Decoder Ring: The Sex Scandal That Made Mae West
b'In the early 1930s, Mae West\\u2019s dirty talk and hip swiveling walk made her one of the biggest movie stars in America. But before West hit the big-screen, she was prosecuted for staging not one, but two scandalous plays. In this episode, we look at how West honed her persona when she was under the bright lights of Broadway and the flashbulbs of the tabloids \\u2014 and briefly behind bars. More than a century later, her career arc offers a blueprint on how to survive a scandal\\u2026and maybe even come out ahead.\\nThis episode relied heavily on a lot of archival material and innumerable books: When I\\u2019m Bad, I\\u2019m Better: Mae West, Sex and American Entertainment by Marybeth Hamilton; When Brooklyn was Queer by Hugh Ryan; Lillian Schlissel\\u2019s introduction to Three Plays by Mae West, \\xa0Mae West: a biography by George Eells and Stanley Musgrove; Mae West: An Icon in Black and White by Jill Watts; \\xa0Becoming May West by Emily Wortis Leider; Gay New York by George Chauncey; \\xa0Mae West, She Who Laughs Last, by June Sochen: Goodness Has Nothing to Do with It by Mae West; and Linda Ann Losciavo\\u2019s play \\u201cCourting Mae West\\u201d and her blog, which you can find at Maewest.blogspot.com.\\xa0\\nThis episode of Decoder Ring was written by Willa Paskin. It was produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director. Thank you to Benjamin Frisch for this topic.\\xa0\\nIf you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com\\nIf you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate\\u2019s journalism.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'