Podbit · The Shawn Ryan Show
Foster care is ground zero for human trafficking in America. Jen Lilley names it plainly: the system that's supposed to protect children has become the primary feeder for traffickers who prey on kids nobody is looking for.
Where this was said
At 7:50 · chapter starts 3:16
Jen Lilley's first move is to flip the script: before answering any questions, she thanks Shawn Ryan for being willing to address foster care at all, calling it a topic so uncomfortable that even she — a dedicated advocate — dreads discussing it. Ryan explains how his focus evolved from veterans to politics and eventually to child exploitation, and how his wife pointed him toward the foster care system as 'the darkest thing.' A Patreon question from Eric Auger cuts right to the heart: which institution — Hollywood, the education system, or foster care — does the most damage to America's children? Lilley doesn't hesitate: foster care is the deep end of the pool, while Hollywood and education are just dipping their toes in. Her answer immediately pivots to the topic that will define the entire episode.
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