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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    As language becomes more gender-neutral, Berkeley catches up

    Berkeley’s City Council recently adopted an ordinance to drop certain gendered terms from the city’s municipal code. The measure passed unanimously and affects more than two dozen common words.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Jul 23, 2019 • 50m Listen

    Berkeley’s City Council recently adopted an ordinance to drop certain gendered terms from the city’s municipal code. The measure passed unanimously and affects more than two dozen common words. For example, "fireman" becomes "firefighter" and "manhole” becomes “maintenance hole."

    In this episode

    5 stories
    1. 0:00

      Boris Johnson tries to tame Brexit, promising the UK will leave the EU by Halloween

      Boris Johnson is succeeding Theresa May as the leader of the British Conservative Party. He is expected to be sworn in as the next prime minister tomorrow. Johnson was foreign secretary and a two-term London mayor.

      Read the story
      12 min
    2. 11:36

      The Mueller Report: graphic novel edition

      Robert Mueller is testifying in front of Congress on Wednesday. The Department of Justice has instructed him to not stray from what’s in the 448 page report. That’s a lot of material that few people have read.

      Read the story
      10 min
    3. 21:36

      Berkeley drops gendered language from city code

      You've probably heard some people, especially from the LGBTQ community, using the personal pronouns "they" and "them" in place of "he" and she." For example: "Beatrix Zidane is a fighter. They're a very strong fighter."

      Read the story
      11 min
    4. 32:41

      Why the FBI raided the offices of LA's Department of Water and Power

      On Monday, FBI agents raided the LA Department of Water and Power headquarters, along with the offices of City Attorney Mike Feuer at City Hall. They left with full backpacks and rolling storage carts.

      Read the story
      9 min
    5. 41:42

      'Love Island:' surveillance as entertainment

      The UK’s popular TV show "Love Island" throws a handful of singles into paradise. Now there's a U.S. version: 22 attractive, swimsuit-wearing Americans move to a mansion in Fiji to find love. Someone gets “dumped” and sent packing in each episode.

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

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

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

      Amy Ta

      Digital News & Culture Editor

      CultureCaliforniaNational

    In this episode

    5 stories
    1. 0:0012 min

      Boris Johnson tries to tame Brexit, promising the UK will leave the EU by Halloween

    2. 11:3610 min

      The Mueller Report: graphic novel edition

    3. 21:3611 min

      Berkeley drops gendered language from city code

    4. 32:419 min

      Why the FBI raided the offices of LA's Department of Water and Power

    5. 41:429 min

      'Love Island:' surveillance as entertainment

    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand