John Oliver dissects America's 'confusing and counterproductive' sex work laws

"Sex is a topic that historically we've not been very good at talking about," John Oliver said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight. And the sex topic he hoped to talk better about is sex work.

"The concept is pretty simple," Oliver said. "Let's say you have sex but afterwards you get money or a chocolate bar or one of those participation trophies — way better, right? Well, too bad, it's illegal. Very basically, sex work is the exchange of sex for money or good, and in the United States, a complicated patchwork of local, state, and federal laws makes that act illegal everywhere except for a few counties in Nevada" — unless it's on camera.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.