Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Narcos in Fiction, L.A.’s Mysterious Oil Field House, and the Music Machine
In this show of previously aired segments, we hear from the author of the novel The Cartel, a fictional work based on real life drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Also, we look at two very different slices of the music industry: Swedish pop hitmakers and house music in South Africa.
By Madeleine Brand • • 52m ListenIn this show of previously aired segments, we begin by hearing from the author of the novel The Cartel, a fictional work based on real life drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Then, the story of a mysterious house on an oilfield in the middle of L.A. How did it get there? Next, a look at the pop music hitmaker Max Martin. And finally, a dive into South Africa’s house music explosion. How did it become so popular there?
Banner Image Credit: Anna Scott/KCRW
In this episode
4 stories'The Cartel'
The head of one of the world's deadliest drug cartels sits in a Mexican prison. The government trumpets his capture as a major blow to the drug trade in the country. And then one day, the king of the narcos simply walks out of prison, and back into the drug trade.
Read the story16 minL.A.'s Mysterious House on a Hill
There’s a century-old house hidden in the middle of an oil field in Baldwin Hills. Few people know it’s there, and even fewer know its history. Press Play producer Anna Scott goes into the field to unpack the mystery.
Read the story10 min"The Song Machine"
Lennon and McCartney. The two Beatles need no introduction, as they’ve written the most number-one hit songs of all time. In third place? A 44-year-old Swedish producer named Max Martin.
Read the story16 minSouth Africa's House Music Explosion
Any guess which country is the world’s largest consumer of house music? Per capita, it’s South Africa, where house music regularly outsells American pop giants like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. How did this come to be, and who are the main players in the South African house scene?
Read the story9 min
