Press Play with Madeleine Brand cover art

All Episodes

Press Play with Madeleine Brand — 107 episodes

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Title
1

Sophy Romvari reimagines her family tragedy in ‘Blue Heron’

2

Meet the sculptor making a giant transgender Jesus out of chocolate

3

Jazz giant Arturo Sandoval still finds inspiration in his 70s

4

LA Metro’s decades-in-the-making D Line opens this weekend

5

Why climate change is making our food less nutritious

6

They’re cute. Even polite. But does LA need more delivery robots?

7

How McCabe’s in Santa Monica became a nationally known venue

8

$25 billion (and counting): The Iran War’s cost, 2 months in

9

‘A hugely terrible opinion’: UCLA’s Rick Hasen on SCOTUS voting rights decision

10

Comedian Sheng Wang on immigration, kind comedy, and ‘rat news’

11

Ruth Slenczynska, Rachmaninoff’s student who performed for presidents, dies at 101

12

A Thriller? Or just Bad? We review the Michael Jackson biopic

13

Why Lena Dunham inspires so much hate, and love, as a millennial feminist

14

Louise Erdrich’s remarkable encounters with the natural world

15

‘Ramones’ turns 50: Punk producer Craig Leon’s stories from the studio

16

LACMA’s decades-in-the-making $724 million wing finally opens

17

AI is replacing coders, but some coders welcome the change

18

‘LIVE from…’ London? Saturday Night Live expands to the UK

19

Swalwell’s stunning exit adds more chaos to CA governor race

20

Remembering “Swedish Death Cleaning” guru Margareta Magnusson

21

LA Phil's new conductor Anna Handler 'energized, motivated' by Los Angeles

22

Photographer Cathy Opie remembers friend, mentor Larry Sultan

23

UCLA demolishes South Carolina to claim first national title

24

Artemis II heads to the dark side of the moon

25

For LA City Council President, police reforms are personal

26

‘No Kings’ protests and CPAC symbolize a nation divided

27

The déjà vu of the 1970s oil shock after a Middle East war

28

Writer Annabelle Gurwitch on the ‘unexpected joys’ of cancer

29

Writer McKay Coppins on his 'year as a degenerate gambler'

30

James Blake’s ‘Trying Times’ and how he sees the world

31

Fallout for the farmworker movement Cesar Chavez led

32

Cesar Chavez biographer on rape, sexual assault allegations

33

Iran’s $200/barrel oil threat could mean $8 gas in California

34

Is Israel preparing to occupy Lebanon again?

35

What makes good casting as the Oscars add a new category

36

Iran War could prompt a fresh look at alternative energy

37

Why air power alone is destined to fail in the Iran War

38

Buck Meek looks in 'The Mirror' to face fear, find self-acceptance

39

LA has a trash problem. The meth crisis is a big part of it

40

Wagner Moura on ‘The Secret Agent’s’ real-life inspiration

41

The big winner in the war with Iran? Benjamin Netanyahu

42

Assessing the “known unknowns” of Trump’s war with Iran

43

Art Insider Carolina Miranda previews Frieze Los Angeles

44

Celebrity chef Alison Roman on making ‘Something from Nothing’

45

Gavin Newsom’s new memoir is a ‘clapback’ to his critics

46

How Tucker Carlson went from mainstream pundit to MAGA extremist

47

Sanders, Newsom on opposite sides of California’s ‘wealth tax’

48

Artist Sayre Gomez recreates LA’s infamous ‘graffiti towers’

49

How ‘America’s Next Top Model’ trafficked in abuse

50

Ski patrol deaths at Mammoth Mountain prompt scrutiny

51

Humanity’s first trip to the moon in 53 years is weeks away

52

How ICE is defying court orders to release immigrants

53

Decoding the political messages in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show

54

Chuck Klosterman argues football’s hold on America will fade away

55

“He should resign.” Councilmember Nithya Raman on LA28 chair Casey Wasserman

56

Artist An-My Lê’s desert photos of starscapes, and the sublime

57

LAPD won’t enforce ICE mask ban. Is it legal?

58

Evan Kleiman on the meme’d, maligned, and misunderstood bay leaf

59

Writer George Saunders on death, morality, and ruining our planet

60

‘Sinners’ nabs record 16 Oscar noms. Has horror finally found respect?

61

Will CBP agents who killed Alex Pretti be held accountable?

62

“They’re all kind of mid”: An underwhelming CA governor’s race

63

“This is NATO’s funeral,” even as Trump tempers Greenland threat

64

Comedian Eddie Izzard takes on the ultimate tragedy: Hamlet

65

Selena, A Tribe Called Quest inspire Adrian Quesada’s ‘boleros psicodelicos’

66

BTS is back! Previewing the year ahead in KPop

67

Could exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi be Iran’s next leader?

68

Can Democrats capitalize as ‘Abolish ICE’ regains momentum?

69

Altadena rapper Fat Tony on grief, resiliency, and…pickles?

70

Remembering Christine Moore, her ‘famous hugs,’ and community she built at Little Flower

71

Palisades, Eaton victims mark a year since devastating wildfires

72

R. Crumb’s Zwirner Gallery show a ‘culmination of his obsessions’

73

What’s next for Venezuela after U.S. indicts Nicolás Maduro

74

‘Uptown Girl’ Christie Brinkley dishes on Billy Joel, becoming the 1980s’ biggest model

75

Christmas Eve special: Remembering musical visionary Brian Wilson

76

Goodbye to ‘Stranger Things,’ the show that defined modern streaming

77

DOJ may face contempt charges over unreleased Epstein files

78

Oscars move reveals what YouTube always wanted: to replace TV

79

Rob Reiner’s son’s struggles feel familiar for many families

80

Rhea Seehorn on happiness, self-loathing, and optimism in ‘Pluribus’

81

Remembering Rob Reiner, and his ‘endlessly quotable’ films

82

Disney’s $1B Sora deal could upend Hollywood’s relationship with AI

83

Restaurant critic Bill Addison on LA’s 101 best restaurants

84

A bear moved into Altadena man’s crawlspace. He won’t leave.

85

Remembering Frank Gehry, the ‘never pretentious’ star of the starchitects

86

Caribbean boat strikes, Signal fiasco. Could Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s days be numbered?

87

Why San Francisco sued Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, and others over ultra-processed foods

88

‘No Lessons Learned’ over 12 pretty, pretty good seasons of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

89

Mothers of the Mothership: The women who shaped the sound of 70s funk

90

How two movie critics (and their thumbs) became must-see TV 50 years ago

91

What every restaurant owner wants - Michelin Guide stars. But how do you get them?

92

Composer Alexandre Desplat on ‘Frankenstein,’ collaborating with Guillermo del Toro

93

R.I.Penny. Is the nickel next?

94

‘Rental Family’ and the morality, ethics of stand-in roles in peoples’ lives

95

Susan Orlean’s new memoir ‘Joyride’ and ‘the essence of feeling alive’

96

How the Sierra Club ‘imploded’ over DEI

97

Why California has some of the country’s weakest drunk driving laws

98

The 100-year history of motels from architectural gems to ‘hot pillow joints’

99

Veterans Day special: ‘He's become untouchable’: Jeff Buckley is star of new documentary

100

‘Electric Nebraska’: Springsteen album that never was…until now

101

Nancy Pelosi to retire after nearly four decades in Congress

102

How famed war photographer Lynsey Addario balances work, home life

103

Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen: Presidential assassin character ‘less calculating than Tom’

104

‘Dodgers stand tall,’ win back-to-back World Series titles

105

42 million may lose SNAP benefits. This CA mayor is one of them

106

Why child sex trafficking exploded on Figueroa in South LA

107

Why AI data centers are the ‘new American factory’