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Hunks and Homicide: New Spotify Podcast Delves Into the Sordid History of Chippendales

Check out the trailer for the Welcome to Your Fantasy, hosted by historian Natalia Petrzela

A member of the Chippendales performs in New York City, May 1993.

Barbara Alper/Getty Images

Spotify has released a new trailer for its upcoming podcast series, Welcome to Your Fantasy, which will delve into the complex and sordid history of Chippendales.

As host Natalia Petrzela says in the trailer, she was drawn to the Chippendales story because it offered a window into a “strange chapter of the history of sex in America,” and the chance to examine questions of female sexuality, masculinity, and gender roles. She was also fascinated by how a Los Angeles club known for its exotic male dancers became a global phenomenon that epitomized the seedy underbelly of capitalism.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7iJF5CxhSKnCJYqcya7aUH

“Chippendales wasn’t just pecs and mullets and G-strings stuffed with dollar bills,” Petrzela says. “It was a sordid world of greed, arsons, hired hitmen, a years-long FBI manhunt, and a feud that would leave two business partners dead.”

Petrzela spoke with over 60 people for Welcome to Your Fantasy, including investigators, co-conspirators, former dancers, and more. The eight-episode series was made by Pineapple Street Studios and Gimlet, and will premiere February 10th.

From Rolling Stone US