Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Host Madeleine Brand looks at news, culture and emerging trends through the lens of Los Angeles.

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Most Recent Episode

Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Bass, Raman trade barbs throughout a testy mayoral debate

Plus, their plans for homelessness and housing; a young woman diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis finds relief in weightlifting, our weekend film reviews, and Evan Kleiman’s heaven on Earth.

00:49:02
Aug 20, 2026 4:4 PM
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More Episodes

Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why Pico-Robertson’s Orthodox Jews are scootering on Shabbat

Plus, why polling missed the mark this primary season. A promising potential skin cancer vaccine. And a new biography of Howard Zinn looks at how A People’s History of the United States became a bestseller.

00:50:07
Aug 19, 2026 3:50 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Buss vs. Buss: Spicy sibling dispute over Lakers sale

Plus, LA’s jazz version of the disastrous Fyre Festival, political commentator and feminist Molly Jong-Fast on why she wrote about her facelift, and World War II internment of Japanese-Americans as told in a new novel.

00:49:34
Aug 18, 2026 4:42 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Meta faces $1.4 trillion reckoning in ‘tobacco moment’ lawsuit

Plus, how evangelical Christians’ embrace of President Trump is costing them young worshipers, and longtime Dodgers pitcher Tommy John has died. He’s the namesake of a now-common surgical procedure.

00:32:53
Aug 17, 2026 3:43 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Air Force One switcheroo a ‘Russian nesting doll of scandal’

Plus, a new study finds people really don’t like it when other people use GLP-1s to lose weight, our weekend movie reviews, and breakfast burritos do’s and don’ts with Evan Kleiman.

00:49:49
Aug 13, 2026 3:13 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
What Iceland’s melting glaciers teach us about time, memory

Plus, LAUSD students head back to the school as the district faces a fiscal crisis, declining enrollment, and rotting food stinking up Boyle Heights, and the loved-and-loathed Real Housewives turn 20.

00:49:42
Aug 12, 2026 2:11 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Jackie the eagle, P-22, and the allure of celebrity wildlife

Plus, a counting error means LA’s homeless numbers aren’t as bad as initially reported, LA’s Olympics tickets are the most expensive ever, and an Iranian documentary about murder and retribution.

00:49:29
Aug 11, 2026 3:31 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Great outfits, street parties, swagger: Tana Yonas’ essential summer tracks

Plus, Mark Zuckerberg’s manifesto for speeding up open source AI development, President Trump’s refusal to take no from the Supreme Court, and what led up to the arrest of the man accused of killing Tupac Shakur.

00:50:14
Aug 10, 2026 3:51 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Eaton Fire victims’ lawyer thinks new report will encourage Edison to settle

Plus, Iran launches cyberattacks on Minnesota and President Trump blames America, first. Our weekend film reviews, and Evan Kleiman recommends the best chocolate chip cookies in town.

00:49:22
Aug 6, 2026 3:31 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Jane Schoenbrun’s campy and surrealistic take on teen slasher movies

Plus, AIPAC's decline as a major political player, what happened to people with asthma when scientists replaced gas stoves with electric ones, and did you know avocados change their sex throughout the day?

00:49:55
Aug 5, 2026 4:29 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
New Queer Cinema pioneer Gregg Araki’s characters mirror his own life

Plus, Todd Blanche “pinky swears” to deep-six a slush fund for President Trump’s allies, most ovarian cancer actually starts in the fallopian tubes, and how Odyssey translator Emily Wilson ignited a nerdy civil war.

00:50:50
Aug 4, 2026 3:8 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Is big Hollywood back? ‘Spider-Man’ smashes box office records

Plus, a third-generation Hollywood VFX artist on practical effects in an age of AI, why you have fewer rights at an airport, Colorado River cuts, and KCRW DJ LUXXURY’s summer spins.

00:50:06
Aug 3, 2026 4:11 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Remembering LA icon Betye Saar, and how she saw race in America

Plus, Sam Altman and other AI leaders unite to ask the government for more regulation, our weekend movie reviews include the latest Spider-Man, and Evan Kleiman goes to Cambria to find some good eats.

00:49:37
Jul 30, 2026 3:40 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Dan Tana’s daughters reflect on their dad’s singular restaurant

Plus, Saudi Arabia is now involved in the Iran war, the administration allegedly shares confidential information with Iran to deport asylum seekers, and Venice homeowners hire a company made up of former gang members to clear encampments.

00:49:39
Jul 29, 2026 5:21 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Europe is on fire. A coming heat wave could make it even worse

Plus, how President Trump’s Canada tariffs hurt California winemakers, people are drinking less and that’s hurting restaurants, and if the news has you filled with rage, try writing a manifesto.

00:49:44
Jul 28, 2026 3:50 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Homelessness is up in LA. What it means for the mayor’s race

Plus, there’ll be a trial between states and Paramount over the merger that could reshape Hollywood, President Trump’s new tariffs face legal challenges, and DJ J.Rocc shares his favorite summer songs.

00:49:15
Jul 27, 2026 5:4 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
No phonies here: Why ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ still resonates

Plus, the White House cancelled $2 billion in research grants at UC. They used key words like “diverse” or “gender” to make that decision. Our weekend film  reviews, and how to stay safe amid the lettuce crisis.

00:50:56
Jul 23, 2026 4:29 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Ross McElwee’s new film ‘Remake’ explores his son’s overdose

Plus, how to protect yourself from the biggest cyclosporiasis outbreak in U.S. history, the Trump administration cracks down on student visas, and why we’re using fewer words in daily conversation.

00:49:59
Jul 22, 2026 2:35 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Jackie got jumped! Beloved Big Bear eagle recovering after attack

Plus, autonomous AI fighter jets tested over the Mojave Desert, a place treasured by writer Claire Vaye Watkins. And healthcare startup Tia promised better care for women. The results? Undetected pregnancies and surprise bills.

00:49:23
Jul 21, 2026 3:16 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Summer spins with DJ, Stones Throw Records founder Peanut Butter Wolf

Plus, $6 billion in World Cup final wagers on prediction market apps, a judge pauses the $111 billion Paramount/WBD merger, and Meta wants smart glasses to be as indispensable as smartphones.

00:50:20
Jul 20, 2026 3:12 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Eastsiders enraged as charred, rotting food stinks up Boyle Heights

Plus, comedian Guy Branum presents history in a digestible manner with his Instagram series “What The Old Gays Remember,” our weekend film reviews, and Evan Kleiman on where to get LA’s best granola.

00:50:26
Jul 16, 2026 3:56 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
What’s behind the Los Angeles Zoo’s doom loop

Plus, the House votes to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, LA’s push to bring back more public bathrooms, and an argument for teaching the Bible as literature in public schools.

00:49:35
Jul 15, 2026 5:15 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Angry voters. Corrupt leaders. Shakespeare’s ‘Coriolanus’ feels like a modern tragedy

Plus, President Trump’s former personal attorney is up for confirmation as attorney general. And Israel has lost the Democratic Party. Even centrist Rahm Emanuel questions unconditional U.S. support.

00:49:42
Jul 14, 2026 4:30 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
What happens when a quarter of Congress is over 70

Plus, a big federal housing bill quietly became law despite the president’s objections, the Sklar Brothers handicap this week’s World Cup semifinals, and summer music courtesy of our new DJ Olive Kimoto.

00:49:58
Jul 13, 2026 2:57 PM
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Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why libraries still matter as LA Central Library turns 100

Plus, writer Susan Orlean on her critically acclaimed, bestselling love letter to libraries, our weekend film reviews, and Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay surprises with 19 Emmy nominations.

00:50:40
Jul 9, 2026 3:20 PM
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