Press Play with Madeleine Brand
POM Wonderful at the Supreme Court, Urban Insects & Sex Ed
Today on Press Play: The juice wars reach the Supreme Court, a 16-year-old stows away on a flight to Hawaii, spoiler etiquette, urban insects, and sex ed.
By Madeleine Brand • • 51m ListenThe juice wars have reached the Supreme Court, with POM Wonderful suing Coke over a drink that only contains a tiny bit of actual pomegranate juice. And a 16-year-old boy from Santa Clara snuck into a jet’s wheel well and somehow made it alive all the way to Maui. On our TV roundup: some new shows, Ryan Seacrest, Michelle Obama, and life in the age of spoiler alerts. LA’s Natural History Museum is coordinating a major study on urban insect biodiversity. Entomologists have found a new insect with seemingly reversed sex organs. And speaking of sex: Since Congress ended federal funding for abstinence-only sex education five years ago, there’s no consistency in what kids are learning about that important topic.
Banner Image Credit: Gabriel Bucataru
In this episode
6 storiesPOM Wonderful Suit
The juice wars have made it to the Supreme Court. POM Wonderful, the company that prides itself on selling 100% pomegranate juice, is suing Coca-Cola over its Minute Maid version of a similar drink, which it says contains only a tiny bit of actual pomegranate juice. The Supreme Court Justices are hearing arguments in the case today.
Read the story8 minAirplane Stowaway
A 16-year-old boy from Santa Clara snuck into the wheel well of a jet traveling from San Jose to Hawaii yesterday. He was discovered wandering around the tarmac in Maui. Experts are scratching their heads at how the boy survived high altitudes and freezing temperatures during the five-and-a-half-hour flight.
Read the story6 minSpoiler Alert
In this week’s television roundup, we talk about new shows on the Cartoon Network and BBC America, the omnipresent Ryan Seacrest and Michelle Obama, and living in the age of the spoiler alert.
Read the story9 minUrban Insects
For the next 2 years, homeowners across Los Angeles will have large, white tent-like traps set up in their backyards. It's all part of a major investigation into urban insect biodiversity, one of the largest studies of its kind ever conducted.
Read the story8 minReverse-Sex Insects
In other bug news, an international team of entomologists announced last week that they discovered a cave insect where females have male-like genitalia and visa-versa. It’s perhaps the first example of reversed sex organs in any animal.
Read the story8 minThe State of Sex Education
Condoms or chastity? Sex ed in this country has swung both ways, and now it’s somewhere in-between. Since Congress cut off funding for abstinence-only sex ed 5 years ago, states have implemented their own, different standards for teaching sex ed. The result: it’s not clear what American kids are learning.
Read the story8 min
