Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Drought, Jamzilla and Japan's Fake Beethoven
Obama visits the Central Valley, traffic warnings abound as the 405 closes for the weekend, and a beloved Japanese composer is revealed as a fraud.
By Madeleine Brand • • 50m ListenPresident Obama is visiting the Central Valley today to discuss drought mitigation efforts. We talk to a farmer in Fresno. Plus, a scientist says California’s drought could last decades. We also get the scoop on a beloved Japanese composer who turns out to be a total fraud. We check-back in with the luger from La Cañada who blew up online with her warm-up routine. We’ll also talk about this weekend’s huge traffic warnings as officials close part of the 405, and we’ll get the latest news out of Hollywood.
Banner Image: Folsom Lake without very much water, Stuart Rankin
In this episode
6 storiesFarming Through the Drought
President Obama is visiting the Central Valley today to discuss drought mitigation efforts. We talk to a farmer in Mendota, a small farming community especially hard hit by the water shortage.
Read the story8 minHow Long Will This Last?
California’s historic drought conditions may not ease up anytime soon. Paleoclimatologist Lynn Ingram says this severe water shortage could last decades.
Read the story6 minRobocop, Noah's Ark and Shia LaBeouf
Kim Masters and Ben Fritz join us for our weekly roundup of Hollywood news. Today we talk about the new Robocop reboot, Shia Labeouf’s increasingly odd behavior, and a film of biblical proportions.
Read the story11 minJapan's Fake Beethoven
Japanese Olympic figure skater Daisuke Takahashi will probably be remembered for something other than his technical skill on the Sochi ice. Unfortunately, he chose to skate to music composed by one of Japan’s most beloved composers - who, it turns out, is a total fraud.
Read the story9 minThe Olympic's Dancing Luger
We check back in with Kate Hansen, a SoCal luger who made it all the way to the Sochi Olympics. Kate blew up on the internet earlier this week when her unusual warm-up routine was caught on tape: Kate likes to blast Beyoncé in her headphones and dance around before hopping on her luge.
Read the story6 minJamzilla, Self-Aware Cars and Corvette Calamity
Transportation officials are warning drivers to avoid the 405 this weekend while they shut down northbound lanes through the Sepulveda pass. We’ll talk about that and other auto-related news, including a push to make cars aware of each other on the road and Toyota’s massive recall of Prius cars.
Read the story8 min
