journalist
Journalist who wrote about the Secret Cup Finals in Las Vegas -- the Oscars of hash oil makers -- for the California Sunday Magazine
PROFILE
Mike Sager
Guest
FROM Mike Sager
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The many highs and lows in the life of Todd Marinovich Say the name Todd Marinovich and football fans will shake their heads. Back in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, Marinovich was considered a future NFL star, arriving at USC with magazines hyping him as a “robo-quarterback,” with the abilities of a test-tube athlete. That was due in large part to an infamous training and diet regimen devised by his hard-charging father Marv. Marinovich played professional football for the then-Los Angeles Raiders, but was soon cut because he couldn’t resist drugs and alcohol. Since then, he’s been arrested countless times, spent time in prison and rehab, and has been homeless. But lately, Marinovich was thought to be clean and sober. He was painting murals around Orange County and his artwork appeared in local galleries. But he was arrested again last Friday after being seen wandering around naked, holding a paper bag with drugs and paraphernalia inside.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Dabbing A fire and explosion did serious damage to a home in Long Beach on Wednesday. It seems that someone there was using an explosive gas to make what’s known as “honey oil,” a potent pot extract. There have been an increasing number of hash-oil related explosions in the last few years, a disturbing testament to the oil’s popularity. And, as with increased popularity of any consumer product, there is increased specialization. Yes: artisanal hash oil extracts. We get a primer on this growing trend.
Recommended
The Treatment
Kenya Barris: Black-ish Black-ish creator Kenya Barris joins Elvis Mitchell to discuss utilizing his show as a conversation starter.
Bookworm
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Previewing James Comey's blockbuster testimony Former FBI director James Comey testifies Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but his opening statement has been released. In it, he says he felt pressured by Donald Trump to declare loyalty to him and publicly clear him of any wrongdoing in the Russia investigation.
Design and Architecture
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”