Press Play with Madeleine Brand
State of the State, Coastal Commission Coup, #OscarsSoWhite
Today we look at Gov. Jerry Brown’s 13th State of the State Address. That’s followed up by a look at the ongoing turmoil in what was one of the biggest accomplishments of Brown’s first term: the California Coastal Commission.
By Madeleine Brand • • 52m ListenToday we start by reviewing Gov. Jerry Brown’s 13th State of the State Address. Brown’s focus since the California recession has been fiscal discipline. Next, an inside look at the turmoil going on within the California Coastal Commission. Some members are calling for the firing of the commission’s executive director. After that, #OscarsSoWhite redux. Jada Pinkett Smith called for a boycott of the Oscars this week. Comedy duo ‘Frangela’ joins us to give their perspective on the issue. Then, Brian Knappenberger talks about his new series on surveillance in the digital age. Finally, our usual web roundup with Xeni Jardin.
In this episode
5 storiesState of the State
Since Gov. Jerry Brown took office, he’s been focused on fiscal discipline And that continues to be the name of the game, though the state has seen revenue of $6 billion above expectations. But the state also has some liabilities to pay off – almost $220 billion of it in retirement and pensions.
Read the story8 minCalifornia Coastal Commission
The California Coastal Commission could lose its executive director, Charles Lester, if certain pro-development members of the commission have their way. It’s essentially history repeating itself as the last executive director was also the butt of a failed ouster. The reason for the coup?
Read the story6 minOscars So White
Earlier this week, Jada Pinkett Smith put out a video on YouTube calling for a boycott of the Oscars ceremony. That’s because #OscarsSoWhite has been a prevalent issue with the lack of minority nominees for the awards for many years in a row.
Read the story10 minTruth and Power
Ashley Yates is a young Black Lives Matter activist. She’s also known as @BrownBlaze on Twitter and has nearly 30,000 followers. But even she was shocked when she went from Missouri to New York City for a protest and police officers recognized her. That’s when Yates realized the police were tracking her on social media.
Read the story12 minWeb Roundup
On our latest Web roundup with Xeni Jardin: We cover a new TV series that looks at the things people do on the Internet that they don’t want others to see. It’s called “Dark Net.” We’ll also discuss Nielsen using social media to evaluate ratings, Apple being the world’s most valuable company, and the most commonly hacked passwords of 2015.
Read the story8 min
