Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Pre-Super Bowl Scandals, A Non-Scandal Scandal and a Sundance Roundup
The Super Bowl is this Sunday. We talk about some of the weird stories bubbling up around it, including so-called “deflate gate” and Marshawn Lynch’s media blackout. Also, concussions in the NFL are on the decline, but how much safer is the game really getting?
By Madeleine Brand • • 52m ListenThe Super Bowl is this Sunday. We talk about some of the weird stories bubbling up around it, including Marshawn Lynch’s media blackout and “deflate gate.” Then, concussions in the NFL are on the decline, but how much safer is the game really getting? After that, we take a look at a mini-scandal over the LAPD’s involvement in shuttling an ex-Mexican Mafia member to give a talk to a downtown business group. In our weekly film segment, it’s a Sundance Film Festival extravaganza. And finally, the tale of a ridesharing startup that did the opposite of Uber -- they followed all the rules -- and failed.
General view of the Vince Lombardi Trophy and helmets for the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots during a press conference for Super Bowl XLIX at Phoenix Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
In this episode
5 storiesDeflated Balls and the Super Bowl
In our weekly sports news roundup, Randy Sklar talks to Madeleine about this Sunday’s Super Bowl and some of the weird stories bubbling up around the teams in it. Namely, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch’s media blackout and the New England Patriots’ “deflate gate.”
Read the story11 minNFL Concussions
The number of concussions in the NFL is on the decline, but there were still 123 in the 2014 season . That could be part of the reason the League is hiring a Chief Medical Officer. And while fans still watch football in droves, fewer and fewer parents say they’re comfortable sending their kids out on the field.
Read the story7 minLAPD’s Live Event with ex-Mexican Mafia Member
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck has apologized for a strange event this week that his department helped organize. Imprisoned ex-Mexican Mafia leader Rene “Boxer” Enriquez gave a lecture to a business group called the Young President’s Organization.
Read the story7 minFilm Roundup, Sundance Edition
The Sundance Film Festival wraps up this weekend in Utah, and while not all of the films have distributors yet, they’re already generating buzz. This week in our regular film roundup, we talk about the highlights of the festival, and which ones might be coming soon to a theater near you.
Read the story14 minThe Start-Up That Followed the Rules (and Failed)
Uber has almost single-handedly turned the taxi industry upside down. And that success has been attributed, at least in part, to breaking the rules. Uber has been banned or sued in multiple cities and countries for flouting local insurance laws and transportation regulation.
Read the story7 min
