Missing Richard Simmons

Missing Richard Simmons is an investigative journalism podcast hosted by journalist Dan Taberski and created by Stitcher, First Look Media and Pineapple Street Media. The first episode was released on February 15, 2017, with the following five episodes released weekly.

Missing Richard Simmons
Presentation
Genre
  • Investigative journalism
  • Serialized audio narrative
LanguageEnglish
Production
Production
  • Dan Taberski
  • Henry Molofsky
Audio formatPodcast (via streaming or downloadable MP3)
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6 (+2 "Bonus" episodes)
Publication
Original releaseFebruary 15, 2017 – March 20, 2017
WebsiteMissing Richard Simons

Synopsis

Missing Richard Simmons focuses on the sudden retirement from public life of the fitness instructor and actor Richard Simmons. After having an illustrious media career spanning over 30 years, and known for interacting with fans on a personal level, Simmons disappeared from the public eye in February 2014. Not only did Simmons no longer appear in the media, he also stopped teaching his regular exercise classes at his gym – Slimmons – and stopped corresponding with his friends and fans. Former producer on The Daily Show,[1] Dan Taberski sets out to find out why.

Persons involved
  • Dan Taberski – The host, a filmmaker and former Slimmons attendee
  • Richard Simmons – Fitness instructor and actor, the focus of the podcast
  • Teresa Reveles – Richard's housekeeper of over 30 years
  • Mauro Oliveira – Richard's friend and former masseuse
  • Lennie Simmons – Richard's brother
  • Gerry "GG" Sinclair – A student and friend of Richard's for over 40 years

Episodes
# Title Length (minutes:seconds) Original release date
I"Where's Richard?"28:03February 15, 2017 (2017-02-15)
On February 15, 2014 Richard Simmons didn’t show up to teach the exercise class he had led for 40 years. He hasn't been seen in public since. Filmmaker Dan Taberski starts investigating the disappearance of his friend.
II"Stakeout"31:43February 22, 2017 (2017-02-22)
Dan begins to explore the main theories about Richard’s disappearance. A lot of his friends think Richard may just be sitting in his house. So that's where the team go.
III"The Maid and the Masseuse"26:20March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01)
The two people closest to Richard at the time of his disappearance hate each other. Plus, Dan investigates possible claims of a hostage situation and explains what’s up with Richard’s (still very active) social media presence.
IV""Till the Day I Die""27:10March 8, 2017 (2017-03-08)
Dan heads to New Orleans, Richard’s hometown. From the food to the burlesque to the Southern religiosity, this city shaped young Dickie Simmons into the Richard that was so popular. It’s also where his brother lives. Dan tries to make contact.
V"O Brother, Where Art Thou"29:19March 15, 2017 (2017-03-15)
Dan talks to Lenny Simmons, Richard’s brother. Then he looks into some of the stranger, more personal aspects of being a Richard Simmons fan.
VI"A Day at the Beach"30:59March 20, 2017 (2017-03-20)
Dan says goodbye to Richard Simmons.

Reception

Missing Richard Simmons was met with mixed reviews from critics. Amanda Hess of the New York Times described the podcast as "morally suspect", while also stating it was an invasion of Simmons' privacy.[2] Similar sentiments were raised by Rolling Stone,[3] The Week[4] and Vox[5] amongst others. Despite this however, these critics would also mention the "instantly engaging" nature of the podcast,[6] with Vulture.com calling it "the strongest narrative podcast out there."[7]

Missing Richard Simmons proved popular with audiences, topping the iTunes podcast charts in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States.[8] In the United States, the podcast spent almost three weeks in the number one spot.[9]

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References
  1. "Dan Taberski – IMDb". Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  2. "'Missing Richard Simmons,' the Morally Suspect Podcast". Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  3. "'Missing Richard Simmons' Podcast: Everything You Need to Know". Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  4. "No one has a problem with the Missing Richard Simmons podcast, and that's a problem". Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  5. "Missing Richard Simmons: how a podcast became an experiment in privacy invasion". Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  6. "'Missing Richard Simmons,' the Morally Suspect Podcast". Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  7. "Missing Richard Simmons Is a Brilliant Podcast – So Far". Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  8. "iTunesCharts.net: Missing Richard Simmons". Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  9. "iTunesCharts.net: Missing Richard Simmons: American Chart Performance". Retrieved December 11, 2017.
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