River Phoenix was a once-in-a-generation talent. In the 1980s, a decade known for artifice and excess, he brought raw acting chops to performances in Stand by Me, Running on Empty, and My Own Private Idaho. His career was only just getting started when he died tragically at the age of 23 outside a notorious nightclub in Hollywood. The story of his short life is as complicated and dramatic as one of his signature roles, and includes brushes with religious cults, skinheads, street hustlers, and L.A.’s drug underworld.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including child sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

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