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Slack.com slash DHQ. Hi listeners! I just started a new mini series from Wondery and Topic

Studios called Operator. The untold true story of the phone sex line company that took

over the world. In the 90s, ads for phone sex lines could be seen everywhere. Flickering

on late night cable channels imprinted on the back of magazines while phone sex operators

worked around the clock to fulfill fantasies. It all started with an idea from Mike Partes,

CEO and founder of American Tellnet, who proudly coined himself the telephone pimp. He was

joined by tech genius and partner Michael Self, who was known as the Bill Gates of Phone

Sex. But it was the women behind the phones who created the close knit, yet dysfunctional

family that turned American Tellnet into a multi-billion dollar company and revolutionized

the sex industry. As fortunes grew, the founders were sailing lavish yachts, fueling wild drug

parties and burning through cash by the minute. And the FCC was watching their every move.

Wondery and Topic Studios new podcast operator is the untold story of a company which dominated

the phone sex industry until the money blinded them and it all came crashing down.

I'm going to play you a brief preview of Operator and introduce you to the heart,

Victoria. But while you're listening, make sure to follow Operator on Apple Podcast,

Amazon Music, or you can listen early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus, an Apple

podcast or the Wondery app.

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