Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Hospital Safety, A Sugar Warning, and “Finding Vivian Maier”
Two patients have died at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center from a drug-resistant superbug. Five additional patients have been infected and many more have been exposed. We look at the problem of medical errors and patient safety. Also, a panel of experts is recommending that the federal government create a sugar tax. Could it improve our health?
By Madeleine Brand • • 52m ListenSeven patients at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center have been infected with a drug-resistant superbug called CRE, and the hospital is warning others who might’ve been exposed. We look at the problem of medical errors and patient safety. Next, an expert panel is recommending that the federal government create a sugar tax to combat our obesity problem. How bad is sugar really for our health, and would a tax help? In our weekly Internet roundup, we mark the 25th anniversary of Photoshop by looking at how it has changed photojournalism and beauty standards. Then, continuing a weeklong series of interviews with the filmmakers behind this year’s Oscar-nominated documentaries, Madeleine speaks with the co-director of Finding Vivian Maier. And finally, with the Academy Awards coming up on Sunday, we take a look at the red carpet economy.
Banner Image: UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, from the south-west looking across Westwood Bl.
In this episode
5 storiesUCLA and Hospital Safety
Seven patients at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center have been infected with a drug-resistant superbug called CRE. Two of them have died. UCLA is reaching out to another 179 patients who were treated with the same contaminated equipment.
Read the story9 minA New Warning About Sugar
Sugar and red meat are the villains du jour when it comes to what we should and should not eat. Today, an important advisory committee issued its recommendations for the USDA food guidelines. The federal government adjusts its food pyramid -- or plate, now -- every five years and is expected to make a final decision later this year.
Read the story9 minWeb Roundup: Photoshop Culture
Photoshop turns 25 years old today, and in the last quarter of a decade, the word “Photoshop” has taken on a meaning much bigger than the product itself. It’s one of those brand names that’s become a common verb -- and a topic of debate. What are the ethics of Photoshop? What role, if any, should it play in photojournalism?
Read the story8 min“Finding Vivian Maier”
In 2007, a Chicago man named John Maloof bought a box of photo negatives at an auction house for a couple of hundred dollars. The box turned out to be a cache of incredible street photographs from an artist no one had ever heard of. Those who knew her only knew her as a curmudgeonly, enigmatic nanny.
Read the story14 minThe Economics and Politics of the Red Carpet
The Oscars will be a done deal by bedtime Sunday , but the wrangling over who won the red carpet will have just begun. There’s an entire industry devoted to the pursuit of red carpet perfection.
Read the story9 min
