotion.

Keep up the great workLooking forward to the next episode. Thank you for taking out the over bearing funders! Loving the show!

Wow — I hope this podcast is adapted for a streaming series. Having grown up in the 60s and coming of age in the 70s, I can attest to the exhilarating, turbulent and confusing messages of the sexual revolution. I think this podcaster has captured both the opportunities and the conflicts very well. It helps me to better understand the forces that shaped my life and attitudes. Those forces are still working their way through our culture today.

Each episode is about 30 - 15 minutes of show - 15 minutes of the same commercials in every episode

There are so many ads it feels like listening to a VH1 00s reality show. Very little content to this story, I guess.

Viva magazine had a short life in the 1970s. It was an incredibly beautiful, smart and also silly publication, owned by Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione. I worked there briefly as a copy editor and I’m in awe of how accurate so much of this podcast is after almost 50 years and almost all of the principals dead or unwilling to talk.

Fascinating story told really well that leaves me wanting more at the end of each episode. I could also do with less ads and breaks in the story, but that’s what the skip forward button is for I guess! Worth the annoyance for a look into this super interesting and pivotal time in history.

Nothing but bubblegum pop feminism. You lost me within 5 minutes. The host is needlessly crude in a failed attempt at being shocking and witty.

The story is interesting, but there are too many ads and ad breaks interrupting the short episodes. They should have done longer episodes with fewer ad breaks.

And I’m so grateful for a Crooked pod that isn’t full of Succession spoilers

An interesting topic. Unfortunately, based on the amount of ads and the amount of time spent on actual podcast, I am guessing this probably could have been done in only 2 episodes.

Exhausting ad blocks

My new obsession!

I am really intrigued by this idea but the episodes are too short for the amount of ads you’ve included. And it’s not getting to the meat (pun intended) quick enough

I’m surprised I’m just now hearing about Viva! Granted I was only eight when it first published, but I can’t believe no one’s older sister had a copy, as they did with Playgirl just a few years later. With articles from such luminaries as Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, plus soft core porn, it sounds more like an early combo of Playboy (which really did have great articles!) and Men’s Health. As an aside, it figures men would have been mansplaining to women what women find erotic. THAT hasn’t changed.

What an amazing story and we are in good hands with Jennifer’s telling of it. Her experience in the magazine business and her sharp critique of popular culture makes this an absolutely MUST LISTEN. She provides a multi-faceted and important chapter of cultural history packed with audio sources and juicy interviews that take us back and teach us about the future. She has also mastered the art of creating anticipation at the end of each episode. LOVE IT. I will listen or read anything Jennifer creates. She treats me like an intelligent consumer and absolutely LOVE THAT. Great job on research and thorough sources. Love the audio montages and the vintage interviews!

Excellent so far, can’t wait to hear more

Only a few episodes are out, but so far the story is really interesting. I wish the episodes were longer, but it’s also a refreshing change of pace from Crooked’s longer form content. I’m excited to see where it goes. The ads are laughably bad though. Idk if it’s tougher to find sponsors for this type of content, but it’s jarring if you’re used to other crooked media podcasts. Hopefully, something will give bc they do a real disservice to an otherwise well produced podcast.

Just finished episode two and I’m hooked. What a fascinating story.

The story is great but the episodes are 80% commercials which is SO miserable and drags the amazing reporting.

Fascinating! A piece of women’s history I knew nothing about. This podcast is beautifully put together—a pleasure to listen to—looking forward to more episodes!!

I mainly listen to True Crime podcasts and while this is definitely NOT that, it’s just as interesting and gripping!

So excited for this one! Can’t wait to hear more about what went on behind the scenes. The trailer sounds excellent.