Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The State of the Union and Health, a Story of OCD, and Recovering Looted Art
During last night’s State of the Union speech, President Obama called for state and federal legislation expanding paid sick days and family leave for workers. We look at how California’s laws could be a template for new national policies. The president also talked about “personalized medicine.” What is it?
By Barbara Bogaev • • 51m ListenDuring last night’s State of the Union Speech, President Obama called for state and federal legislation expanding paid sick days and family leave for workers. We look at how California’s laws could be a template for new national policies. The president also talked about “personalized medicine.” What is it, and is it the future of healthcare? Then, the Islamist extremist group ISIS is threatening to kill two Japanese hostages if Japan doesn’t pay a $200 million ransom by Friday. What are the government’s options? Journalist David Adam talks about his new book, a memoir about his own struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder. And finally, a family that’s been fighting the Norton Simon Museum over paintings that were plundered by Nazis during World War II. What’s at stake in the case, and what could it mean for other artworks around the country with similar histories?
Banner Image: President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, in Washington, as Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio look on. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
In this episode
5 storiesObama Calls For Paid Family, Sick Leave
In last night’s State of the Union Speech, President Obama called for state and federal legislation expanding paid sick and family leave for workers. Here in California, many of us already have those things. But what are the chances of national legislation? And what’s holding us back from it?
Read the story9 minIs Personalized Medicine the Future of Healthcare?
Also in last night’s State of the Union, the President talked about “personalized medicine.” It’s a form of medical care that would take into account each patient’s individual genetic makeup. We hear more about what it is, how close it is to becoming the norm and how it would work.
Read the story7 minJapan’s ISIS Hostage Crisis
The Islamic extremist group ISIS has said it will kill two Japanese captives if Japan doesn’t pay a $200 million ransom by Friday. ISIS released a video of the two hostages kneeling down in orange jumpsuits, with a masked militant waving a knife around them, demanding the money.
Read the story8 minA Life Lost in Thought
In the early 19th century, an 18-year-old woman known as Mademoiselle F. was walking home from her aunt’s house when she suddenly thought, what if she’d stolen something from her aunt? She hadn’t, but the thought kicked off an all-consuming obsession that eventually drove her to extreme measures to prevent herself from stealing. Mademoiselle F.
Read the story14 minRecovering Looted Art
Seventy years ago, as the Nazis rolled through Europe, they plundered art from museums, galleries and private collections. Today, the owners of about 100,000 stolen pieces of art are still trying to get them back, and one family has gotten a small step closer.
Read the story8 min
