Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The Pizza Lobby, the Amazing Randi, and Obamacare at the Supreme Court
A case that could gut the Affordable Care Act went before the U.S. Supreme Court today. What did the lawyers argue, and how did the justices react? Then, a look at the results of yesterday’s city election and the dismal turnout.
By Madeleine Brand • • 52m ListenWe start today with a look at what happened during this morning’s arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act. Then, turning to local politics, we recap yesterday’s election results and dismal turnout. Next up, a retired magician who was one of the world’s most famous skeptics talks about his life as a debunker of frauds and the new documentary he stars in. After that, we go back to politics, but from an unusual angle: the pizza lobby is powerful and big, and it’s pushing back against healthy eating advocates in Washington, D.C. And finally, we stay with the food beat and take a look at bone broth. It’s being promoted as a cure-all by everyone from Kobe Bryant to L.A. chef Mark Peel, but does it live up to the hype?
Banner Image: Lobbyists collided over school lunches. Pizza can be served to schoolchildren since tomato paste can be considered as a vegetable and part of a healthy meal. Photo credit: Jakob Dettner (de:User:Jdettner), Rainer Zenz (de:User:Rainer Zenz), SoothingR (en:User:SoothingR) - Own work
In this episode
5 storiesObamacare at the Supreme Court
It was quite a morning at the Supreme Court today. Impassioned arguments were made either to save or scrap a key portion of the Affordable Care Act. In essence, the justices will decide whether to get rid of a provision that now gives 7.5 million people subsidies for their health insurance. We get a firsthand account of the arguments.
Read the story9 minElection Roundup
There was an election here in L.A. yesterday, though you wouldn’t know it from the sound of silence at many of the polling places throughout the city. Only 10 percent of the city’s registered voters turned out; that means 180,000 out of the 1.8 million who could’ve voted, did. We go over the results.
Read the story10 min“An Honest Liar”
In the 1970’s, the psychic Uri Geller was a fixture on the TV chat shows. He was famous for bending spoons with nothing more, he said, than the power of his mind. But when Geller appeared on “The Tonight Show” in 1973, things didn’t go so well. Carson spoiled Geller’s act by consulting with a magician named The Amazing Randi.
Read the story14 minThe Powerful Pizza Lobby
Five years ago, a powerful group formed to influence American politics. Not a presidential campaign or a Super PAC, but the American Pizza Community. Its a group that lobbies on behalf of pizza.
Read the story8 minBone Broth: Cure-All or Empty Hype?
The latest big food trend is here just in time for flu season. Bone broth claims to have all kinds of health benefits, perpetuated by evangelists from Kobe Bryant to L.A. chef Mark Peel. Peel even has a new bone broth stand in Grand Central Market opening soon. But are the claims true, or are they empty promises?
Read the story6 min
