Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Gay Conversion Therapy, Police Video Apps, and Bottling California’s Water
President Obama today is calling for the end of gay conversion therapy because of its potentially devastating psychological effects. We talk to an activist who spent five years going through conversion therapy in four different states.
President Obama today is calling for the end of gay conversion therapy because of its potentially devastating psychological effects. We talk to an activist who spent five years in conversion therapy and the director of the LGBT office at the American Psychological Association. In our weekly web roundup: new apps to capture police interactions, a lawsuit against Facebook facial recognition software, and new emojis. Every year, Nestle pays $524 for a permit to take tens of millions of gallons of water from Arrowhead Springs in the San Bernardino National Forest. The permit expired in 1988. And city attorney Mike Feuer says that more than 500 pot shops have been closed down in Los Angeles in the last two years. How many are left?
In this episode
4 storiesGay Conversion Therapy
President Obama today is calling for the end of gay conversion therapy because of its potentially devastating psychological effects. The White House says he won’t call for a federal law banning therapists from using such therapies but will support state bans. So far, only California, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.
Read the story18 minApps to Capture Videos of Police Interactions
On our weekly web roundup: a civilian video of a police officer killing an unarmed man in South Carolina went viral this week. It was that video that led to the arrest of the police officer for murder. This is not the first video of police violence to go viral. And, as is the case with most things in life, there’s an app for that.
Read the story9 minBottling Water in California
Every year, Nestle, the world’s largest food company, pays the San Bernardino national forest $524. That’s the fee Nestle pays for its permit to take tens of million of gallons of water from springs high in the San Bernardino mountains, bottle it, and sell it as Arrowhead 100% Mountain Spring Water. That permit expired in 1988.
Read the story10 minLA Pot Shops Getting Shut Down
City attorney Mike Feuer says that more than 500 pot shops have been closed down in Los Angeles in the last two years. This after Proposition D was passed 2 years ago. It imposed stricter standards on medical marijuana dispensaries.
Read the story9 min