Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Dov Charney Can’t Quit American Apparel, Albert Maysles, and Tickling Science
We begin today with a look at American Apparel: The L.A.-based clothing company is embroiled in a rift between workers loyal to fired CEO Dov Charney and new management. Also, a tribute to the legendary documentarians the Maysles brothers. Albert Maysles died last night at 88.
By Madeleine Brand • • 52m ListenWe begin today with a look at American Apparel. The L.A.-based clothing company is embroiled in a rift between workers loyal to fired CEO Dov Charney and new management. Then, death rates for white women between the ages of 15 and 54 are on the rise, largely because of an increase in prescription painkiller use. We speak to the author of a new study examining the trend. Next, we check in on a high-profile Silicon Valley trial over a sexual discrimination lawsuit. And in our weekly film segment, a tribute to legendary documentarians the Maysles brothers. Albert Maysles died last night at 88. And finally, we get a primer on the strange and surprising science of tickling.
In this episode
5 storiesDov Charney Stokes American Apparel Rift
Today’s Labor Department report on the latest jobs numbers make it clear that the American workforce has changed a lot in the last 50 years. We’re now adding more service-oriented jobs, while manufacturing growth has slowed. But one company here in L.A. that straddles both is American Apparel.
Read the story9 minDeath Rates for White Women on the Rise
More white women between the ages of 15 and 54 are dying than they were a generation ago. The main reason is an increase in the use of prescription painkillers. Deaths from suicide and many diseases are also up. At the same time, death rates for Hispanic and African-American women have gone down. What’s behind the numbers?
Read the story8 minA High-Powered Silicon Valley Discrimination Trial
It’s a tale of two Silicon Valleys. Reddit CEO Ellen Pao’s gender discrimination suit against her former employer, the powerful venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, wraps up its second week in court today. Throughout the proceedings, two distinct visions of the company and the larger tech industry have emerged.
Read the story9 minMovies: Remembering the Maysles Brothers
Legendary filmmaker Albert Maysles died last night at the age of 88. Maysles and his late brother, David, essentially created the verite style of documentary filmmaking: the fly-on-the-wall, non-narrated approach. Their films include the classics Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter.
Read the story15 minThe Science of Tickling
One thing we know about tickling: It makes us laugh. But why? And what exactly is it? Is it pain? Pleasure? Aristotle wrote about tickling all the way back in 350 B.C. Darwin did too, in 1872. But, of course, tickling’s been around for as long as big brothers and sisters have needed a way to torture their younger siblings.
Read the story7 min
