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Operator

Operator

By: Wondery
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During the 1-900 number craze of the Nineties, one company provided the vast majority of phone sex. American Telnet was an empire founded by the man who called himself “The Telephone Pimp.” He ran the company “like General Motors” and got filthy rich doing it. But for the (mostly) women who answered the calls and delivered fantasies 24-7, it was a different story. The powerful stigma against sex work was always lurking just beneath the surface, until it threatened to tear apart the whole company. Hosted by Tina Horn (Why Are People Into That?), OPERATOR is an eight-part series about big ambitions, Shakespearean-level corporate backstabbing, men and women at the cutting edge of a technological revolution...and on the front lines of a sexual one.

Binge all episodes of Operator exclusively and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/operator/ now.

© 2021 Wondery LLC. All rights reserved. Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Introducing: Operator

    Introducing: Operator
    Oct 25 2021

    During the 1-900 number craze of the Nineties, one company provided the vast majority of phone sex. American Telnet was an empire founded by the man who called himself “The Telephone Pimp.” He ran the company “like General Motors” and got filthy rich doing it. But for the (mostly) women who answered the calls and delivered fantasies 24-7, it was a different story. The powerful stigma against sex work was always lurking just beneath the surface, until it threatened to tear apart the whole company.

    Hosted by Tina Horn (Why Are People Into That?), OPERATOR is an eight-part series about big ambitions, Shakespearean-level corporate backstabbing, men and women at the cutting edge of a technological revolution...and on the front lines of a sexual one.

    You can binge all episodes of Operator exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Find Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.
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    2 mins
  • Press One Now | 1

    Press One Now | 1
    Nov 8 2021

    Mike Pardes has already had a colorful career before he ever hears about pay-per-call phone sex. He’s been on all sides of the transaction, so it makes sense that he would be the one to bring sexual fantasies to millions of landlines across the country. With one phone call from a lawyer, American TelNet is born.

    All episodes are available now. You can binge the series ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ here: https://wondery.app.link/Operator

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    33 mins
  • Where to find Episodes 2-8 of Operator

    Where to find Episodes 2-8 of Operator
    Feb 1 2024

    In the first episode of Operator, you met Mike Pardes, a colorful character with an even more colorful career history. So, when he first heard about pay-per-call phone sex, still in its infancy, he realized there was no better way to make millions. Once he got the go-ahead from a lawyer, American TelNet was born and, shortly after, the 1-900 phone sex craze hit the stratosphere.


    If you want to hear the rest of Operator, you can binge all eight episodes exclusively on Wondery plus.


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    Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or an Apple Podcasts.
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    1 min
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This was the story of the people behind the 1 900 numbers back in the 80s. It made history for bringing naughty fun to the masses and the masses (especially men) loved it. It was quite the technical accomplishment, not lauded because it was for sex work. This podcast takes you behind the scenes with the major players and is particularly effective at showing how it affected the phone operators. Mostly women and a few men earned big bucks for a time, but burnout was frequent. It is a window into human behavior. This series is explicit and not for kids. A fascinating look into time since past. The government eventually outlawed 900 numbers and the business could not survive. Eye opening.

Behind the Scences

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I usually only listen to true crime. I was hooked on this from the first time I heard the trailer

FORMER TRUE CRIME JUNKY

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