Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Host Madeleine Brand looks at news, culture and emerging trends through the lens of Los Angeles.
Most Recent Episode
Politics of gender-affirming care, Russia’s pursuit of Ukrainian territories
A new report from Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services tries to discredit gender-affirming care, contradicting leading medical experts who say it can save lives.
Yale grad student Tetiana Kotelnykova grew up in war-torn Eastern Ukraine. She says appeasing Russian President Putin with territory captured during the war will make him want more.
Critics review the latest film releases: “Another Simple Favor,” “The Surfer,” “Rust,” and “Thunderbolts.*”
LA cheese shops offer sandwich menus, monthly clubs, events, and specialty grocery items. All make enticing cheese boards with charcuterie.
More Episodes
State of immigration 100 days into Trump 2.0, appeal of big wave surfing
A hundred days into his second White House term, Donald Trump has reshaped the conversation around immigration in the U.S., once seen as a proud melting pot of immigrants and cultures.
Trump is trying to deport an unprecedented number of people. The Silicon Valley company Palantir is compiling a database of sensitive information to help him do it.
Waves in NorCal, Maui, and Nazaré can be 100 feet tall, posing serious injury or death to professionals. Still, athletes are undeterred. They are the subject of “100 Foot Wave,” now in season three.
UC Berkeley scientists have discovered a new color, “olo,” visible only with special lasers, offering a glimpse into the untapped potential of human vision.
What Musk has done at DOGE, LA chefs on Trump’s tariffs
Elon Musk says he's scaling back his work in Washington D.C. and returning to Tesla. He and DOGE had promised to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget.
After reporting Tesla’s tanked first quarter profits, Elon Musk blames protests and vows to spend more time with the company. Will it be enough to turn things around?
Goods coming into the U.S. face a baseline 10% tariff, and those from China face 14.5%. Chefs and owners of Firstborn and Bé Ù share how that’s affected profits and menu items.
Critics review the latest film releases: “The Accountant 2,” “Havoc,” “On Swift Horses,” and “Until Dawn.”
Knafeh (shredded filo) is the star ingredient in Dubai chocolate bars, which are also stuffed with pistachio cream. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for this treat.
The fight over Beverly Hills abortion clinic, expansion comes to The Broad
President Trump’s pause on tariffs against most nations sent the stock market soaring. Meanwhile, tariffs against China, and from China, are going up.
DuPont Clinic was supposed to open in Beverly Hills to provide late-term abortions. However, after abortion rights activists got involved with city officials, the lease for the clinic’s office got rescinded.
PAPER Magazine Co-founder Kim Hastreiter talks about her new book, “STUFF: A New York Life of Cultural Chaos.” It’s a memoir and a 50-year cultural history of NYC.
The Broad is breaking ground today on an expansion that will add 55,000 square feet — offering more galleries, programming space, and open-air patios.
Dire AI future, ‘Deli Boys,’ Canadian tourism in Palm Springs
President Trump is not backing down from imposing tariffs on all countries doing business with the U.S., including 100% or more on China. China has threatened tariffs against U.S. exports too, which could begin Thursday.
Dire predictions about the future of artificial intelligence are in a recent report by a Berkeley-based group called the AI Futures Project.
“Deli Boys” creator Abdullah Saeed and actor Saagar Shaikh discuss the personal stories that shaped Hulu's dark comedy about family, crime, and identity.
Palm Springs’ economy has heavily relied on Canadian tourists, and now officials are worried about losing that revenue due to increasing political tensions between the U.S. and Canada.
Fighting to keep an Altadena pub alive, mapping LA’s lost record stores
California’s nearly $4 trillion economy is heavily dependent on international trade. A tariff war could impact that significantly.
The Altadena Ale and Wine House survived the Eaton Fire. Owner Gail Casburn also lost her house — and won’t give up her beloved pub.
Dyanne Cano put together an archival map of 84 independent record stores that closed in LA between 1956 and 2020. They highlight Dolphin’s of Hollywood Records, Record Store Discos Exitos No. 2, and Vinyl Fetish.
“White Lotus,” about ultra-rich people’s antics, wrapped its third season. How does the series continue to grab our imagination?
Tariff impacts on business owners and your 401K, war on higher ed
The manager of Rafu Bussan in Little Tokyo says she’s been stockpiling goods imported from Japan in preparation for Trump’s tariffs, but she may have to eat costs or raise prices soon.
Stocks are in a tailspin following President Trump’s tariffs. Now’s the time to prepare for a possible recession, says personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary.
With cuts to Ivy League and other schools, President Trump tries to reshape higher education. Schools are falling in line, but some professors are fighting back.
Critics review the latest film releases: “Freaky Tales,” “A Minecraft Movie,” “The Luckiest Man in America,” and “The Friend.”
Layering matzo sheets with veggies borrows heavily from the idea of lasagna. After baking, you get layers of unbelievable lightness, and this dish works as both a satisfying side or entrée.
Building more homes on tiny LA lots, recording sounds of climate change
Democrats won a key Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The result is being seen as a rebuke of Elon Musk, who campaigned in the state and spent millions on the GOP candidate.
New auto tariffs are supposed to be for “foreign” cars and parts, but no US-made vehicle will escape the impact. Detroit’s obsession with big cars won’t help.
UCLA’s cityLAB has launched a design competition where contestants can submit proposals for low-cost, easy-to-build starter homes on vacant city-owned lots.
Bernie Krause’s thousands of hours of recordings reveal how climate change is affecting the natural world. His life and work are the subject of the documentary “The Last of the Nightingales.”
Actor Val Kilmer died Tuesday at age 65. His career included both “Top Gun” films, “Batman Forever,” “Heat,” and an iconic performance as Jim Morrison in “The Doors.”
Trump’s tariffs, toxic algal bloom, ‘Alternate Realities’
What is President Trump trying to accomplish with reciprocal tariffs, and do economists think he can reach his goals with these tactics?
The Trump administration admitted in court on Monday that it mistakenly deported a Maryland father to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
Scientists say a massive algal bloom is releasing toxins that are making some marine animals more aggressive, and causing others to wash ashore either dead or seriously ill.
Zack Mack’s father went down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole that tore apart his family. Mack spent the past year making a podcast about it called “Alternate Realities.”
The agony and ecstasy of March Madness were on full display this weekend for LA college basketball fans.
Cesar Chavez Day special: ‘Porcelain War,’ Johnny Carson, yacht rock
On this Cesar Chavez Day, Press Play reairs some of our favorite segments:
“Porcelain War” is a documentary that vividly portrays the lives of civilians-turned-soldiers on and off Ukraine’s battlefield against Russia.
Johnny Carson was seemingly a friend to millions as the host of "The Tonight Show" for three decades. That wasn’t the case in his personal life, according to “Carson the Magnificent,” published in November 2024.
In the mid-1970s and ‘80s in SoCal, bands like Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and Toto blended jazz, R&B, and pop to create a new soft style: yacht rock.
Democrats’ direction, ‘Severance’ finale, art by Charles Gaines and others
The Trump administration’s release of war plans on a group chat that included the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief raises questions about the competence of the president’s top national security staff and their use of the messaging app Signal.
How should Democrats respond to Trump? His second term has sparked an internal reckoning.
The season two finale of “Severance” left fans buzzing. KCRW breaks down its twists, hidden meanings, and what’s next for TV’s most mind-bending show.
Three must-see art exhibitions up now are “Charles Gaines: Numbers and Trees, The Tanzania Baobabs,” “Tau Lewis: Spirit Level,” and “Hugo Crosthwaite: Ex-voto.”
End of ceasefire in Gaza, Spanish-language networks’ coverage of Trump
Amid a new phase of war, public opinion polls show a majority of Israelis want to see the end of fighting in Gaza and a return of hostages. Meanwhile, many Gazans have turned against Hamas.
Spanish-language TV networks Telemundo and Univision have aired DHS ads urging people in the U.S. illegally to leave. That’s angered staff at Univision who are already worried the network is covering Trump too timidly.
Critics review the latest film releases: “The Alto Knights,” “Snow White,” “Misericordia,” and “Ash.”
Scandinavian brown cheese has the color of caramel and a fudgy consistency. In Scandinavia, it’s most commonly eaten on bread with jam, atop waffles, or melted into other dishes.