Amanda Finger, Executive Director and Founder, and Dr. Annie Miller, Co-Principal Investigator of the Colorado Project, from the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking in Denver, Colorado, discuss their recently released Colorado Project 2.0 to Comprehensively Combat Human Trafficking and their related Action Plan. Their community-based research project encompassed 183 individual surveys, 69 organizational interviews, and 29 focus groups from across Colorado. Sources: The Colorado Project 2.0, The Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking ..read more

Seth and JJ explain what a T Visa and U Visa are, and how they can help victims of human trafficking get temporary nonimmigrant status. They also explain how Trump administration policies have affected these visa, including how they are slowing down processing times. Nevertheless, applications numbers have risen, but so have denials since 2016 along with a growing backlog of pending applications. Sources: Information for Law Enforcement Agencies and Judges, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-human-trafficking-other-crimes T Visa Applicants Mus ..read more

Jeffrey Epstein has been arrested and formerly charged with sex trafficking by the Southern District of New York. Seth and JJ discuss the new charges and information that has come to light. Sources: Jeffrey Epstein Is Accused of Luring Girls to His Manhattan Mansion and Abusing Them, The New York Times $56 Million Upper East Side Mansion Where Epstein Allegedly Abused Girls, The New York Times Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Once Hosted a Party for “28 Girls” at Mar-a-Lago, VICE “So. More on the modern slave trade…”, Virginia Heffernan Julie K. Brown: “Quite A Few Powerful And Important” Names Will ..read more

Seth and JJ discuss Joss Whedon’s most controversial work, Dollhouse, which intersects with themes of human trafficking, prostitution, ownership, identity, and consent. While it’s been 10 years since Dollhouse debuted for a two season run, Dollhouse’s complex portrayal of trafficking is still good for a nuanced conversation of the issues. Sources: Dollhouse, Hulu Why Dollhouse Really Is Joss Whedon’s Greatest Work, Gizmodo In defence of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, Den of Geek Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse: Confounding Purpose, Confusing Identity – Edited by Sherry Ginn, Alyson R. Buckman, and Heather M ..read more

Over 400,000 Rohingya are being forced to migrate from Myanmar. Hosts Seth Daire and JJ Janflone explain the context and how this makes the Rohingya, a stateless population, even more vulnerable. Rohingya have previously been subject to human trafficking while migrating, and International Organization for Migration noted that hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Myanmar are “at the mercy” of human traffickers. Sources: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/rohingya-migrant-crisis http://www.atimes.com/article/truth-behind-myanmars-rohingya-insurgency/ http://www.fox ..read more

Forced gang recruitment is a big problem in the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras), with migrants fleeing out of the region to other countries, including the US. Many are unaccompanied minors due to the fact that gangs are often targeting youth. Guest Amber Moffett joins host Seth Daire to discuss the problem and how human trafficking occurs within gangs and how it's creating hundreds and thousands of migrants, which are then vulnerable to trafficking en route to wherever they are fleeing to. Sources: No Place to Hide - International Human Rights Clinic, Harvard Law School ..read more

The TV show Orphan Black just finished it's 5-year run of exploring an intersectionality of themes, with the amazing Tatiana Maslany playing the clones. Seth Daire and JJ Janflone discuss the show and relate it to reality, which includes a brief explanation of cloning in reality and how existing US law may inform the Orphan Black scenario. From there, they dive into two big questions: Can clones be owned? Are clones truly human? Sources: http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/orphan-black Green, Richard and Rachel Robison-Greene, eds. Orphan Black and Philosophy: Grand Theft DNA. Chicago: Open Court ..read more

British model Chloe Ayling was drugged and kidnapped in July 2017 in Milan to be sold in an online auction in the Middle East. Seth Daire and JJ Janflone gives their 'hot take' on this still unfolding story, which is still under police investigation. While assuming it's true unless proven otherwise, they give reasons why this could be true based on existing trafficking narratives and why it could be false based on oddities with the entire story, especially with the kidnappers. Sources: https://www.buzzfeed.com/salvadorhernandez/model-kidnapped-in-milan-to-be-sold-in-an-online-auction https ..read more

Women known as 'bar girls' or 'taxi girls' entertain men in countries around the world, though most famously in Southeast and East Asia. These bar women, and sometimes bar men, may also be pressured to provide sexual services. In some cases, these people are in trafficking situations. Hosts Seth Daire and JJ Janflone talk a bit about what they've seen and what trafficking looks like for bar women and men. Also, JJ explains why good statistics are hard to find. Sources: Photo: Flickr ..read more

SPOILERS. Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale is based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian novel. Seth Daire and JJ Janflone explain the context of the story, then discuss the similarities with American antebellum slavery, how the story conveys agency and oppression, and why it's an example of slavery rather than trafficking. Sources: https://www.hulu.com/the-handmaids-tale Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1984. Nelson, David. Women's Issues in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2012. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201 ..read more