Press Play with Madeleine Brand

by KCRW
83

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

Recent Episodes
  • LA’s budget deficit, JANM v. Trump, YouTube’s 20th anniversary
    Apr 22, 2025 – 51:59
  • Impact of Pope Francis, Marie Davidson’s “City of Clowns”
    Apr 21, 2025 – 53:21
  • Big tech v. government, film reviews, comeback of metal braces
    Apr 18, 2025 – 53:06
  • Bay Area politics, DTLA jewelry heist, ‘Rebel Queen’ memoir
    Apr 16, 2025 – 54:07
  • Harvard v. Trump, Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’
    Apr 16, 2025 – 51:51
  • LAUSD’s noncooperation with ICE, music by Jeff Bridges
    Apr 14, 2025 – 53:03
  • IRS in turmoil, US-China trade war, ‘The Great Gatsby’ turns 100
    Apr 10, 2025 – 54:17
  • The fight over Beverly Hills abortion clinic, expansion comes to The Broad
    Apr 10, 2025 – 52:10
  • Dire AI future, ‘Deli Boys,’ Canadian tourism in Palm Springs
    Apr 9, 2025 – 51:44
  • Fighting to keep an Altadena pub alive, mapping LA’s lost record stores
    Apr 9, 2025 – 53:00
  • Tariff impacts on business owners and your 401K, war on higher ed
    Apr 3, 2025 – 53:33
  • Building more homes on tiny LA lots, recording sounds of climate change
    Apr 2, 2025 – 52:35
  • Trump’s tariffs, toxic algal bloom, ‘Alternate Realities’
    Apr 2, 2025 – 52:22
  • Cesar Chavez Day special: ‘Porcelain War,’ Johnny Carson, yacht rock
    Mar 31, 2025 – 52:04
  • Students’ gender identities, soil testing in wildfire areas
    Mar 27, 2025 – 53:32
  • Big law firms under attack by Trump, giant-clawed dino is found
    Mar 27, 2025 – 52:05
  • Democrats’ direction, ‘Severance’ finale, art by Charles Gaines and others
    Mar 26, 2025 – 53:05
  • Jim James on My Morning Jacket’s new album ‘is,’ and letting go
    Mar 24, 2025 – 51:24
  • End of ceasefire in Gaza, Spanish-language networks’ coverage of Trump
    Mar 20, 2025 – 53:48
  • Abducted Ukrainian kids, the decision to sell a beloved fire-scorched home
    Mar 20, 2025 – 52:41
  • Impact of EPA and NIH cuts, remembering cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
    Mar 19, 2025 – 52:43
  • Trump’s latest deportation efforts, TOKiMONSTA’s ‘Eternal Reverie’
    Mar 18, 2025 – 53:02
  • Newsom’s podcast angers his political base, arts groups pull back programming
    Mar 14, 2025 – 53:16
  • Environmental justice cuts, figure skating among Harlem’s Black girls
    Mar 13, 2025 – 52:26
  • Whether Tesla can survive Musk’s politics, LAHSA is accused of poor management
    Mar 11, 2025 – 50:51
  • Green card revocation, Franc Moody’s ‘Chewing the Fat’
    Mar 11, 2025 – 52:00
  • Fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire, tariffs’ impact on CA wine
    Mar 6, 2025 – 54:47
  • Republican tax cuts, LA mayor v. former fire chief fight
    Mar 6, 2025 – 52:56
  • Impact of Trump’s tariffs, goodbye to Original Pantry Cafe
    Mar 5, 2025 – 52:26
  • Oscar winner Sean Baker on ‘Anora,’ cellist Abel Selaocoe on ‘Hymns of Bantu’
    Mar 4, 2025 – 53:22
  • Measles resurgence, ‘We Hold These Truths’ book, film reviews
    Feb 28, 2025 – 53:57
  • Effects of Texas abortion ban, bulgar wheat recipes
    Feb 27, 2025 – 52:15
  • Deep problems at CA homeless shelters, ‘Fake It Until You Make It’
    Feb 26, 2025 – 52:23
  • CA gubernatorial race, Bartees Strange’s ‘Horror’ album
    Feb 25, 2025 – 52:48
  • Dept. of Edu’s impact on LAUSD, homemade onigiri and spring rolls
    Feb 21, 2025 – 52:14
  • Trump’s freeze on foreign aid, meaning of home from Angeleno who lost it
    Feb 20, 2025 – 58:26
  • Palestinian American comedian Mo Amer, Hollywood Forever’s new mausoleum
    Feb 18, 2025 – 53:16
  • First days of Trump administration, weekend film reviews
    Feb 13, 2025 – 52:37
  • Oscar-nominated ‘Death By Numbers,’ Flip Phone February
    Feb 13, 2025 – 53:00
  • Oscar-nominated ‘Instruments of a Beating Heart,’ Valentine’s Day
    Feb 12, 2025 – 51:48
  • Oscar-nominated ‘I Am Ready, Warden,’ music compilations for fire survivors
    Feb 11, 2025 – 54:09
  • AI in the government, wildfire impact on marine life
    Feb 7, 2025 – 53:24
  • Impact of gender-affirming care, Woolsey Fire survivor’s rebuilding success
    Feb 6, 2025 – 52:42
  • Elon Musk’s DOGE, ‘Nature of the Crime’ film, ‘Who Shot Me’ project
    Feb 4, 2025 – 52:47
  • Possible USAID shutdown, Oscar-nominated ‘Incident,’ Grammy highlights
    Feb 4, 2025 – 52:05
  • LA fires: Toxic waste disposal, rebuilding considerations
    Jan 31, 2025 – 53:04
  • LA fires: Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, architectural historian on rebuilding
    Jan 30, 2025 – 56:53
  • Firefighter mental health, recovering lost stuffed animals
    Jan 29, 2025 – 51:17
  • Legality of US troops at the border, cleanup of LA fires
    Jan 28, 2025 – 52:44
  • LA fires: Lost business for domestic workers, tips on navigating insurance claims
    Jan 23, 2025 – 54:12
Recent Reviews
  • Xoxo79
    Taylor Lorenz??? REALLY?
    I’m sorry, but having on Taylor Lorenz—a known liar and hack—who has turned chicanery and gaslighting into an (albeit bumpy) career path has destroyed my respect for this show. Listening to her try to gaslight and shame us into denying our own critical thinking skills is audience abuse and I won’t take it. I’m so sick of being spoken down to by professional trolls like Taylor. Respect your audience and their intellect.
  • ZephyrDogTown
    Great show, love KCRW, can’t go wrong!!
    Great show, love KCRW, can’t go wrong!!
  • Allen in the hills
    Madeleine Bernadotte??
    Love the show! It’s my favorite show! But has anyone noticed that it says the host is Madeleine Bernadotte at Apple Podcast??
  • SonmonGoodMon
    A Must Listen for Californians and beyond
    Love Madeline and Press Play! A must listen to be plugged into everything LA and California.
  • Zozobutt
    Interview with Adrian Bonnenberger (military)
    I really appreciate hearing the interview with the army officer who is trying to get his interpreter out. This is a humanitarian catastrophe which will be forgotten unless Biden takes more action.
  • maffaytabaluga
    totoaly raceists person and points of view
    just launching more raceism and riots had enough of your lies
  • Tom Palm Springs
    Love this show.
    MB is such a pleasure to listen to during the week. Mixes up serious and light hearted stuff.
  • rabid idiot
    Bias
    Press Play has so much bias in its stories. The subjects covered are mostly ones of important topics for SoCal (& beyond). However, Brand puts her own beliefs into them ahead of (or absent of) the full and true story. Listener beware.
  • bruins37
    This is just a talk show...
    ...as opposed to journalism. It’s nice, breezy chit chat, but hardly informative. I miss the hard-driving Warren Olney, who was rigorous, gathered multiple sources for his reporting, and respected his listeners’ autonomy. Look elsewhere for your news.
  • wikisquare
    Always a Good Listen
    I really enjoy Press Play. Madeleine is easy to listen to and her stories and interviews are topical and interesting. It’s like listening to a favorite segment of NPR with an old friend. Never boring and always thoughtful and relevant.
  • jonathanmqz
    KCRW 💜
    One of my favorite shows on KCRW .
  • Luthedude
    Too many opinions not enough news
    I used to be a regular, but I feel like it’s drifted from being a source of local news and information ,to a show mainly focused on liberal and progressive talking points. These are views that I generally align with but I have enough echo chambers in my life. I’ve started to just listen to Take Two as an alternative for interesting and relevant local news.
  • Kathyams
    Informative and Important
    I’ve always loved press play but I used to only listen to it in the car whenever it was on. I’ve since started to seek it out with the gubernatorial interviews, which I find so helpful. I hope they’ll do more (senate and congressional). I love that they’re helping me be an informed voter!
  • Yevie
    Great show topics but Madeline falls short
    I really appreciate the topics Madeline brings to her show. The show has great guests & very insightful stories. However Madeline falls short for me. I’m not fully on board with her interview style, I feel at times she belittles her guests. I personally prefer when Barbara Bogaev guest hosts. I feel she treats the guests with respect & has a very different & kind approach to interviewing guests.
  • Stjl2
    Keep up with LA and the nation
    Used to live in LA and our daughter lives there now. This is a great podcast for keeping up with the city. Also many topics of national interest. Madeleine Brand is an exceptional interviewer
  • Mike__M1
    Great journalism
    A dependably well researched topical and important stories. Not to be missed.
  • Aunt Nette
    Brand plus Walsh = great show!
    It's so nice to hear Ms. Brand back on the air, she was always one of my favorites. And producer Andrew Walsh puts his spin on it to create a show with more fun and variety than a lot of NPR shows. I'm excited to add this to my podcast rotation!
  • NaturalDisaster-CA
    Great Debut Great show
    You guys are Awesome. I love the show, Madeline is a Ten. The topics are great, I'm from the Bay Area and even though you guys are based in so cal it's all news and topics I'm engaged to. It's a well produced show, only suggestion, add some flute to the outro music.
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