Press Play with Madeleine Brand KCRW

In “Help Wanted,” part-time employees of a big-box retail store in New York are barely making a living. Author Adelle Waldman’s own job experiences inspired the novel.
Ryan Crocker, a former U.S. ambassador to Middle Eastern countries, says Israel should heed the message behind the Biden administration’s withholding of bombs.
Hollywood’s summer box office season is here. So far, it pales in comparison to last year’s $4 billion bonanza brought in by “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
Actor Chris Pratt razed an architecturally significant house. Another wealthy homeowner wants to demolish Marilyn Monroe’s former home. What are LA’s historic preservation rules?

Lookout Santa Cruz has earned the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting. The winning coverage was about the flooding and mudslides along the Central Coast last January.
Once viewed as a progressive movement for a Jewish state, Zionism has taken on a settler colonialist connotation for many pro-Palestinian protestors.
One reason for sky-high veterinary bills? Private equity funds and big corporations have been gobbling up small, independent vets.
Maya Rudolph spent eight seasons on “Saturday Night Live” doing impressions. In her latest show, she’s a billionaire determined to donate her fortune.

Joan Baez talks about her poetry, memories of abuse, living with dissociative identity disorder, and abstaining from the Gaza protests on college campuses.
After violence broke out between pro-Palestinian activists and counter-protestors at UCLA, campus officials are launching its new Office of Campus Safety.
Student protesters are demanding universities divest from Israel. But in California, divestment may not be legally achievable because of a little-known civil rights law.
Six months after the Hollywood strikes, film and TV productions are still down. Now IATSE is at the table with the AMPTP. Could a strike be on the horizon?

Critics review the latest film releases: “The Fall Guy,” “I Saw the TV Glow,” “Evil Does Not Exist,” and “Mars Express.”
Police arrested more than 130 people at UCLA after law enforcement dispersed protesters and dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment. The demonstrations have taken attention away from the actual war in Gaza.
Arizona's Republican-led legislature repealed the state's Civil War-era abortion ban, reverting to a 15-week limit. Meanwhile, Florida enforces a six-week ban.
Shows that have all the trappings of prestige TV — the cinematic look, the big names — are everywhere on streaming services. But one critic says they’re all average.

Strawberries are easy to transform into a dish that’s like a gift. To kick them up a notch, marinate them with a drizzle of flavorful balsamic vinegar.
After violence between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian sides broke out at UCLA overnight, two Dartmouth lecturers with differing views on the war offer a model for cooperation.
The Department of Justice proposed making cannabis a Schedule 3 drug, acknowledging after decades of illicit use that it has medical value and a lower risk for abuse. It’s currently Schedule 1, along with heroin.
The daughter of late film critic Gene Siskel is out with a new poetry book, “Two Minds,” about grief and the sudden death of her father when she was 12 years old.

Trader Joe’s works with global suppliers to make eclectic products, but some small food producers say the company rips them off, reports Adam Reiner, founder of Restaurant Manifesto .
Campus protestors nationwide are demanding universities divest of financial ties to Israel. Is that possible in today's complex, global economy?
The NLRB has accused Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, Amazon, and SpaceX of harassing and intimidating workers. The companies are challenging the power of the board to protect workers’ jobs.
Author and USC professor Viet Thanh Nguyen won a Pulitzer Prize for his 2015 novel “The Sympathizer.” It’s been adapted into a new limited series from HBO.
After the Denver Nuggets eliminated the Lakers from the NBA playoffs on Monday night, Lebron James refused to say whether or not he’ll be wearing purple and gold next season.