Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Are Officials Taking LA’s Housing Crisis Seriously Enough?
The LA City Council approved a request by the owner of a Hollywood apartment building to turn it into a boutique hotel. What does the decision reveal about the city’s efforts to solve LA’s housing crisis?
The Los Angeles City Council approved a request by the owner of a Hollywood apartment building to turn it into a boutique hotel. How often are tenants being evicted by developers under the Ellis Act? And what does the decision reveal about the city’s efforts to solve LA’s housing crisis? Then, Xeni Jardin talks about the big change in a Facebook algorithm that has news organizations nervous. Next, the life and work of Futurist Alvin Toffler. Also, a new documentary called “Breaking a Monster” captures the meteoric rise of the young metal band Unlocking the Truth. The subtitle might have been ‘be careful what you wish for’. And finally, total student debt in America is $1.3 trillion. With that much money on the line, we know who the losers are – students who either can’t afford to pay the loans back or remain saddled with high debt payments for decades. But who are the winners? Who’s making money off this surge in student debt?
Banner Image: Los Angeles, Ca. Photo: Tom Hart
In this episode
5 storiesTenants Rights Advocates Lose Another Battle Against a Developer
The Los Angeles City Council approved on Wednesday a request by the owner of a Hollywood apartment building to turn it into a boutique hotel. Tenants rights advocates had been fighting the plan.
Read the story8 minNew Facebook Algorithm Makes News Orgs Nervous
Facebook has become one of the world’s biggest sources of news, and news outlets have come to rely on them for eyeballs. Now Facebook is going to change its algorithm so that users’ news feed will focus on content posted by friends and family, and the news business is not happy about it.
Read the story8 minRemembering Futurist Alvin Toffler and Forecasting the Future of Futurology
Futurist Alvin Toffler has died at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87. Toffler authored a trilogy of best-selling books, beginning in 1970 with “Future Shock”, which sold 15 million copies and is still in print today. In that book, Toffler made incredibly accurate predictions about how science and technology would shape humankind.
Read the story10 min'Breaking a Monster' Captures Unlocking the Truth’s Meteoric Rise
Just one year after a video of the band Unlocking the Truth playing in Times Square went viral, they were signed to a $1.8 million recording contract. They played at SXSW and Coachella. They opened for Metallica and Guns N’ Roses. It was a meteoric rise for three black 13-year-olds from Brooklyn.
Read the story12 minWho Got Rich Off the $1.3 Billion Student Debt Crisis?
President Obama h as agreed to forgive more than $170 million of debt owed by former students of the for-profit Corinthian Colleges. The company filed for bankruptcy last year. Many students had sued, saying their degrees were worthless, that the colleges weren’t teaching basic courses and many weren’t accredited.
Read the story7 min