Hemingway's Picasso

Introducing Power: Hugh Hefner

Who was Hugh Hefner? Liberator of sexuality, bizarre playboy or something more sinister? In this season, journalist and author Amy Rose Spiegel looks at his complex story through the eyes of the women who knew him best, delving into Hefner’s rise to power and investigating the dark side of the brand. What can the story of Hugh Hefner and the rise and fall of Playboy tell us about sex and power, then and now?

A Somethin' Else production.
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Steve Kough lived many lives. He was an NFL journeyman, a male model, and one of the most well-connected smugglers in 1980’s Miami, the “Drug Capital of the World." 

Kough collected many souvenirs from his adventures, but his most treasured bounty – a beautiful ceramic, crafted by Pablo Picasso and gifted to Ernest Hemingway at the author’s Cuban home, the Finca Vigia... or so the story goes. 
Lost during the Cuban Revolution, the artwork resurfaced when Kough took it as a payment for drug run financed by the notorious Pablo Escobar. 

Kough passed away in 2018, passing the piece down to his son, Stevie, a skateboarding hippie growing weed in California. 
Stevie feels he needs to complete his father’s mission – of selling this piece and telling Steve’s cinematic life story.  

So, is the Picasso authentic—or a fraud? Was Steve Kough a big talker or a real deal smuggler? Does any of that matter or is this a story of aspiration, legacy, and difficult love? Tune in on Monday’s starting on October 18th to find out! 

This is a Somethin' Else production in association with Vespucci.