Producer, 'Press Play'
PROFILE
Christian Bordal
Kcrw Staff/Producer
FROM Christian Bordal
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
LAUSD teachers prepare to strike next month LA Unified schools are on winter holiday now, but teachers are hard at work preparing for a possible strike. We look at why teachers and the LAUSD have major disagreements on salaries, class sizes, standardized testing, and staffing.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Pete Holmes on his ‘Dirty Clean’ comedy special Pete Holmes had a staunchly Christian upbringing -- Christian school, Christian camp, Christian college. Now he’s out with a new comedy special on HBO aptly titled “Dirty Clean.” Holmes also stars in the HBO show “Crashing,” which is loosely based on his early career, struggling to make it as an unlikely standup comedian in New York.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
California Wildfires: Learning to Live in the New Abnormal We’ve just had some terrible fires: Woolsey, Camp, Thomas. More of those fires will come again -- bigger and hotter. Californians need to figure out how to cope with this new reality, and plan ahead. We broadcast a portion of Press Play’s live event: “California Wildfires: Learning to Live in the New Abnormal.”
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
‘If Beale Street Could Talk:’ filmmaker Barry Jenkins adapts James Baldwin’s novel Barry Jenkins’ new movie is “If Beale Street Could Talk,” an adaptation of a James Baldwin novel. It’s a love story in 1970s Harlem, told in flashbacks. When 19-year-old Tish discovers she’s pregnant, her family works hard to get her partner, Fonny, out of prison in time for the birth.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The connection between Brexit and The Jungle Book Actor Andy Serkis recently spoofed British Prime Minister Theresa May -- as one of his most famous characters, Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings.” He shares his thoughts on Brexit, and its parallels to his new movie “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.” He plays Baloo, and also directs the film.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The not-so-glamorous lives of immigrants who trim weed Thousands of young migrants descend on Northern California’s Emerald Triangle every year to trim marijuana plants. They come for an adventure, but the work is difficult, isolated, and sometimes dangerous.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
How to look at your neighborhood with fresh eyes Artist Nib Geebles noticed a lot of things in his Highland Park neighborhood when he decided to commute on foot. He then drew those easy-to-miss landmarks, and they’re part of his 2019 calendar called “Unknown Landmarks (and Lost Icons).”
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The United States is far behind Russia when it comes to military dominance in the Arctic The ice melting in the Arctic has reached a record low this year. That means that there are parts of the Arctic Ocean that are now accessible to navigation for the first time. That also means a lot of untapped resources are surfacing like fossil fuels, diamonds and metals, and the U.S. is far behind Russia and China in the race to exploit those resources.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Stock market freaks out after Chinese tech executive is arrested We find out why Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is being held in Canada at the request of the U.S., and how that fits it with the US-China trade dispute. And the stock market has been taking a dive, so that does point toward a recession?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Investigation into Les Moonves uncovers more cases of alleged sexual misconduct The board of CBS hired two law firms to investigate the sexual misconduct allegations against former CEO Les Moonves. The draft report was leaked. It says Moonves repeatedly lied to investigators, and destroyed evidence to save his reputation and severance.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Who are the ‘yellow vest’ protesters in France, and what do they want? France’s so-called ‘yellow vest’ protests have been going on for weeks. Demonstrators are upset over a fuel tax, the minimum wage, and national leadership. Over the weekend, more than 400 people were arrested.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Living with narcolepsy, and tips for fighting insomnia Henry Nicholls has had narcolepsy for half his life. He says the condition is like being sleep deprived and overslept at the same time, and there is no cure. He talks about that and other sleep disorders, and gives tips on how to retrain your brain to sleep better.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Rep. Jackie Speier on how the Jonestown mass shooting changed her life It’s been 40 years since the Jonestown massacre, and the killing of California Congressman Leo Ryan. One of those wounded was Ryan’s aide, Jackie Speier. She survived, and is now a Congresswoman in Ryan’s old seat.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why aren’t Americans buying compact cars? One of the stars of this year’s LA Auto Show is Jeep’s all-new pickup truck, the Gladiator. Truck and SUV sales have been doing well, accounting for two-thirds of the U.S. market last year. Sedans and compact cars are expected to drop below 30 percent of the market this year.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
A.I. makes it tough distinguish real from fake videos A research group at the University of Washington recently created a video of President Obama saying words that someone else actually said. But the video looked real. Artificial Intelligence and a new field called “image synthesis” are making it easier to manipulate videos.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
LA Chef Shirley Chung’s modern American take on traditional Chinese cuisine Shirley Chung has been making dumplings since she was 6 years old in her native Beijing. She immigrated to the U.S. when she was 17, and soon after worked for celebrity chefs Jose Andres and Thomas Keller. Now she likes to make mochi donuts, cheeseburger potstickers and vegan dumplings with spicy tofu aioli. She has a new cookbook and a restaurant in Culver City.
Recommended
LA Observed
How close are LAUSD teachers to striking? It is an anxious time for students and staff over at L.A. Unified. The union representing teachers has promised to go on strike sometime next month, unless the district meets its labor demands. And that means more than 30,000 instructors could do something they have not done since the late-1980s: walk off the job.
Film Reviews
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Within the first 30 seconds you know you’re watching something new. A sensational title sequence threatens to be the design equivalent of flash bang grenades, yet the art isn’t assaultive, only inventive, with colors that stretch the spectrum as far as the eye can see.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Pete Holmes on his ‘Dirty Clean’ comedy special Pete Holmes had a staunchly Christian upbringing -- Christian school, Christian camp, Christian college. Now he’s out with a new comedy special on HBO aptly titled “Dirty Clean.” Holmes also stars in the HBO show “Crashing,” which is loosely based on his early career, struggling to make it as an unlikely standup comedian in New York.
Design and Architecture
Reviving ‘Roma’; Film and Furniture Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” is set in a recreation of 1970s Mexico City. The production designer Eugenio Caballero explains how they created the look for a “modern black and white” film. And if you're still looking for holiday gifts for the movie or design buffs in your life, listen up for suggestions from the creator of “Film and Furniture.”