Press Play with Madeleine Brand

KCRW

Latest episode

Buck Meek looks in 'The Mirror' to face fear, find self-acceptance
09/03/2026 | 53 mins.
Plus, Live Nation settles with the Justice Department, The New York Times details years of abuse by celebrated chef René Redzepi, and how some Academy members skirted new rules for Oscar voting.
LA has a trash problem. The meth crisis is a big part of it
06/03/2026 | 52 mins.
Plus, the CIA has been secretly arming the Kurds, possibly encouraging them to mount a revolution in Iran, our weekend film reviews, and Evan Kleiman expresses her love for an ugly vegetable.
Wagner Moura on ‘The Secret Agent’s’ real-life inspiration
05/03/2026 | 52 mins.
Plus, should low-polling Democratic candidates drop out of the California governor’s race? The state party chair says yes. And people are betting on real-world events, like the war in Iran.
The big winner in the war with Iran? Benjamin Netanyahu
04/03/2026 | 54 mins.
Plus, the Supreme Court temporarily blocks a California law that protected trans kids from being outed by their teachers, the leader of an activist group sailing to Cuba with supplies, and the phenomenon of “stay-at-home sons.”
Assessing the “known unknowns” of Trump’s war with Iran
03/03/2026 | 58 mins.
Plus, who will lead Iran after the assassination of the supreme leader, if the airstrikes are legal, and a hip-hop legend on Salt-N-Pepa’s fight to own their master recordings.