Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Outside Money in Local Elections, Bill O’Reilly, and a North Korean Kidnapping
There’s an election coming up next week for seven city council seats and three school board seats. We look at the outside money from special interests pouring into the races: where is it coming from, and what’s it meant to buy?
By Madeleine Brand • • 51m ListenThere’s an election coming up next week for seven city council seats and three school board seats. We look at the outside money from special interests pouring into the races: where is it coming from, and what’s it meant to buy? Next, we turn to the state capital to look at the showdown shaping up between Governor Jerry Brown and University of California president Janet Napolitano over funding for the UC system. Then, Bill O’Reilly’s Brian Williams moment. And finally, the unbelievable story of how a North Korean dictator kidnapped a South Korean filmmaker in an attempt to build a North Korean Hollywood. And we take a closer look at the work of that kidnapped filmmaker, Shin Sang-ok.
Banner Image: Los Angeles City Hall; Credit: Neon Tommy
In this episode
5 storiesOutside Money in Local Elections
Angelenos hopefully know there’s an election next week. Seven city council seats and three school board seats are up for grabs, and a couple of charter amendments are on the ballot that would move election day to line up with state and national timelines -- a move intended to increase voter turnout.
Read the story10 minA Showdown Over UC Funding
University of California President Janet Napolitano says she’ll hold off on raising tuition for the next six months. But it’s only temporary relief. Napolitano says costs will go up after that, possibly as much as 28 percent over the next five years, unless the UC system gets more taxpayer dollars.
Read the story8 minBill O’Reilly’s Brian Williams Moment?
Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show is the top-rated cable show. But now O’Reilly’s been accused by the liberal magazine Mother Jones of inflating his wartime experience in Argentina during the Falklands War. In the magazine, David Corn wrote that O’Reilly has repeatedly claimed to have reported from the Falklands war.
Read the story9 minA Kim Jong-Il Production
The movie The Interview is not kind to North Korea’s current dictator. In the movie, Kim Jong-un is enamored of James Franco’s TV host character. But the idea of a North Korean dictator obsessed with Western show biz isn’t entirely fiction. Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong-il, was obsessed with movies.
Read the story16 minShin Sang-Ok
After hearing about how North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il kidnapped filmmaker Shin Sang-Ok to make films in the north for a decade, we take a closer look at the director’s work. Shin was a prolific and popular filmmaker in South Korea in the 1960s. His studio made more than 300 movies. He died in 2006 at the age of 80.
Read the story6 min
