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Bruce Lee got into so much trouble as a kid in Hong Kong that his parents banished him to the place of his birth: America. There he found all kinds of new trouble to get into. He upset kung fu traditionalists with his revolutionary style of fighting. He challenged long-held perceptions in racist Hollywood. He was an outsider determined to change the system the hard way – but did bringing about change cost Bruce Lee his life?Follow Badlands wherever you get your podcasts to hear new episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND each Wednesday. As a bonus, Amazon Music listeners can hear all 10 episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND on demand right now at amazon.com/badlands.

John Holmes unexpectedly found fame in the 1970s with a freakishly large appendage that proved a gateway into the burgeoning adult entertainment industry. He appeared in over 2,000 porn films and is alleged to have slept with over 14,000 women. But a severe drug habit put him in close contact with some strange bedfellows in the Los Angeles underworld, including a ragtag gang of junkies and dealers, and Eddie Nash, a dangerous criminal mastermind. Drugs, desperation, and double-crossing would eventually lead to the infamous murders at 8763 Wonderland Avenue on July 1, 1981.Follow Badlands wherever you get your podcasts to hear new episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND each Wednesday. As a bonus, Amazon Music listeners can hear all 10 episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND on demand right now at amazon.com/badlands.This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including domestic violence and sex with minors.

A century ago, at the birth of movie superstardom, silent film star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was at the center of a scandal that rocked Hollywood to its core. He was accused of a murderous sex crime so depraved that it turned the nation not only against him but against Hollywood itself. It led to the trial of the century, and a test of whether America’s elite veil of privilege could be pierced by the long arm of justice. The tide of public opinion that followed was so strong that it made Hollywood change the way Hollywood did business – at least on the surface.Follow Badlands wherever you get your podcasts to hear new episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND each Wednesday. As a bonus, Amazon Music listeners can hear all 10 episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND on demand right now at amazon.com/badlands.This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including sexual assault. 

River Phoenix was a once-in-a-generation talent. In the 1980s, a decade known for artifice and excess, he brought raw acting chops to performances in Stand by Me, Running on Empty, and My Own Private Idaho. His career was only just getting started when he died tragically at the age of 23 outside a notorious nightclub in Hollywood. The story of his short life is as complicated and dramatic as one of his signature roles, and includes brushes with religious cults, skinheads, street hustlers, and L.A.’s drug underworld.Follow Badlands wherever you get your podcasts to hear new episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND each Wednesday. As a bonus, Amazon Music listeners can hear all 10 episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND on demand right now at amazon.com/badlands.This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including child sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

The conspiracy theories surrounding Marilyn Monroe’s death in 1962 continue to entertain the imaginations of those obsessed with celebrity and scandal. The stories, many of them fantastical and one of them true, feature cameos by the likes of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford. Somewhere in the pile of countless rumors, innuendos, and crackpot theories is a closer understanding of exactly what happened and why the world lost its most iconic American actress at the young age of 36.Follow Badlands wherever you get your podcasts to hear new episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND each Wednesday. As a bonus, Amazon Music listeners can hear all 10 episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND on demand right now at amazon.com/badlands.This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including sexual assault and suicide. If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

Marilyn Monroe is one of the greatest Hollywood stars of all time. She rose from orphan to icon by creating an on screen character America could not peel their eyes away from. And she did it all while battling anxiety, depression and addiction. Along the way she bedded, married, and otherwise conquered America’s most impressive men — Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, Frank Sinatra and President John F. Kennedy to name a few. And her relationship with JFK and his younger brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, would prove disastrous and result in long-running rumors and conspiracy theories about her death that are as hard to debunk as they are to dismiss.Follow Badlands wherever you get your podcasts to hear new episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND each Wednesday. As a bonus, Amazon Music listeners can hear all 10 episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND on demand right now at amazon.com/badlands. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including sexual assault and suicide. If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

BADLANDS is a new true-crime anthology podcast from Jake Brennan, creator and host of the award-winning music and true crime podcast DISGRACELAND. Season 1 of BADLANDS, entitled “HOLLYWOODLAND,” explores the true crimes and scandalous careers of Hollywood’s most infamous stars. Listen each week for new stories on the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Lee’s relationship with Hong Kong street fighters, John Holmes’ role in the bloody Wonderland Murders, and a cocaine and acid fueled Dennis Hopper, plus stories about River Phoenix, original Superman George Reeves, disgraced silent film star Fatty Arbuckle, Natalie Wood, and Lana Turner.Follow BADLANDS on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Media, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a bonus, Amazon Music listeners can hear all 10 episodes of BADLANDS Season 1: HOLLYWOODLAND on-demand right now at amazon.com/badlands, or by saying, “Alexa, play the Badlands podcast.”