Lost Hills investigates the dark side of Malibu, California. Beneath a seductive facade, this city of billionaires, celebrities, and surf bums is hiding something menacing. Season 2 takes place in the late 70s and early ‘80s, as Malibu was changing from a low-profile beach town into a celebrity haven, full of new money and hard drugs. When a Malibu woman and her son mysteriously drowned, her husband was arrested for their murders—and ultimately convicted. But to this day, many people—including the victim's family—claim he’s innocent. And listen back to season 1, which chronicled the horrifying story of a man killed in a Malibu campground while sleeping beside his young daughters—and exposed a law-enforcement coverup. Hosted by Dana Goodyear (The New Yorker) and produced by Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. Show artwork: For a Kid, 2021, copyright Francesca Gabbiani. Follow us @losthillspod on Twitter and Instagram for a deeper dive into the stories.
Ripple from Western Sound: The BP Oil Spill
Hosted by Dan Leone, Lost Hill's composer and sound designer, Ripple is a new investigative show that revisits major stories to judge their lasting impacts. This season investigates the BP Oil Spill — was an environmental disaster prevented or has it been ignored? Subscribe now to Ripple. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1/11/2024 • 4 minutes, 20 seconds
Murder Brokers from Hot Money: The New Narcos
When a Dutch crime reporter makes an unbelievable discovery, a small-town murder case begins to look like an international assassination plot. Enjoy this episode from Hot Money: The New Narcos, a podcast from Pushkin Industries and the Financial Times.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/12/2023 • 29 minutes, 8 seconds
Black Heroes of Surfing
Textured Waves is a Black female surf collective focused on promoting diversity in the water and teaching Black youth to surf. In this bonus episode, Dana talks to two of the collective’s founding members, Chelsea Woody and Martina Duran, about joy in the ocean, localism, and an accomplished Black surfer from the era of Miki Dora. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/27/2023 • 24 minutes, 59 seconds
The Toughest Girl in Malibu
Malibu, 1950. Before Gidget, before even Miki Dora, there was one surfer who ruled the waves and was known for cutting down anyone who got in her way. And she thought Miki was the kook. In this bonus episode, Dana talks to Vikki Flaxman Williams, the original surfer girl of Malibu, who at 91 is still as tough as ever.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/24/2023 • 21 minutes, 42 seconds
12. A Nasty Piece of Work
When he dies, in 2002, Miki leaves wreckage in his wake. A stash of letters reveal his deepest and most toxic beliefs. And Linda Cuy explains the true cost of Miki’s rebellious search for surf. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/20/2023 • 41 minutes, 4 seconds
11. Writing on the Wall
After prison, Miki is a changed man . . . kind of. He knows better than to break the law again. So he finds other ways to make money. He gets Quiksilver, the surf apparel company, to put him on the payroll. And with the help of a couple of celebrity surfers, Kelly Slater and Chris Malloy, Miki tries to get back on top. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/17/2023 • 40 minutes, 17 seconds
10. Aging Boy of Summer
After getting busted in France in 1981, Miki finally surrenders himself to the FBI. Agents have spent years interviewing denizens of the surf world, gathering dirt on Miki. His criminal file is 876 pages long. Miki decides to face the music, but he still has a couple tricks up his sleeve.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/13/2023 • 37 minutes, 40 seconds
9. The Fall Guys
Kevin Naughton and Craig Peterson are on assignment for Surfer magazine. Their task? Find Miki Dora. When they do, he’s living in a campervan in the South of France, surfing perfect empty waves. And waiting for his next recruits. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/10/2023 • 34 minutes, 31 seconds
8. AKA Fugitive
After moaning about the ruination of Malibu for years, Miki sets out … for New Zealand. He and Linda are going to use a bunch of fraudulent airline tickets and fake credit cards to disappear. There’s just one problem: they’re being hunted. Linda has another con artist boyfriend who is keen to find her. And Miki is wanted by the FBI. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/6/2023 • 43 minutes, 46 seconds
7. Misdirection
From nothing, a surf industry is born. There are magazines. And gear. And competitions. Everyone is hustling…. Including Miki. He introduces a new board called Da Cat, complete with an outrageous ad campaign. He also has a new girlfriend, a surfer named Linda Cuy, who has the makings of a full-on accomplice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7/3/2023 • 33 minutes, 7 seconds
6. Fuck the World
Miki puts his surfing skills to use in the Gidget movies and in every beach party movie he can get cast in. He wants to be a star, but he doesn’t want to really work. He and his girlfriend Diane Oosterveen dress up and go to Hollywood parties at night–and rob the guests. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/29/2023 • 34 minutes, 22 seconds
5. Surf Nazi
Mainland surfing has been steeped in the symbols of fascism since its inception. Iron Crosses, swastikas, Nazi uniforms…in the golden era of surfing, surfers flaunt them on their boards and in the early surf movies. Miki Dora is famous for his SS leather trench coat and using a board emblazoned with a giant swastika. He polices Malibu, forces newcomers, known as kooks, off their boards and off the beach. He lets everyone know that Malibu is his territory.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/26/2023 • 35 minutes, 16 seconds
4. Gidget Goes to Hollywood, Pt2
Kathy Kohner’s family were immigrants from Eastern Europe who helped launch the Golden Age of Hollywood. Miki Dora’s family had also escaped the rise of fascism to start anew in California. Their fathers were part of the same tight-knit emigre community. But Miki decides that Kathy is an interloper. And tries to drive her out of Malibu. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/22/2023 • 35 minutes, 47 seconds
3. Gidget Goes to Hollywood, Pt1
In the bitchen’ summer of 1956, a 15 year-old girl named Kathy Kohner shows up in Malibu and asks the guys to teach her how to surf. They call her Gidget. Soon, her father writes a book based on her diaries. The book becomes a movie, and a TV show, and a cultural juggernaut. And Miki, one of Kathy’s new surfer pals, is furious. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/19/2023 • 37 minutes, 57 seconds
2. Death in Mexico
The most iconic surfer in Southern California was born in… Hungary. Emigrating to Los Angeles as a baby, he was raised partly by his father, a sophisticated European wine lover and restaurateur, and partly by his mother and her new husband, a hard-charging surfer named Gard Chapin. After Gard’s rumored murder, Miki is never the same.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/15/2023 • 31 minutes, 2 seconds
1. The Legend of Miki Dora
Miki Dora, Malibu’s most celebrated surfer, was known as Da Cat. Gorgeous, graceful, and debonair, Miki was intimidating. He ruled Malibu from the 1950s to the 1970s. But then, he disappeared. Because Miki was not just a surfer. He was a con artist, who led the FBI on a 7 year hunt around the globe, while he searched for the perfect wave.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6/12/2023 • 42 minutes, 1 second
Lost Hills Season 3: The Dark Prince
There’s an evil undercurrent that runs through the surf world, and it all leads back to the Dark Prince of Malibu: Miki Dora. A surfer who ruled Malibu from the 1950s to the 1970s, he was also a con man and led the FBI on a 7-year manhunt around the world. To many people, Miki is a hero. But there’s darkness in the legacy he left behind. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
