PODCAST · society
PleasureTown
by Chicago Public Media
Classic radio meets contemporary cable drama in this fictional serial podcast about a failed Oklahoma utopian society and its eclectic residents. Betrayal, murder and hedonism abound in PleasureTown. Join the story at www.pleasuretownshow.com.
Episodes
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EP 312 - With Fists Raised
Well...shoot. Thanks for listening to our yarnin’, travelers. This last one has been a long meandering road, full of unexpected twists and turns and yet here we are standin’ at the end of it. It’s a wonderful thing, listeners, finishing a story. Almost as wonderful as starting a new one. We may…
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EP 311 - Hear the Sparrow
Frantic and alone, Remy is driven to the wilderness by a betrayal and her voices.
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EP 309 - The Most Joy
Eli, Eve, and Flo reflect on their pasts and futures, hopes and reservations, faiths and follies. Meanwhile, Ms. Wallace joins Mr. Goose at one of PleasureTown’s more secretive venues to celebrate her railroad.
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EP 308 - Rebuilding This Place
With the town in desperate need of financial help, the Clerk holds a State of the Town address to lay out the pros and cons of the new railroad. Meanwhile, as Bethany aids the lost spirits of PleasureTown, Daniel continues to ensnare them.
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Ep 307 - The Good In Ourselves
This week on PleasureTown, Remy is challenged when one of the more troubled members of her support group rejects help. Meanwhile, Amelia blows the dust off her gloves and goes a few rounds with her old friend, Ma Barker.
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EP 306 - Gnarled Remains
This week on PleasureTown, Skippy, the town clerk, takes stock of what is left of in the wake of the Great Fire, all the while trying to manage the out-of-touch founders. Meanwhile, Elijah, leader of the newly displaced residents, strikes a deal with Enid Wallace to secure provisions for those...
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EP 305 - Smoke and Embers
Amelia and Remy bond over making their totems for the Feast of the Wretched. Meanwhile, the medium Daniel encounters a spirit who tries to console his lovesick heart.
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Ep 304 - Heart Still Beating
Tip of the hat to you listeners, and thanks again for joining us! Now, pop in those headphones and prepare to embark on another voyage into PleasureTown! This week, we follow Remy as her struggle with the voices that plague her brings life in PleasureTown to a fever pitch. Now, Remy must confront...
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Ep 303 - Certain Dignity
An opportunity to stimulate the floundering economy of PleasureTown presents itself in the form of Enid Wallace, a wealthy railroad baroness who wishes to build her tracks through the town. How will the townspeople react to her proposal?
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Ep 302 - Sinners At Every Turn
Meet Bethany and Daniel, two amorous teens from Louisiana who are gifted with the ability to speak to the dead. Meanwhile, Claude and Cyrus struggle to find the finances for repairs as the town shows increasing signs of wear.
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Ep 301 - A Thin Connection
In the season premiere, Amelia relives her childhood and her father’s abusive self-interest to tell how she came to be the proprietor of the town’s Inn. Also, Remy, daughter to a family of wealthy English aristocrats, is sent away to live in the States after showing signs of mental illness.
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Ep Mini12 - The Human Form
A nudist who is known for her pink parasol describes an encounter with a pair of Irish siblings. One loves her, and one wishes to possess her.
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Ep Mini11 - It Takes A Village
PleasureTown may be a playground for the liberated, but for one young man, being born into a world so focused on pleasure made life nearly unbearable. This is his story.
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Ep Mini10 - How It Works
In this minisode, we meet a nameless PleasureTown resident as he recounts a chance meeting with a tormented Claude, who is haunted by memories of his father...and what he did. This minisode was written by PleasureTown Super Friend Richard Izzo.
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Ep Mini9 - Bad Water
Fear and hate go hand in hand. This is a lesson Hong, a Chinese immigrant, must learn as he traverses the Wild West to build a new home in Oklahoma. Will Hong be able to conquer the perils of his adopted land or will he succumb to the hatred of its people?
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Ep Mini8 - Rule of Symmetry
This week on PleasureTown, we join Clara, a young mathematician and PleasureTown native, as she decides to leave her family and community behind. Although Clara sets out to forge her own identity, it begins to dawn on her that life might have an all-encompassing symmetry that isn’t so easy to...
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Telegram For You!
We've missed you. Stop. We'll be back soon. Stop. Follow us on Twitter. Stop. @PleasureTownOK Stop. And Nerdette is back! Stop. Joy abounds! Stop.
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Ep 212 - Last Breath
In the season finale, Bulger and Rudd discover the Cintamani Stone, sending them on a collision course with Alvin Pilfer and Warren Featherbone III.
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EP 211 - By Blood or Bond
Veiled by the magic of the Cintamani Stone, Adrianne enters Bulger’s store to make contact with her estranged brother. Later, the stone’s elusiveness manages to push Alvin Pilfer to the brink of insanity.
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Ep 210 - Of Such Metal
It's Oklahoma's 10th anniversary, and President Roosevelt is visiting as part of his campaign to drum up favor for the War. The citizens of PleasureTown are abuzz...as are the spirits who watch over them.
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Ep 209 - Hunt Of The Hunter
In The Hunt of the Hunter, a sinister figure walks in Rudd’s footsteps. Will this be the comedian’s last laugh? Meanwhile, the shantytowners stage a revolt, bringing their dismay to Claude’s doorstep. Can the city clerk save his friend and mollify the angry mob?
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Ep 208 - The Flames Rising
It’s the Feast of the Wretched! A stranger on her way to town encounters Jeb, who has become a man on the run. Through a tale of family and fire, he warns her against what she might find in PleasureTown. Meanwhile, Alvin, masquerading under the guise of Warren Featherbone, continues on his…
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Ep 207 - Needed Quiet
In this week’s episode, we visit with Goldie as she examines the reflection of her violent past with former lover Alvin. Waist deep in an ocean of regret and sorrow, Goldie laments failed resolutions, paths not taken and decisions that would inevitably haunt her until the end. After all, a heart…
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Ep 206 - History of Solitude
In this week’s episode of PleasureTown, we join the Bartender as he ruminates on the retribution that fate has dealt him for his years spent as a hitman. Also, a withdrawn Cyrus is confronted about his reclusive ways by a mysterious yet familiar figure. What will old Cy make of this strange...
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Ep 205 - Thinly Veiled Disguise
In this week’s thrilling episode of PleasureTown, Mudd plans on spending his earnings from a recent heist but instead encounters an individual possibly more devious than himself. We then walk with Jebediah as he recalls the bloody night that led to his arrival in PleasureTown.
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Ep 204 - Always Spot the Thorns
In the garden of life, some people are petals...and others are thorns. This time, Shiner returns to share details of her legendary romance and her legendary death. Next, we listen as Mudd and Rudd as they strike up an unusual friendship, which leads them to the stage. Finally, we are introduced…
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Ep 203 - Years of Mayhem
More often than not, it is those that we least expect that are our undoing. In this week’s episode, we rejoin the town’s stoic Bartender as he is confronted by the widow of the man he murdered. Will she be the one to give the Bartender the conclusion he has been bracing himself for? And later, we...
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Ep 202 - Good Luck Charm
In the second episode of Season 2 of PleasureTown, we become reacquainted with Jebediah, a blind man whose father exploits his preternatural ability to taste what others are feeling. Also, Claude digs up a memory of a long-held keepsake that nearly took his life...and saved another.
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Ep 201 - And You Run
Claude and Cyrus are back with another season of strange and twisted tales from PleasureTown's past. In the Season Two premier, we begin by flashing back -- way back -- to hear a story of loss and bloodshed from a man whose people predate the Oklahoma utopia. Next, we hear from Rudd, a…
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Ep Mini7 - This Same Flower
In PleasureTown's seventh and final "minisode," we meet a young New York City couple with big dreams of small town living. But money is tight and trouble abounds. Will the couple make it to the fabled utopia, or will they get lost along the way? Written by Bob Garick, this is part of our "Write…
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Ep Mini6 - The Shadows
In the thrilling conclusion to the Fantasy Fair & Freak Show trilogy, tough-talking Frank and the mysterious Mirella come to Pete’s aid while Mr. Blythe attempts to confront Buster about their altercation. Will the unlikely trio be able to rescue Sal, Buster and all the other children from the...
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Ep Mini5 - Legitimate Medicine
In PleasureTown’s fifth minisode, we are introduced to smooth-talking huckster Nicholas Morrison, a new arrival who makes his living as a slinger of suspicious solutions. Soon after his arrival, Nicholas enlists the help of aging Darlin and drunken Mortimer to help con his way into the hearts and...
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Ep Mini4 - Nothing But Hungry
In PleasureTown's fourth "minisode," we continue the story of Crandle Philing’s Fantasy Fair and Freak Show. Suspicions rise among the carnival workers as more strange happenings occur among the children. Will Buster, Sal and Pete escape, or will they remain trapped forever as one of Crandle's...
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Ep Mini3 - My Life Wandering
In PleasureTown's third "minisode," we flash forward to the present, where we meet young Mason Bowen, a student at Enid State University. As part of his college thesis, he interviews Mr. Johnstone, an elderly man who visited the fabled PleasureTown as a boy. But is Mr. Johnstone's account as...
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Ep Mini2 - All Sorts of Trouble
In PleasureTown's second "minisode," a local shopkeeper with an axe to grind has a run-in with a band of youthful hoodlums. But there's opportunity to set the children on the straight and narrow when a traveling carnival rolls into town and offers to take PleasureTown's young miscreants under its...
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Ep Mini1 - By My Own Hands
In PleasureTown's first "minisode," we meet Esther, the town seamstress, who spins a yarn about her lost heritage and life under the watchful eye of the menacing Miz Janine. This is part of our "Write an Episode" contest, which follows the completion of our first season. Listen to Season One:...
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Ep 112 - The Road Appearing
In the season finale, an apocalyptic premonition could alter the course of Claude and Cyrus' lives forever. Meanwhile, the battle between the virtuous and the fallen comes to a head as Angie must save her beloved -- and PleasureTown itself -- from the clutches of the treacherous Sheriff.
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Ep 111 - The Other Side of Life
Two of PleasureTown's long-time residents reach the end of the road. Ma Barker visits the grave of her deceased husband, Henry, and reflects on a life of hard knocks. Meanwhile, Shaman Jon's spiritual awakening reaches a new level of transcendence as the town convenes for a memorial.
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Ep 110 - Double Lives
A mystery unfolds in PleasureTown as one of the pillars of this hedonistic society is found dead due to strange circumstances. Meanwhile, residents cope with the aftermath of a large and destructive fire. All is relayed by a new reporter, who brings her own unique, yet familiar flare for...
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Ep 109 - Pushing Upstream
Tensions come to a head between the PleasureTown founders, as Claude and Cyrus duke it out in a battle of words for control of the town. Meanwhile, the children of PleasureTown embark on an adventure and make a wish that could change the course of their lives.
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Ep 108 - Of Vigilance & Worry
A sudden revelation threatens the future of PleasureTown's star-crossed lovers, the Doctor and the Reporter. We hear from the Reporter's side of the story and discover just how their magnetic attraction first came to fruition all those years ago. Meanwhile, the somber and stoic Bartender shares…
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Ep 107 - Flashes of Fire
As PleasureTown grew, it began to attract a different breed of wanderer. No longer were those drawn to the settlement society's rough and grizzled outlaws and misfits. Dreamers, poets and artists had begun to flock to PleasureTown to carve out their homes. Angie was one such dreamer, and she...
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Ep 106 - The Feast Of The Wretched
In this episode, we learn the birth story behind PleasureTown's original holiday, The Feast of the Wretched. Meanwhile, Mattie Barker has left town, putting aside her frying pan to take up a pair of boxing gloves. Also, Shaman John begins a new ritual while in self-exile. Plus, a strange love...
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Ep 105 - Two Souls
In this episode, we meet PleasureTown's barber, who tells the story of how he and his blind brother fled to the settlement after a particularly hairy run-in with a local bigot. We also revisit Shaman John and hear his tale of loss and woe. To cope, the Mormon-turned-mystic smokes an herbal mix…
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Ep 104 - If Thy Right Hand Offend Thee
As the population of PleasureTown continued to swell, the settlement began to see an uptick in violence, lawlessness and murder. In this episode, town founders Cyrus and Claude engage in a heated battle of words, with one advocating for rule and order while the other holds firm on the town’s…
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Ep 103 - A Smile That Stretches
As PleasureTown transformed into a budding settlement, the community began to see a flood of diverse immigrants. With all the activity, it didn’t take long for the media to catch wind of the diamond in the red dirt, and so a reporter from New York City ventured out West to immerse himself among…
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Ep 102 - White Stone Path
As word spread of the strange, hedonistic town, more and more lost souls gravitated toward a place they believed could be their home. In this episode, we follow Shaman John, once a man of faith turned mystic, through his first day as a Pleasure Town resident. Meanwhile, Matilda Barker tells her...
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Ep 101 - Buried & Forgotten
In this episode, Claude and Cyrus invite listeners to join them in retracing the steps that lead them to PleasureTown. Despite their contrasting personalities, both Claude and Cyrus share histories rooted in hardship. As the son of a Mississippi slave owner, Claude’s guilt drives him to search…
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PleasureTown: The Legend Has Begun
Unfamiliar with PleasureTown? If you ask some, PleasureTown was paradise on Earth, a place where anyone could be and do whatever they wanted without fear of judgment or retribution from their fellow man or woman. If you ask others, it was a powderkeg of sin just waiting to explode. And if you ask...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Classic radio meets contemporary cable drama in this fictional serial podcast about a failed Oklahoma utopian society and its eclectic residents. Betrayal, murder and hedonism abound in PleasureTown. Join the story at www.pleasuretownshow.com.
HOSTED BY
Chicago Public Media
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does PleasureTown have?
PleasureTown currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is PleasureTown about?
Classic radio meets contemporary cable drama in this fictional serial podcast about a failed Oklahoma utopian society and its eclectic residents. Betrayal, murder and hedonism abound in PleasureTown. Join the story at www.pleasuretownshow.com.
How often does PleasureTown release new episodes?
PleasureTown has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to PleasureTown?
You can listen to PleasureTown on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts PleasureTown?
PleasureTown is created and hosted by Chicago Public Media.
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