Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Oscars Fall Flat, Retaking Mosul, and Robert Durst Speaks in 'The Jinx'
We begin today with our weekly television roundup, in which we recap the highs and lows of last night’s lackluster Oscars. Also, President Obama’s plan to help the government of Iraq take the city of Mosul back from ISIS.
By Madeleine Brand • • 52m ListenWe start today with our weekly television roundup and recap last night’s lackluster Oscar show. Then, President Obama says the U.S. will help Iraqi soldiers take back the city of Mosul from the terrorist group ISIS. Good idea/bad idea? Next, Madeleine talks to the filmmakers behind the new HBO miniseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, a six-part documentary about a billionaire New York real estate heir who’s been suspected but never convicted in three murders. And finally, we hear from one of the reporters behind a New York Times investigation into research funding for a leading climate change denier.
Banner Image: Neil Patrick Harris Hosts the 87th Academy Awards
In this episode
4 storiesTV: Oscars Fall Flat
Several of the winners at last night’s Oscars injected politics into their speeches, getting mixed reactions. The losers, on the other hand, included not only snubbed films but also the audience. The show itself was kind of a stinker. We talk about the highs, the lows, and other small screen news from the week in our weekly television roundup.
Read the story12 minRetaking Mosul
As much as President Obama would like to say the case is closed on Iraq, he can’t yet. ISIS now has a strong presence in the country, including controlling Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul. Last week, the White House announced that the U.S. will help Iraqi soldiers take back the city of Mosul from the terrorist group.
Read the story13 min'The Jinx'
Five years ago, director Andrew Jarecki and producer Marc Smerling came out with a movie based on the life of billionaire New York real estate heir Robert Durst, who’s been suspected but never convicted of three murders.
Read the story14 minThe Economics of Climate Change Denial
Wei-Hock Soon, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is a leading global warming skeptic. His work has been used by pundits and politicians alike to deny the existence of man-made climate change. He says global warming is caused by the sun, not humans.
Read the story7 min
