Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy
    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Tainted drugs may be the cause of some USC student deaths

    Nine USC students have died since school started in late August. While campus officials haven’t disclosed the causes behind all of deaths, three have been attributed to suicide. Today, USC President Carol Folt confirmed that LAPD is looking into drug overdose as a potential cause for some of the other deaths.

    • rss
    • apple-podcasts
    • spotify
    • Share
    By Madeleine Brand • Nov 13, 2019 • 1 min read

    Nine USC students have died since school started in late August. While campus officials haven’t disclosed the causes behind all of deaths, three have been attributed to suicide. Today, USC President Carol Folt confirmed that LAPD is looking into drug overdose as a potential cause for some of the other deaths.

    The full episode

    2 of 5
    Analyzing day 1 of the public impeachment hearings
    1. 0:00Highlights and analysis: Day 1 of the public impeachment hearings
    2. 14:14Tainted drugs may be the cause of some USC student deathsYou’re reading this
    3. 22:11Climate change threatens Marshall Islands, where the U.S. has dumped a lot of nuclear waste
    4. 33:04Climate change now affects whether you can get a mortgage
    5. 41:18Making meat out of air: How does it work?
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Alexandra Sif Tryggvadottir

      Associate producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      Colleen Shalby

      LA Times reporter

      NewsEducationHealth & WellnessLos Angeles

    The full episode

    2 of 5
    Analyzing day 1 of the public impeachment hearings
    1. 0:00Highlights and analysis: Day 1 of the public impeachment hearings
    2. 14:14Tainted drugs may be the cause of some USC student deathsYou’re reading this
    3. 22:11Climate change threatens Marshall Islands, where the U.S. has dumped a lot of nuclear waste
    4. 33:04Climate change now affects whether you can get a mortgage
    5. 41:18Making meat out of air: How does it work?
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand