About this episode

Comedian Sheng Wang discusses immigration and kind comedy while addressing California's electric car sales decline and the U.S. Mint's use of illegally mined gold.

Plus, California’s electric car dream is sputtering as sales drop dramatically after President Trump ditches federal rebates, and the U.S. Mint is using illegally mined gold from a Colombian cartel for its gold coins.

People in this episode

Host: Madeleine Brand

Guest: Sheng Wang

Topics covered

• immigration
• comedy
• electric cars
• federal rebates
• gold mining
• cartels

Keywords

• Sheng Wang
• immigration
• comedy
• electric cars
• federal rebates
• gold coins
• Colombian cartel

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: KCRW, U.S. Mint, Colombian cartel

Places: California

More episodes of Press Play with Madeleine Brand

• How McCabe’s in Santa Monica became a nationally known venue · May 4, 2026 · 53 min
• ‘A hugely terrible opinion’: UCLA’s Rick Hasen on SCOTUS voting rights decision · April 29, 2026 · 52 min
• Ruth Slenczynska, Rachmaninoff’s student who performed for presidents, dies at 101 · April 27, 2026 · 53 min
• A Thriller? Or just Bad? We review the Michael Jackson biopic · April 23, 2026 · 53 min
• Why Lena Dunham inspires so much hate, and love, as a millennial feminist · April 22, 2026 · 52 min
• Louise Erdrich’s remarkable encounters with the natural world · April 21, 2026 · 51 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Press Play with Madeleine Brand podcast page.