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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

California Oil Town Runs Dry, Glitter Bomb Hoax and '3 ½ Minutes'

Oil prices hit a six-year low today, falling below $44 a barrel. We look at what that means for oil industry workers in Kern County, who are facing layoffs and bleak future prospects as drilling has fallen off. Then, how are similar stories playing out around the world?

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By Madeleine Brand • Jan 29, 2015 • 52m Listen

Oil prices hit a six-year low today, falling below $44 a barrel. We take a look at what that means for oil industry workers in Kern County, and also how the same dynamic is playing out around the world. Then, in our weekly web roundup, the founder of a website that allowed customers to mail glitter to their enemies now claims it was all a hoax. But was it really? Next, we hear from the filmmaker behind the new documentary 3½ Minutes, about the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in Florida by a white man - and the trial that followed. And finally, USC raised $700 million last year, putting it behind only Harvard and Stanford in fundraising. What do universities do with all that cash?

Banner Image Credit: Hamish Reid

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    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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    Andrew Walsh

    Too Beautiful to Live

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    Christian Bordal

    Managing Producer, Greater LA

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    Matt Holzman

    Producer, 'The Document'

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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand