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Sold In America
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© 2022 Stitcher and E.W. Scripps Company, with Noor Tagouri
Description
Sold in America is an eight-episode journey into the world of selling sex in the United States. Hosted by journalist and activist Noor Tagouri, this deeply personal, deeply reported series takes listeners across the country to meet the human faces of this billion-dollar trade – and uncovers its surprising misconceptions.
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Journalist and activist Noor Tagouri grew up thinking she knew everying about sex trafficking in the U.S. But when she embarks on a deeply personal, deeply reported journey, taking listeners into the world of selling sex in the United States, she realizes the story is more complicated. Join Noor as she travels across the country to meet the human faces of this billion-dollar trade – and uncover its surprising misconceptions. Sold In America launches October 10.
1Our series begins where Noor’s journey into world of sexual exploitation and violence began, as a 12 year old girl in a hotel in Saudi Arabia. But when she sits down with a survivor of the sex trade, she begins to understand sex trafficking in a whole new light. And now Noor is face-to-face with how easy it is for women to be Sold in America.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
The sex trade in America may appear unseen, but it is not hidden. In Kentucky, where the opioid crisis is making people vulnerable to exploitation, Noor meets doctors and police officers who are training to recognize trafficking victims in medical settings and on the streets. By the time Noor leaves the Bluegrass state, she's convinced that we must talk about drugs and addiction if we want to help trafficking victims.
Every day and every hour in this country, people are buying and selling sex. It’s on the street, it’s online, and it’s worth billions. And the people buying are mostly men. In most parts of the country, buyers rarely face any consequences, but one city is trying something different. Noor travels to Seattle where she meets a man who was arrested for buying sex, and the public official who wants to crack down on demand. But then she meets a sex worker in the city who flips the narrative about exploitation on its head.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
Nevada is the land of legalized prostitution. At the Bunny Ranch brothel, Noor explores a model of sex entirely as a business – just like any other. She meets a highly paid prostitute who plans to leave the ranch with hundreds of thousands in savings. The infamous pimp who runs the place argues that if you're selling sex for money in America and you're not doing it legally in a brothel, you're a criminal. But Noor learns that only a select few can meet the standards for working in the brothel.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go tostitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
This episode is sponsored by Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/NOOR code: NOOR).
Noor meets Laya, a trans woman of color who became a sex worker after she was shut out from her family and job. It’s called survival sex -- sex work done purely to survive. What makes sex work dangerous for people like Laya is that she can’t report violent buyers to the police without fear of being arrested. Now, she’s trying to get a new law passed by the Washington, D.C. city council to decriminalize the buying and selling of sex. Is this the solution Noor has been searching for, or just a band-aid?
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
A huge portion of the sex trade takes place online. Huge websites like Backpage and Craigslist used to offer a place where sex workers posted ads for their services. But these websites were also seen as a breeding ground for illegal trafficking. That’s why Congress passed legislation this year to hold websites accountable for posts related to prostitution. Politicians from both parties voted to pass a bill cracking down on online sex trade -- because how could you not want to help sex trafficking victims? The bill is called FOSTA/SESTA. But many sex workers see it differently. Noor heads to Capitol Hill for the first ever sex work lobby day and finds out that the people this law was meant to protect were never consulted before it passed -- and now say it's made their lives far more dangerous.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
Noor wraps up her journey focusing on the one area all sides of the sex trade debate can agree on -- kids. She meets Ashley Cacho, who was moved from one foster care home to another and started being trafficked at age 11. And she hangs out with a group of kids who tell her about the risks they face ending up in the sex trade when they run away or are homeless for even one night. And Noor finds the answer to sex trafficking has nothing to do with sex.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
Throughout the series, Noor asked her audience for stories and questions from listeners. In this episode, Noor will share some of these stories and answer questions.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
This episode is sponsored by Care/of (www.takecareof.com code: NOOR).
The team here at Stitcher has another show they’d highly recommend you checking out. Unladylike, hosted by Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin, is all about the surprising and complicated and sometimes really fun world of feminism. They just wrapped an amazing season covering everything from feminist birdwatching, to gas lighting in the doctor's’ office, to slam dunks in the WNBA. Noor was featured on an episode where she talks about reporting on sex work, based on her experience creating Sold In America.
This week, we’re bringing you something extra: an episode where Cristen & Caroline interview a sexual assault nurse examiner about how to get a rape kit -- and how they could restore consent, dignity, and justice to patients.
Go find Unladylike in your podcast app to hear the first episode now. Unladylike in Apple Podcasts: https://applepodcasts.com/unladylike
In this bonus episode, Noor passes the mic to listeners to share their stories of how the issues explored in this season affected them personally.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
Comedians Tess Barker and Babs Gray, who you might know from Lady to Lady or the now legendary Britney’s Gram podcast, are here to bring you a brand new investigative series about Britney Spears' conservatorship and the court system that's allowed it to persist.After launching the #FreeBritney movement, they started to dig… And what they found out, you won’t want to miss! Join Tess and Babs as they talk to exclusive sources, examine new sides of the story, and uncover disturbing truths about our legal system that go way beyond Britney. Listen to Episodes 1 & 2 right now: link.chtbl.com/ToxicThePodcast
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Great podcast☝🏼
I found it absolutely disgusting that Donald tRump signed a bill when he is accused of being involved with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex trafficker. At the very least, tRump has admitted walking in on girls in their dressing room as they were preparing for the pageant.
thank you for putting the time into this to help educate and shine a light on this. I saw and read half the sky awhile ago and this podcast is amazing so far and I'm only a few episodes in. I hope to continue supporting women and places committed to eradicate and help stop sex trafficking. the fact that most women that are charged with sex crimes like prostitution are rarely asked if they need help is mind blowing.
I think this relates to movements like 'me too' that stand for the mindset in our free society. Women are taught from a young age that perhaps say without the protection of another we feel powerless and helpless. not just women , but children are all too often violated by incest or molestation. diabolical behavior consumes a disproportionate amount of young, innocent ,maybe naive persons. Sociopathy, mind control , and manipulation is so much more than anthony Hopkins and looks more like your preacher , boss, doctor , or neighbor. when the top of power equals the top of wealth, it means something. I dont think that people will need to be selling their bodies with proper education , or with medical care that should even actually include the same coverage on dentistry and mental health and rehab. If moral and ethical needs are no longer a part of a home or a complete family , than they have to be stressed without religion. when the physically weaker species has nowhere to g
has this podcast been cancelled? there hasn't been any new or recent episodes?
I had such a hard time understanding this episode with the static and funky noise. 😩😟
This is interesting but you could put the whole lot into only two podcasts. They really string it out so easy to get bored.
Noor is massively annoying. some of the info was good if you can get past the self rightious privilege
Not this lady
I have a podcast hole shaped hole in my heart now. Could you please investigate something else because you and your team did such a good job with this one.
Is there an international code to msg the 202 number in order to recieve photos?
Noor is the only one who is degraded the girls in season 4 .. Some one needs to live a little Stop making out girls don't enjoy the fantasy of sex and being paid for it...
Working at social, economic and political change from the top down is like climbing a rugged mountain without a rope, then realizing the need to go back down. Those who feel a sense of comfort and entitlement within their position of privilege and power are not open to listening or sharing with those who have little, let alone handing it over. They will only go through the motions of appearance, always coming short of making a genuine change. Their grip is like iron and their scheming never sleeps. US history shows this time and time again: The American Indian Treaties, The Civil War, The Women's Sufferage Movement, the Labor Wars, Segregation, The Civil Rights Movement, The American Indian Movement. All of these suffered assassinatioms of leaders and much conflict - except one, and it was primarilly worked from home. The husbands were giving place at home to their wives and only then moving forward from there; still yet needing the rationale in Congress of balancing power with women
There is something about the way the journalist reports which comes across as disingenuous
so the supposed LBGT kids are more at risk thank "straight" kids????? come on!!! ALL kids are at risk! quit pushing this propaganda! I'm part of the LBGT community, btw. shame shame shame on you!!!!!!!
Noor, I came across this TED Talk video the other day and would like to share it with your listeners. It's a three year old presentation by the former US president, Jimmy Carter. Like you, he sees the connection between the abuse of women and children with that of racial, religious, cultural and socioeconomic status. The three common denominators are men, power and the communities' lack of care or willingness to make any real and lasting change. Though Carter speaks of the problem being global wide (drawing on his unique position of access to information and experience), his main focus is on the US. At the end of the talk he gives only one solution that he believes anyone can take part in. To veiw the video, please copy and paste the address below into your Web browser: https://www.ted.com/talks/jimmy_carter_why_i_believe_the_mistreatment_of_women_is_the_number_one_human_rights_abuse/up-next#t-976217
I don't know where to begin. Thank you Noor for all you have done. Which, I believe is more than what we have heard. I am impressed by the amount you have covered in such a short amount of time. Obviously there is so much more to do. Everything is so complex. You and your team are tackling a problem that goes back as far as recorded time and is global wide. I just subscribed and started listening to the podcast this morning and couldn't stop listening until the last one. Its made me smile and made cry. I am still very moved and am anticipating the next episode. I had thought to voice some criticism. But I can't. You are taking on a very noble cause. Which is more than I can say for myself. Something has to be done, and it has to start somewhere. I hope you are able to focus in on what you can do best and stick with it. I just hope that it involves the children. They are the most vulnerable and the most hurt.
I was a little hesitant in the beginning to continue listening because near the beginning it seemed like there was a specific stance that Mrs. Tagorui was taking. but i continued to listen and all i can say is she did a great job putting both sides out there without bias and showing that this is more than just a black and white decision
Loved it. Great job. Looking forward to more episodes.
I agree with other reviewers who find this podcast is mainly about Noor, rather than those she interviewed. I can only rate it as ok.