Bad City

Peril and Power in the City of Angels

By: Paul Pringle

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

2022 Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

For fans of Spotlight and Catch and Kill comes a nonfiction thriller about corruption and betrayal radiating across Los Angeles from one of the region's most powerful institutions, a riveting tale from a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist who investigated the shocking events and helped bring justice in the face of formidable odds.

On a cool, overcast afternoon in April 2016, a salacious tip arrived at the L.A. Times that reporter Paul Pringle thought should have taken, at most, a few weeks to check out: a drug overdose at a fancy hotel involving one of the University of Southern California’s shiniest stars—Dr. Carmen Puliafito, the head of the prestigious medical school. Pringle, who’d long done battle with USC and its almost impenetrable culture of silence, knew reporting the story wouldn’t be a walk in the park. USC is the largest private employer in the city of L.A., and it casts a long shadow.

But what he couldn’t have foreseen was that this tip would lead to the unveiling of not one major scandal at USC but two, wrapped in a web of crimes and cover-ups. The rot rooted out by Pringle and his colleagues at The Times would creep closer to home than they could have imagined—spilling into their own newsroom.

Packed with details never before disclosed, Pringle goes behind the scenes to reveal how he and his fellow reporters triumphed over the city’s debased institutions, in a narrative that unfolds like L.A. noir. This is L.A. at its darkest and investigative journalism at its brightest.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

"Robert Petkoff is especially effective at narrating this account..."—AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award Winner)

©2022 Paul Pringle (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Revealing Glimpses into a City of Causal Corruption

This surprising 2022 memoir by a Los Angeles Times investigative journalist reveals many stunning stories of casual corruption, loose morals, and perverted priorities. Beginning with a bizarre tale of a hedonistic USC medical dean providing information to 911 emergency call center, this book slowly documents widespread abuse of power and the systematic protection of powerful people by indifferent university administrators, southern California police departments, and LA Times editors.

Is it hard to listen to this slow, careful documentation of influential institutions condoning awful, illegal behavior? Yes - especially when you live in LA. Too many professionals seem to have become very comfortable hiding crimes and putting financial interests first in this real life 21st century version of a 1940s film noir classic. Millionaires face few consequences for abusive actions and videotaped crimes while poorer, younger drug addicts spend time in jail.

The author won the Pulitzer Prize, helped rescue the local newspaper, and helped dislodge a power-obsessed university president to resign. Hundreds of sexually abused USC students also received over a billion dollars in damages. Yet a few prominent criminal suspects have also avoided even being questioned by police, let alone being charged or convicted. Is this justice? Readers may reach some depressing conclusions.

Relentless Reporting

Nothing satisfies like a good expose of wrongdoing by the powerful and arrogant. Paul Pringle’s report on a covered-up scandal at USC—and the efforts of his editors at the LA Times to suppress the story--makes for a remarkable, suspenseful read. Like “Catch and Kill,” Ronan Farrow’s book on Harvey Weinstein, and “Spotlight,” the movie about predator priests in the Boston area, Pringle must deal not only with pinning down the truth about a sex scandal but also persuading his editors to publish the story.

I found the book riveting, especially the first half. In the second half, Pringle and his colleagues pursue additional scandals, but none is quite so riveting as the first USC scandal—not even the one that resulted in a Pulitzer Prize for Pringle.

The narration by Robert Petkoff was excellent. He had the right tone of urgency or outrage as needed.

Overall, highly recommended!

SO SO GOOD!!

This was one of my favorite audiobooks of the year. A fascinating and true story of coverup and scandal. Sometimes felt like a thriller - the characters are so crazy! Highly recommended

I wish I had read this in J School!

This book is about the thrill of the chase, the fight to expose corruption, and the determination of true journalists to break down pedestals of power that insulate the elite from accountability. I had tears in my eyes as the narrator brought this story to a close.

My only complaint was the author's decision to bring two extraneous stories into the book after completing his reports on the Puliafito scandal. Yes, they are worthy tales in and of themselves, but the digression pulls attention away from Pringle's incredible reporting that forms the main body of this book.

I graduated from J School in 1970, before computers and well before internet research. But the guts of old-fashioned reporting are here, and this story gives me hope that investigative journalism will always be with us.

Wow! Loved it.

The book is extremely well written by Pulitzer Prize winning Paul Pringle. This is as a true “page turner” as I’ve ever read/listened to. I would have given this book all fives but was a bit disappointed in the final chapter.

riveting

a real page turner. well written, powerful and compelling story that affected usc for years

Wonderful

This is one of those stories where truth is stranger than fiction - amazing book anyone who enjoys intrigue should read!!

Could not get any better than this

All around one of the best investigative pieces I’ve ever read/listened to. I’m stunned by the corporate cover ups by never surprised. Another ding against higher education w the greed and avarice shining through clearly. I don’t know what the solution is but somebody needs to provide independent unbiased oversight of every aspect of these schools especially the fundraising and the methodology. Disgusted by police resistance yet again to provide any honesty transparency or integrity. Nikias and Carmen should both be sharing a cell for years and years.
Nice job Paul!
Anything else you’d recommend as mandatory reading?

Really Enjoyed

Great story and will look for more like it. Strong performance as well. USC is woefully corrupt and yet supported by so many. Greed does terrible things, as this story highlights.

Breathtaking corruption at USC

Privileged corruption and the struggle for righteous journalism. A classic expose on the power of money and rhe evil it can foster in the wrong hands.