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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Air travel during this pandemic Thanksgiving

    Despite repeated public health warnings, more Americans are expected to fly for Thanksgiving than any time since the pandemic started. Anyone coming into California is supposed to quarantine for 14 days — unless they’re here for work or school.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Nov 24, 2020 • 1h 0m Listen

    Despite repeated public health warnings, more Americans are expected to fly for Thanksgiving than any time since the pandemic started. Anyone coming into California is supposed to quarantine for 14 days — unless they’re here for work or school.

    Brian Sumers of the travel publication Skift says airlines are in a huge cash crunch. “They have taken on a ton of debt to get through this pandemic. … They need people to fly again. And it does seem like they're willing to say whatever they need to do to get people on their planes again.”

    Los Angeles and Ontario airports also have on-site COVID-19 testing — for a fee. “There's been some thought in the industry that if we could just get testing ramped up, that would be the panacea to getting everybody on airplanes again,” says Sumers.

    In this episode

    4 stories
    1. 0:00

      Health care system could hit capacity next month during COVID surge, says LA DPH’s chief medical officer

      LA announced more than 6,000 new COVID cases on Monday. That means the county has likely reached the benchmark to trigger another stay-at-home order.

      Read the story
      14 min
    2. 13:41

      Passengers arriving in LA could be bringing COVID with them. How airport officials are handling risks

      Despite repeated public health warnings, more Americans are expected to fly for Thanksgiving than any time since the pandemic started. And anyone coming into California is supposed to quarantine for 14 days — unless they’re here for work or school.

      Read the story
      10 min
    3. 23:13

      New California environmental standards reveal toxins in some water systems

      Across California, city and county officials are finding dangerous chemicals in their drinking water wells.

      Read the story
      9 min
    4. 32:37

      ‘Trafficked’ looks at the underground economy of scammers, con artists and grifters

      “ Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller ” is a new documentary series coming to National Geographic next month. It gives viewers an inside look at how organized criminal rings work. That includes financial scams, fentanyl rings, and steroid clubs.

      Read the story
      16 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

      NewsTravelTransportationNationalHealth & Wellness

    In this episode

    4 stories
    1. 0:0014 min

      Health care system could hit capacity next month during COVID surge, says LA DPH’s chief medical officer

    2. 13:4110 min

      Passengers arriving in LA could be bringing COVID with them. How airport officials are handling risks

    3. 23:139 min

      New California environmental standards reveal toxins in some water systems

    4. 32:3716 min

      ‘Trafficked’ looks at the underground economy of scammers, con artists and grifters

    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand