Reporter Brian Joseph’s new book on sex trafficking in the USA

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Brian Joseph has worked as a newspaper reporter and investigative journalist for two decades, writing for Capitol Weekly, the Orange County Register, the Sacramento Bee and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, among other publications. He recently released his first book: Vegas Concierge: Sex Trafficking, Hip Hop and Corruption in America. Using public and private records as well as exclusive, first-person accounts from primary sources, the book shows how prostitutes and pimps ply their trade, how law enforcement agencies trip up and their investigations become compromised, and how self-interest corrupts news organizations and the corridors of power. He spoke with us about what drove him to write the book, the connection to Hip Hop and corruption, and what news organizations have gotten wrong in coverage of the issue. Plus: Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics?

1:50 The California connection

3:36 Shannon Grove

4:14 How did the book come about?

6:31 The victims

8:06 How prevalent is sex trafficking in the US?

9:47 The effect of the internet

12:04 The connection to Hip Hop and corruption

15:10 How have the profiled subjects reacted?

16:45 Repeat victimization

18:34 How have news organizations made it worse

20:32 Intense book tour moments

Fox News Headline

23:26 #WWCA: Runner up, Kevin “Kylie”