The Superhero Complex

When darkness falls over Seattle, a masked crusader emerges from the shadows. His name? Phoenix Jones – a charismatic cage fighter, hell-bent on ridding the streets of criminals. Welcome to the world of real life superheroes: ordinary people who put on outrageous costumes and head out to fight crime. Phoenix’s team of superhero sidekicks have all turned against him. They say he’s no hero and in 2020, it’s Phoenix who finds himself on the wrong side of the law. So is Phoenix a model citizen fighting for a better world? Or is he a fraudster who used a superhero identity to disguise his own crimes? Journalist David Weinberg sets out on a wild journey to find out. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the world of real life superheroes - ordinary people who put on outrageous costumes and head out to fight crime. Journalist David Weinberg sets out to uncover the truth about Seattle’s masked crusader, Phoenix Jones. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every superhero has an origin story. David travels to Seattle to come face to face with Phoenix for the first time, but their meeting raises more questions than it answers. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s a superhero without sidekicks? David meets the ragtag recruits who became Phoenix’s crime-fighting supergroup, the Rain City Superheroes. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phoenix and the Rain City Superheroes hit the big time. But fame comes with a price. Phoenix starts to make some powerful enemies. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a run-in with the law, Phoenix’s superhero antics start to have consequences for his civilian life. When tragedy strikes in downtown Seattle, things begin to unravel for Phoenix Jones.  The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tensions are brewing in the Rain City Superhero Movement. After a disastrous patrol, things boil over. David picks through the rumors, betrayals and grudges, to figure out who’s to blame for the breakup of Seattle’s super-squad. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Phoenix launches his comeback as a cage fighter, rumours swirl that some of his demons are catching up with him. With Phoenix absent, his former sidekicks struggle to pick up the pieces. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a final showdown with the police, it seems like Phoenix has fallen from grace once and for all. But in the world of real life superheroes, all is never quite as it seems. As protests erupt in Seattle in 2020, Phoenix Jones has one last shot at redemption. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David fires up the batmobile again, for a whistle-stop tour of the wider real life superhero universe. We meet superheroes and villains from Mexico City to the Netherlands, and hear from journalist and broadcaster Jon Ronson about his time with costumed crime fighters in New York. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Phoenix Jones, there was Major Victory, Fat Momma and Monkey Woman. David delves into the weird world of ‘Who Wants to Be A Superhero,’ a reality TV show in which comics legend Stan Lee searches for the ultimate real life superhero. The Superhero Complex is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio For more from Novel, visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1940s, a group of Mormon dreamers started a town in the Mexican desert. But what began as a utopian vision quickly turned sour when the founding family’s son, Ervil LeBaron, struggled for control of the community and unleashed a multi-generational crimewave – the ripples of which are still being felt today. From bank robbery to drug smuggling, auto theft rings to multiple murders, a deadly cult evolved into a sophisticated organized crime family. In Deliver Us From Ervil, journalist Jesse Hyde tells the story of Ervil LeBaron and the unlikely ensemble of reporters, cops, survivors and family insiders trying to halt his bloody legacy. Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. Listen to Deliver Us From Ervil on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-deliver-us-from-ervil-96084334/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Fighty Pucks is the story of the most violent hockey team on the planet. A team of lovable bad boys, misfits and bruisers, led by a teenage boy - AJ Galante. Together with his father, a powerful business man with a dark past, AJ ran the team as they went rampaging on a path to glory. But all the while, the team was being secretly watched by their toughest opponent of all - the FBI. The Fighty Pucks is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Season 1, The Girlfriends told the story of how a group of incredible women came together to bring down one bad ex-boyfriend and seek justice for the murder of Gail Katz. But there’s one part of that story that’s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. In Season 2, the amateur ladies detective club are back with a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. Listen here and subscribe to The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.