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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Cheerleaders Fight for Pay, DNA Dating, and Homeless LA

    Mayor Eric Garcetti is promising to end homelessness among veterans. Oakland Raiders cheerleaders’ minimum wage pay.  Iraqis that worked with the Americans trying to come to the U.S.  Web roundup: the end of online passwords, dating sites that use DNA, and chat roulette for stoners.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Jul 16, 2014 • 52m Listen

    Mayor Eric Garcetti is promising to end homelessness among veterans in Los Angeles by the end of next year. Meanwhile, the situation on LA’s Skid Row is worse than ever, but the city and county say they have a new plan to improve services. After a lawsuit, the Oakland Raiders offered to double their cheerleaders’ pay. The team is offering the Raiderettes minimum wage. Tens of thousands of Iraqis that worked with the Americans during the war are afraid for their lives and trying to come to the U.S. But many of their cases are caught up in red tape. And in our regular web roundup: the end of online passwords, dating sites that use DNA, and chat roulette for stoners.

    Photo Credit: BrokenSphere

    In this episode

    5 stories
    1. 0:00

      Homeless Vets

      Mayor Eric Garcetti has promised today to end homelessness among veterans by the end of next year. It’s a pledge the White House has asked mayors around the country to make. And today, the mayor and First Lady Michelle Obama were in Century City unveiling plans to make good on their promise.

      Read the story
      9 min
    2. 9:12

      A New Approach to Skid Row

      For decades, city and county officials have tried to clean up the 50-block neighborhood in downtown. But Skid Row still has the country’s highest concentration of homeless people. Most of them struggle with substance abuse or mental illness, or both. That has made policing the area, and getting people into housing, very difficult over the years.

      Read the story
      7 min
    3. 16:48

      Cheerleader Rights

      Earlier this month, the Oakland Raiders offered to double their cheerleaders’ pay. It’s hardly a king’s ransom. The team is offering the Raiderettes minimum wage. They’d also get overtime and some expense money.

      Read the story
      9 min
    4. 25:56

      No Help for Iraqis Who Helped Americans

      During the war in Iraq, tens of thousands of Iraqis worked with the Americans as translators, drivers, cooks and janitors. The work paid well, but it but it was dangerous; Anti-American militias sometimes killed or tortured people who worked for the Americans.

      Read the story
      13 min
    5. 40:58

      The End of Passwords?

      Alex and PJ from the TLDR podcast join us to talk about the end of online passwords, dating sites that use DNA to find your match, and chat roulette for stoners.

      Read the story
      8 min
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Andrew Walsh

      Too Beautiful to Live

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Matt Holzman

      Producer, 'The Document'

      News

    In this episode

    5 stories
    1. 0:009 min

      Homeless Vets

    2. 9:127 min

      A New Approach to Skid Row

    3. 16:489 min

      Cheerleader Rights

    4. 25:5613 min

      No Help for Iraqis Who Helped Americans

    5. 40:588 min

      The End of Passwords?

    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand