Press Play with Madeleine Brand

KCRW

Latest episode

They’re cute. Even polite. But does LA need more delivery robots?
2026-05-05 | 50 mins.
Plus, the Iran War leaves California refiners scrambling to find new sources of crude, the hantavirus that killed three people on a cruise is part of life in the Mammoth area, and how to be a dissident.
How McCabe’s in Santa Monica became a nationally known venue
2026-05-04 | 53 mins.
Plus, whipsaw court rulings over the abortion drug mifepristone, a new report says New Orleans could be underwater in decades, and how the Met Gala became the party everyone loves to hate.
$25 billion (and counting): The Iran War’s cost, 2 months in
2026-04-30 | 51 mins.
Plus, new apps allow people to “nudify” photos, how The Devil Wars Prada 2 is part fan service, part documentary, and Evan Kleiman makes her case for the tuna melt.
‘A hugely terrible opinion’: UCLA’s Rick Hasen on SCOTUS voting rights decision
2026-04-30 | 52 mins.
Plus, a chaotic debate with eight candidates jockeying to be California’s next governor, does the Left have their Joe Rogan in Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, and the final days of a landmark museum show here in Los Angeles.
Comedian Sheng Wang on immigration, kind comedy, and ‘rat news’
2026-04-28 | 51 mins.
Plus, California’s electric car dream is sputtering as sales drop dramatically after President Trump ditches federal rebates, and the U.S. Mint is using illegally mined gold from a Colombian cartel for its gold coins.