Must Reads: R. Kelly's #MeToo reckoning, Charlie Rose's enablers, and Erik Prince's China

Compelling, ambitious reads you can’t afford to miss.

When national arts reporter Geoff Edgers started working on his penetrating look at years of sexual abuse allegations involving R&B superstar R. Kelly, he was worried he wouldn't be able to uncover anything new. Kelly's behavior, which included marriage to then-15-year-old singer Aaliyah and a video that appeared to show him having sex with a 14-year-old, was well known. But Edgers, with encouragement from his editor, Christine Ledbetter, focused his reporting on the industry that enabled Kelly's career to flourish amid one disturbing scandal after another. 

"How do you ignore something like this for so long?" Edgers said he asked himself. "How does that happen? You trace it back to the money, and who are the people who benefited?"

Edgers, who also hosts a podcast called Edge of Fame, called, emailed and texted the people who knew the answers to those questions dozens of times before some of them would talk to him. He got deep inside Kelly's world, talking to industry figures and handlers around him and to two women who'd never spoken publicly before about their relationships with Kelly. They were nervous, said Edgers, because they'd signed non-disclosure agreements. He said he told them: "I can't tell you what to do. You have to make that choice."

He also scored a reporting coup by reaching Clive Calder, the founder of Jive Records, which was the first label to sign Kelly. Post researchers Magda Jean-Louis and Alice Crites played a critical role in finding cellphone numbers for Calder and other industry figures, Edgers said. By the time he was ready to write, Edgers had spent five months on the story and had gathered recorded calls — including one of Kelly asking a teen to describe her underwear — text messages and a book proposal that shed light on how Kelly operates. "When I got obsessed about it," he said, "I developed better sources than anyone."

— Lynda Robinson, Local Enterprise Editor

How the music industry overlooked R. Kelly’s alleged abuse of young women A Washington Post investigation found that this disregard for the singer’s alleged behavior played out on many levels, from billionaire record executives to the low-paid assistants. Geoff Edgers  •   Read more »

A warrior goes to China: Did Erik Prince cross a line? The Blackwater founder is running a security college in Beijing that is training Chinese military and security personnel to protect China’s economic interests abroad. Prince’s latest business initiative has proven troubling to some members of Congress and military officials. Marc Fisher, Ian Shapira, Emily Rauhala  •   Read more »

Charlie Rose’s misconduct was widespread at CBS and three managers were warned, investigation finds Of 27 additional women making allegations against Rose, 14 worked at CBS News. Amy Brittain and Irin Carmon  •   Read more »

Miracle cures or modern quackery? Stem cell clinics multiply, with heartbreaking results for some patients. A number of women have sued after losing vision. The treatments marketed in this booming industry are untested and unapproved, and regulators are cracking down. Laurie McGinley and William Wan  •   Read more »

Jordan Peterson is on a crusade to toughen up young men. It’s landed him on our cultural divide. The unlikely journey of a Canadian professor who’s been embraced by the right, denounced by the left and watched on YouTube by Kanye. Karen Heller  •   Read more »