Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Can Bernie Sanders Break Up the Big Banks? And the New Black Panther
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says he’ll break up the big banks, but how will he do that? Then, a look back at the early history of how banks got so big in the first place.
By Madeleine Brand • • 51m ListenDemocratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says he’ll break up the big banks, but how will he do that? Then, a look back at the early history of how banks got so big in the first place. Next, women in the military are being integrated into combat positions this month. What will it involve? After that, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates has authored the new version of the “Black Panther” comic book. What can readers expect? And finally, Madeleine speaks to the creator of a new video game set during the Iranian Revolution.
Photo: Bernie Sanders speaking at an event in Phoenix, Arizona. Credit: Gage Skidmore
In this episode
5 storiesCan Bernie Sanders Break Up the Big Banks?
Bernie Sanders has promised to break up the country’s biggest financial institutions during his first year in office. It’s one of the central tenets of his campaign, and last week he was asked about how he’d do that in an interview with the editorial board of the New York Daily News. He’s now being criticized for seeming vague and evasive.
Read the story10 minA 14th Amendment History Lesson
Part of the reason that banks got so big in the first place are the legal rights granted them by the federal government; rights that you might think were only granted to people, like free speech.
Read the story7 minWomen in Combat
Back in December, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that women are now allowed to serve in combat positions in the military. Before that announcement, about 10 percent, or 220,000 military positions were closed to women. This month, women are being integrated into combat positions. We learn what that involves.
Read the story14 minReintroducing Black Panther
Black Panther was the first black superhero to appear in mainstream American comics in 1966. Fifty years later, Black Panther is having a good year. We’ll see him on the big screen for the first time in “Captain America: Civil War” next month.
Read the story9 minThe Iranian Revolution in Video Game Form
A video game out this week is set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. It’s called “1979 Revolution: Black Friday.” Photojournalist Reza Shirazi is the game’s protagonist, and through Shirazi, the player has to overcome obstacle after obstacle in Tehran during the revolution and its aftermath.
Read the story8 min
