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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Netflix’s ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ looks at college admissions scandal that landed Lori Loughlin in prison

The college admissions scandal a couple years ago had all the elements of a perfect made-for-TV drama. Wealthy parents, including some celebrities, were trying to bribe their kids’ way into America’s most elite universities.

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By Madeleine Brand • Mar 30, 2021 • 15m Listen

The college admissions scandal a couple years ago had all the elements of a perfect made-for-TV drama. Wealthy parents, including some celebrities, were trying to bribe their kids’ way into America’s most elite universities. FBI agents showed up at the palatial doorsteps of these parents to put them in handcuffs. The investigation even had a pitch-perfect code name: Operation Varsity Blues.

Now this is a documentary on Netflix called “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal.” It reenacts what happened before the arrests, using real FBI transcripts of taped conversations between the parents and college consultant, William “Rick” Singer, who was the man at the center of the scandal.

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

    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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    Sarah Sweeney

    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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    Angie Perrin

    Producer, Press Play

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    Michell Eloy

    Line Editor, Press Play

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    Chris Smith

    documentary filmmaker

    CultureEntertainmentEducationLos Angeles
Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand