Press Play With Madeleine Brand

Plus, the impact of the LA City Council tightening rent increases, our weekly film reviews, and Evan Kleiman has suggestions for spots offering takeout or dine-in Thanksgiving.

Plus, what Gov. Gavin Newsom hopes to get out of the COP30 climate conference, Inspector General Max Huntsman on LA County jail conditions, and what to see (or skip) on TV this fall.

Plus, an oral history of D-Day and the veterans who stormed the beaches of Normandy in 1944, and a new documentary sheds light on Hitler’s favorite filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl.

Plus, the latest legal fight over SNAP benefits and cases the Supreme Court will (and won’t) take up, travel chaos continues at airports, and how criticism is changing as legacy media cuts back.

Plus, how New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani might transform the city, our weekly film reviews, and Evan Kleiman’s stuffed pumpkin recipes.

Plus, California voters approve a plan to redraw the state’s Congressional map, campaigning against trans rights backfires for Republican gubernatorial candidates, and the photography of Sister Corita Kent.

Plus, President Trump claims the War Powers Resolution doesn't apply to strikes against alleged drug cartel members in the Caribbean, how Vice President Dick Cheney redefined executive power, and Obamacare enrollees make hard healthcare choices as premiums are set to rise.

Plus, President Trump’s tariffs go before the Supreme Court, a new book details the history of abortion pills, and 90s R&B stars Brandy and Monica headline a tour coming to Inglewood this weekend.

Plus, the Dodgers are on the brink of elimination in the World Series, our film critics review a satirical take on Dracula ahead of Halloween, and Evan Kleiman has a decadent dessert for the holiday season.

Plus, warnings about President Trump’s tariffs come to fruition for consumers, making sense of the latest protein craze, and why HBO’s Task is a rare TV show that gets working class America right.

Plus, Los Angeles plans to spend $2.3 million to build an iron fence around MacArthur Park. The Hammer Museum is back with its biennial Made in LA exhibition. And celebrity gossip website TMZ turns 20.

Plus, a multimillion dollar donation from a Trump benefactor to pay troops during the shutdown, UCLA makes a proposed $1.2 billion settlement with the Trump administration public, and sports betting in California.

Plus, the future of U.S.-Japan relations under new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, our film critics review the new Bruce Springsteen biopic, and Evan Kleiman schools us on the history and delicacy of dates.

Plus, the immigration judges who actually work for the Department of Justice. The government shutdown could soon affect federal food assistance and Covered California. And the future of male birth control.

Plus, President Trump and Colombia’s president spar over strikes on alleged drug traffickers, a $650 million Hollywood Ponzi scheme, and why the Louvre heist is different from other famous art thefts.

President Trump may invoke the Insurrection Act to send troops to San Francisco. And the Los Angeles Dodgers return to the World Series behind a legendary performance from Shohei Ohtani.

A Supreme Court case focused on race-based redistricting could upend the Voting Rights Act and change the balance of congressional power for a generation. It’s the latest fault line in the battle over voting maps.   Hamas publicly executed eight political rivals on a crowded street in Gaza City in a show of intimidation over the local population. With a fragile ceasefire plan, will Hamas retain control of the Gaza Strip over the long term? “It seems to me that Hamas is still powerful enough to control the streets of Gaza and to intimidate the local Palestinian [sic] there,” says Mkhaimar Abusada, political science professor at Al-Azhar University-Gaza. “What's going to happen next, I do not know it. At the end of the day, Hamas has accepted the ceasefire plan, and part of it is that Hamas must disarm itself. There has to be destruction of the tunnels and ammunition. When that is going to happen, I think it is going to take some time before going into the so-called next s

The U.S. destroyed another boat in the South Caribbean, which the Trump administration alleges was engaged in drug trafficking. This is the fifth such strike since September, and Venezuela’s president has labeled this aggression. Are the strikes legal, and are both countries headed for war?Flock Safety operates more than 80,000 license plate readers across the U.S. In Texas, a sheriff’s deputy used them to find a woman who had self-administered an abortion. Filmmaker Raoul Peck is known for his unconventional biopics of people like James Baldwin and Patrice Lumumba. His latest documentary is about the writer George Orwell. “I was always suspect of the use of words, and Orwell as well,” Peck tells KCRW. “And he studied it, and he demonstrated how damaging it is. … For him, when language is being destroyed, you're basically destroying democracy. But … what I did not expect is that he would be so close to my own experience. I didn't expect that this film would hav

Ceasefire in Gaza means some aid can get through an Israeli blockade. But with over half a million people experiencing famine, Israel is still withholding food to achieve military goals.  Peter Thiel, an influential tech billionaire with ties to the White House, gave a series of private lectures in San Francisco in which he likened opponents of technological progress to the antichrist. Why is Thiel, a devout Christian, using such hyperbolic rhetoric Inside an Alabama prison, hidden cameras expose violence, cover-ups, and a state’s controversial plan to fix it. A new HBO documentary, The Alabama Solution, reveals what really happens behind prison walls. Forget swiping right — people are now falling for chatbots. Humorist Patricia Marx dated a handful of AI lovers — some sweet, some clingy, and one downright mean. KCRW explores computer love. Today's episode was produced by Brian Hardzinski, Angie Perrin, Robin Estrin, Jack Ross, and Zeke Reed.

Trump joined the leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey to sign a Gaza peace deal. The agreement could end the war, but it remains unclear who will rebuild and govern Gaza and whether peace can last. Legal roundup: The DOJ prosecutes former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, while court rulings try to curb ICE and National Guard deployment. Should comedians have performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival? While some have been focusing on Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record and speech restrictions, the festival is part of the Kingdom’s push to diversify economically, and culturally.  Heartbreak caught up with Welsh musician Cate Le Bon when she was producing albums for Wilco, Deerhunter, and Devendra Banhart. Songs poured out that she initially didn’t want to write — about the end of a romantic relationship with her longtime music collaborator. They make up her seventh album called Michelangelo Dying. Today's episode was produced by Brian Hardzinski