Press Play with Madeleine Brand
On the Ground in Ferguson, Taboo Topics and Caviar’s Criminal Underground
We look at what’s happening on the ground in Ferguson, Mo., five days after police there shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown. Then we look at a police shooting here in L.A. It’s still unclear how and why cops in South L.A. shot 25-year-old Ezell Ford Monday night.
By Madeleine Brand • • 52m ListenProtests are continuing in Ferguson, Mo., five days after police there shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. We take a ground-level look at what’s happening there. Also: how did local police forces like the one in Ferguson end up with military-grade weapons and equipment? Then we look at how the situation in Ferguson is adding urgency to the investigation of a police shooting that happened on South L.A. on Monday night. Next, we talk to the host of a new podcast that examines the topics we all obsess over but don’t often discuss: death, sex and money. Finally, a peek into the strange and seedy world of the caviar black market.
Banner Image: Riot police stand guard as demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri August 13, 2014. Police in Ferguson fired several rounds of tear gas to disperse protesters late on Wednesday, on the fourth night of demonstrations over the fatal shooting last weekend of an unarmed black teenager Brown, 18, by a police officer on Saturday after what police said was a struggle with a gun in a police car. A witness in the case told local media that Brown had raised his arms to police to show that he was unarmed before being killed. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
In this episode
5 storiesThe View From Ferguson
Demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo., continue five days after police there shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. We speak to someone on the ground who’s been involved in the protests, and has met this week with the Brown family and civil rights leader Al Sharpton.
Read the story6 minMilitarization of Police
The images coming out of Ferguson in the past few days show police in riot gear, atop tanks, and holding what look like sniper rifles. Many of the officers look like they could be soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan. That’s not a coincidence.
Read the story10 minPolice Shooting in Los Angeles
Monday night, cops in South L.A. shot and killed Ezell Ford, an unarmed, 25-year-old black man. The LAPD says Ford attacked an officer and tried to grab his gun. Ford’s family says he was lying on the ground, following police orders, when he was shot three times.
Read the story9 minDeath, Sex, and Money
Death, sex and money: They’re the things we all obsess over, but are often too shy or polite to talk about. A new podcast from WNYC -- appropriately titled Death, Sex & Money -- drags them out into the light. It’s a series of interviews with regular people and celebrities alike about the big questions of life and love.
Read the story13 minThe Caviar Underground
Paddlefish Polyodon spathula (Timothy Knepp - US Fish and Wildlife Service) Consider the paddlefish: It’s prehistoric looking, even ugly. It lives in the Osage River in Missouri. And it’s worth about $40,000 on the black market. We take a look at the seedy world that is the caviar underground.
Read the story9 min
