KCRW's To The Point Podcasts

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Hosted by Warren Olney, "To the Point" is a fast-paced, news based one-hour daily national program that focuses on the hot-button issues of the day, co-produced by KCRW and Public Radio International. Primary Format : Public Radio Language : English Also Listed as: City : Santa Monica State/Province : CA Country : USA Region : NA User Tags: User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of KCRW's To The Point Podcasts Methings.com listings of KCRW's To The Point Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

Blame It on Rio: Chicago Loses 2016 Olympic Games The International Olympic Committee today granted the 2016 Summer Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro, with Chicago eliminated in the first round of voting. The historic decision takes the games to the South American continent for the very first time. Also, unemployment continues to climb, and re-writing the book on evolution, based on a startling new discovery in the African desert.Conan Nolanguest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website FBI Makes an Arrest in a Case of Domestic Terrorism It is being called one of the most serious terrorist threats since 9/11. Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year¬old Afghan entered a plea of ?not guilty? this week to charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. His arrest came amidst a number of other terror related cases. How serious were these threats? Are they the result of improved law enforcement? What role did the Patriot Act play? Also, the US and its allies talk to Iran about its nuclear program. On Reporter's Notebook, could mas ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website US and Iran, Face-to-Face for the First Time in 30 Years In Geneva tomorrow, the United States will sit down for direct negotiations with Iran for the first time in three decades. The US, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany will push for greater transparency on Iran's nuclear program, and threaten sanctions if President Ahmadinejad refuses to cooperate. What can the West hope to achieve at the talks? Will Russia and China agree to stepping up the pressure on Iran? Also,  earthquakes and tsunamis strike Samoa, and pitching the Olympic ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website H1N1: What You Need to Know, What You Need to Do As the US government prepares to hand out more than 250 million free doses of vaccine for the H1N1 virus, health officials are confronting fear and misinformation. What is the H1N1, or swine flu, as it's commonly known? Who should take a vaccine against it? By taking early precautions to combat the flu, has the government caused more anxiety than necessary? Also, Also, terror suspect, Najibullah Zazi, enters a plea, and startling news about the placebo effect. Sara Terryguest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reassessing Afghanistan As President Obama weighs his options on the war in Afghanistan, public support for his policies there is on the decline. What can a troop surge accomplish? How will politics in Afghanistan -- and in Washington ? affect what the United States does? Does Obama face a new Vietnam in the making? Also, Iran's "preventative and defensive operations." On Reporter's Notebook will Roman Polanski be extradited to the US on a 32-year-old statutory rape charge?Sara Terryguest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The G-20 and the Future of the Global Economy One year after the global recession hit its peak, the leaders of 20 nations are meeting in Pittsburgh to talk about preventing the same thing from happening again. But is the current "recovery" real for millions of people? Is the G-20 likely to make things better or worse? Also, covert evidence of an Iranian nuclear facility, and persuasive evidence of a real terrorist plot on American soil. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A New Thrust against Nuclear Weapons In another departure from the policies of George W. Bush, President Obama has put a ban on nuclear weapons back on the agenda for the US and for the United Nations. We hear about today's unanimous resolution by the UN Security Council. Will its provisions be verifiable? Will it make the world safer? Also, Ted Kennedy last wish granted as a temporary senator is named for Massachusetts, and a hoard of gold and silver that goes back to the days of Beowulf in 7th Century England. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barack Obama at the UN: New Approaches or More of the Same? President Obama has made his first address to the UN General Assembly, with more than 120 world leaders on hand. We hear some of the highlights.  On Reporter's Notebook, will US forces in Afghanistan be increased or scaled back? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website World Leaders Take on Climate Change On his first day at the United Nations, Barack Obama addressed a multitude of issues, starting with climate change. Can he help set the stage for international action? Is it already too late to prevent life-changing developments all over the world? Also, Obama urges Netanyahu and Abbas to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and new rules for net neutrality.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Healthcare Reform: Is the President Doing It Right?or Not? Recent reports say healthcare reform is in trouble, but the American Medical Association has done an about face. After decades of opposition, why is Washington's most potent lobby running TV ads that favor a government overhaul? Can the doctors get the public on board? Also, an urgent need for more troops in Afghanistan, and three arrests in what might or might not be a terrorist plot linked to Al Qaeda. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russia, Iran and Missile Defense in Europe Vladimir Putin calls it "right and brave."  John McCain says it is "seriously misguided."  President Obama's decision not to locate a missile shield in Eastern Europe.  What are the military consequences?  What about Iran?  Is it time for a "new beginning" for relations with Russia? Also, The soft sell of First Lady Michelle Obama, and the flap over ACORN. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Incivility, Racial Hostility and Dissent in America Attacks on America's first black President and his proposals have inflamed America's ongoing controversy about race and politics at a time of economic anxiety. We look at the possible consequences. Also, the US drops the proposed missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, and public lands and public trust during the Bush Administration.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website One Year after the Wall Street Meltdown It's been a year now since Lehman Brothers was allowed to go bankrupt, and the financial meltdown really got under way. Since Barack Obama took over, has there been more continuity than change? Could it happen all over again? Also, Senator Max Baucus releases his long-awaited healthcare bill, and mysterious "double eagles" have turned up again. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Politics in America and Reality in Afghanistan Despite fading support from the public and Congress, President Obama will likely be asked for another increase in troops for Afghanistan.  We look at some difficult options, on the battlefield and on Capitol Hill. Also, the White House proposes tougher fuel standards, and a federal judge rakes Wall Street and federal regulators over thecoals.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Capital Punishment, Due Process and the Constitution The US Supreme Court says a defendant proven guilty after a fair trail does not have the same rights as a free man. Does that mean a condemned man should be put to death, even if new evidence shows he was innocent? We hear about capital punishment, due process and the Constitution.  Also,  President Obama today made the case for regulatory reform, and the rules of civility have been violated in Congress, at the US Tennis Open and at the MTV Music Awards.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Islamist Terrorism: Eight Years Later Eight years after September 11, the UK may be at greater risk than the US from Islamic extremists. Why are young British Muslims so ripe for radicalization? Did the US jeopardize British efforts to foil a plot that could have been more deadly than 9/11? Also, the media mistakes a Coast Guard training exercise for the real thing, and global warming and open seas. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Pitch Is History, Did He Make the Sale? Last night's address to Congress was called a "make or break" moment for the presidency of Barack Obama, but it's one part of an ongoing process. We look at the speech, the immediate reaction and what might happen next. Also, Sarah Palin, death panels and Afghanistan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Big Money and the Right to Free Speech An attack film calledHillary: The Movieis at the heart of a case that could change the way political campaigns have been financed for more than 100 years. We hear about today's extraordinary session of the US Supreme Court, the first for the new Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Also, the capture of a New York Times Reporter illustrates the escalating danger in Afghanistan. On Reporter's Notebook, can the US afford human exploration in space?  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The August Recess Is Finally Over Congress is back after the August recess, faced with the same problems it failed to address in July. We hear about healthcare, global warming, finance reform ? partisan Republicans and divided Democrats. Also, President Obama speaks to America's school children, and an official finding of widespread "fraud" in Afghanistan's presidential election. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Medical Miracle with Conflicting Consequences Eighty million baby boomers are reaching their late 50's. Will an aging population burden the young or use the wisdom that comes from experience to create a better society? On this archived edition ofTo the Point, originally broadcast in April of this year, we look at the pros and cons of an aging America. Also, an update onhealthcare reform, and a status report on the labor movement in 2009.Programming note: This program will be not air on KCRW as it will be pre-empted by special Labo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Convicted Bomber Released but Lockerbie Case Far from Over Scotland has released the only man convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Critics claim the British government was motivated by interest in Libya's oil reserves. Meantime, some observers still question the 2001 conviction of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who's now being treated in Libya for terminal prostate cancer. How much will ever be known about the actual Lockerbie incident and the release of the man sentenced to life in prison for the deaths of 270 people?Sara Terryguest h ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Healthcare Reform 2.0: Obama Prepares to Re-charge the Debate Barack Obama is attempting to regain control of the debate on healthcare reform.His proposals drew criticism from conservatives at a series of town hall meetings in August, and Republican senators, once considered potential partners in bi-partisanship, have openly attacked the plan. Guest hostSara Terryconsiders the prospects for reform, the President's strategy in his speech to Congress next week, and whose support he'll need to win. Also, Iran's parliament approves President Ahmadinejad's ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Are Hearts and Minds Being Won or Lost in Afghanistan? The latest US strategy against the Taliban calls for winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. But complaints of election fraud threaten the credibility of President Hamid Karzai, and contractors guarding the US embassy, have shocked Afghan sensibilities. We update developments as support in the US is on the decline for what?s called "Barack Obama's war." Also, Pfizer is fined $2.3 billion for illegal marketing of drugs, and reassessing piracy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Too Big to Fail - and Still Growing Banks that were "too big to fail" were rescued from the consequences of bad decisions with taxpayer money.  They're beginning to pay it back but, at the same time, they've grown bigger than ever. What does that mean for consumers? Can government get the banks under control before they get reckless again? Also, an update on the fires that are ravaging southern California, and big change in Japan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hurricane Katrina and Medical Choice in Extreme Emergencies The US is faced with a possible flu epidemic this fall, and plans are being made for extreme emergencies. If medical facilities are overwhelmed, who gets access first?  Who makes that decision? What can be learned from what happened in New Orleans after Katrina? Also, an update on deadly Los Angeles-area wildfires, and President Obama's commanding general assesses Afghanistan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Offshore Wind Power: The Promises and the Realities Offshore wind is an alternative energy source touted by the Obama Administration. But plans may be delayed by controversy over a project planned for waters off Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, where the President's on vacation. We hear about green power and global warming, natural beauty and the tourist economy, and what's at stake for America's energy future.  Also, Iranian President Ahmadinejad wants opposition leaders prosecuted, and a kidnapping victim is found -- 18 years later. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Concierge Doctors: Primary Care and the Well-to-Do The concierge doctor is a relativelysmall but growing practice aimed at cutting out the middle man and delivering medicine directly to the patient?for a price. Meanwhile, the number of doctors going into family practice has dropped dramatically, even though healthcare analysts say general practitioners are essential as the backbone of an efficient and accessible national healthcare system. Guest hostJudy Mullerexamines  the disparity and wonders what Ted Kennedy would have thought. Als ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iraq's Future: The Battle Continues Massive truck bombs in Baghdad last week dramatized sectarian differences, even as Prime Minister al-Maliki claimed to have security well in hand. Will political instability lead to civil war?  Will Iran extend its influence in Iraqi affairs? Should the US continue its troop withdrawal? Also, Senator Edward Kennedy, who died of brain cancer last night. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Prisoner Abuse and National Security The Inspector General's report describes CIA interrogators menacing suspects with guns and power drills and threatening to rape their wives and kill their children.  Did Bush White House officials authorize torture? What's next for the CIA, the FBI and efforts to protect America's national security? Also, President Obama nominates Fed Chair Bernanke to a second term, and Scotland, Libya and the Lockerbie bomber. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A New Look for America's Terrorism Interrogations President Obama has set up a new team to question terrorist suspects, with less authority for the CIA and more for the White House and the Justice Department. Meantime, more details are being revealed about past abuses, including the use of a gun and a power drill. Will a special prosecutor reopen investigations? Also, industrial agriculture produces huge quantities of meat and grain, but are they as cheap as they seem? Is there damage to land, water and even human health, including human o ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website How Much Does Vacation Matter? Hard as it is to get away from his job, President Obama is spending a week on Martha's Vineyard. But most American workers are cutting back on vacations this year. We hear what that could mean for both mental and physical health ? and the economy. Also, polls show rising opposition to healthcare reform, and athletic performance and gender determination. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Afghan Election: Democracy in Wartime The polls are closed and the vote count is under way in Afghanistan, where a national election has been held in the midst of bloody fighting. We look at the turnout, the possible outcomes and the potential consequences for US diplomacy and military commitments.  Also, the Lockerbie bomber is released, and Whole Foods and healthcare reform. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Dream of Home Ownership Is Becoming a Nightmare A record pace of home foreclosures is taking its biggest toll on blacks and Hispanics. Did big lenders conduct a new kind of housing discrimination by pushing sub-prime loans to minorities hoping for a piece of the American dream? Also, violence surrounds Afghanistan's presidential election, and combat soldiers and training in mental health. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Major Problems with State Prisons and Local Medical Care The Legislature's back in the Capitol.  We update the battle over prison overcrowding, medical care and money.  On our rebroadcast of today'sTo the Point, with homelessness on the increase, cities are passing laws that make it harder to survive on the streets. Is Los Angeles really America's "meanest city?" Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is It a Crime to Be Poor and Homeless in America? At the same time homelessness is on the increase, some cities are passing laws that make it harder to survive on the streets. Is poverty being criminalized in the midst of a recession? Also, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak comes to Washington, and public protest and the right to bear arms. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Healthcare Reform: Angry Crowds and the 'Public Option' Two weeks into the Congressional recess, angry crowds are still showing up to vent their anger against healthcare reform. Is the Obama White House caving in on a controversial provision?  Will it lose liberal Democrats in the effort to appease Republicans? Also President Obama discusses the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with vets, and third world conditions in one of America's major cities. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Woodstock: The Myths and the Realities Forty years ago this month, Woodstock was a music concert that became both a cultural "happening" and a political moment that still inspires passion on the Left and the Right. We find out why it's still worth talking about today. Also, the Dow takes a nosedive. On Reporter's Notebook, can Barack Obama do for health care what Franklin Roosevelt did for Social Security?  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Healthcare Reform and Questions of Faith As the Congressional recess continues, debate over healthcare reform is becoming more polarized and extreme. President Obama?s approval ratings are taking a hit. Both sides contend it all boils down to morality. Are they open to reason or is it a matter of faith? Also, good news bad news on the economy, and global warming and hurricanes in the North Atlantic. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Big Banks, Big Bonuses and Big Government A federal judge has accused two Wall Street firms of "lying to their shareholders" about executive compensation. At the same time, big banks that got taxpayer bailouts are resuming the practice of guaranteeing multi-million-dollar bonuses that don't depend on performance. Are new regulations needed? Also, documents show that Karl Rove played a key role in the firing of US Attorneys. On Reporter?s Notebook, how much do the Taliban and al Qaeda depend on the drug trade?  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Shedding Light on the Dark Side Attorney General Eric Holder is reportedly close to appointing a special prosecutor to investigate charges that terror suspects were tortured during the Bush Administration.  What would be the consequences for the CIA, the Department of Justice, the White House and the Obama agenda? Also, more house arrest for Aung San Suu Kyi, and the President fights back on healthcare.Note: During KCRW?s Summer Sign-up, we are airing the complete rebroadcast of today?sTo the Pointin place ofWhich Wa ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Afghanistan Takes Another Shot at Democracy In more than a fourth of  Afghanistan, voters might be risking their lives by participating in next week's national election. But the Obama Administration is hoping the outcome will lead to better governance.  Also, drugs, trade and flu at the Three Amigos Summit, and Westchester County will create low-cost housing in New York City's wealthy, white suburbs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Who's Opposed to Healthcare Reform? With Congress, and now the Senate, at home for the August recess, what's the status of healthcare reform? Why is it being proposed in the first place? Why are angry protesters gathered around the country, before President Obama has even signed on to a final proposal? Also, the July jobs report may signal a new direction, and international politics and yesterday's outage at Twitter. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dangerous Assignments, Risky Travel and Government to the Rescue Two American journalists have been released by North Korea. Three other Americans are in custody in Iran. What are the rights and obligations of tourists, reporters and the governments on both sides of closed borders? Will a new generation of travelers and journalists provoke more international incidents? Also, the President checks in on Senate healthcare bill, and ?snail mail? is in trouble again. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Politics, Prisoners and Nuclear Technology, from Iran to North Korea Iran's President Ahmadinejad has been sworn in for a second term. We look at the political, economic and diplomatic obstacles he'll face in the next four years. Also, a high-profile assignment has Bill Clinton back on the world stage. What are the implications for Kim Jong Il, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cash for Clunkers: Does Haste Make Waste? Cash for Clunkers has run through almost a billion federal dollars in just ten days. With the Senate poised to come up with another two billion, are taxpayers funding a consumer frenzy that would have happened anyway? Also, Bill Clinton Meets Kim Jong Il in North Korea, and there's more trouble for the Large Hadron Collider, the world?s most expensive and most ambitious machine for studying Physics Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and Don't Rush into Anything President Obama promised to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. Now many supporters are getting impatient. We hear about equal rights, military morale, conflicting court decisions and shifting public opinion. Also, balancing California's budget, and the price of gasoline is going up, but don't blame the oil companies. Blame the banks. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website National Security: Refining the Differences It's being called the debate that was lacking in last year's presidential campaign.  We hear the contrasting views of President Obama and former Vice President Cheney in dueling speeches today on national security.  Also, four arrests in conspiracy to use MWD in the US, and guns, credit cards and the Democratic majority. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A California Drama without a Hollywood Ending Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has lost another round in his ongoing battle with his own Republican Party, the Democrats and the voters ofCalifornia.  We look at yesterday’s crushing election results and the bleak future of a state with a deficit of $21 billion. Also, the credit card reform bill is "armed" and ready to go, and the "missing link" as media blockbuster. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Hubble and the Future of Space Exploration The astronauts are ready to come back to Earth on Friday. We hear about upgrading the Hubble Space Telescope, what age-old questions it's now prepared to address and whether manned space flight has a future. Also, President Obama announces the first-ever national emissions standards, and Britain's expense account scandal takes a political toll. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is There a New Road to Middle East Peace? Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is at the White House today for the first in a string of meetings that will help define President Obama’s policies in the Middle East.  Also, Sri Lanka’s rebel Tamil Tigers are routed and their leader killed, and the Bush Administration and the Rumsfeld legacy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website GOP Identity Crisis: Is There a New Elephant in the Room? The Grand Old Party is going through a bit of an identity crisis,trying to position itself for the years ahead. Should the GOP lean tothe center? Lean to the right? There's certainly a lot of fightinggoing on, especially for a party which holds Unity as a cherished partyvalue. Guest hostSara Terryasks whether whether Republicansare heading for a split. Also, with consumer confidence up, have we finally bottomed out? Plus, it's been bedlam in the playoffs. Whyhaven't things gone according to ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will Afghanistan Be President Obama's Vietnam? With new commanders and a focus on counterinsurgency, President Obama is making Afghanistan“his” war.  With al Qaeda now next door in Pakistan, what are the goals?  Will Democrats agree they’re sustainable and worth the cost in troops and money? Also, Nancy Pelosi and torture, and the inside story of Tiananmen Square. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cracking Down on Credit Card Companies During good times, credit card companies were denounced for offering easy credit. Now they're under fire for tightening up. We hear the pros and cons of a bipartisan credit reform bill President Obama says he wants to sign. Also, Senate hearings into torture allegations, and Predator drones in Pakistan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Papal Visit: Religion and Politics in the Middle East This week's pilgrimage to the Holy Land by Pope Benedict XVI hasturned somewhat contentious.  We hear the assessments of Jews,Palestinians and Roman Catholic Christians.  Also, Richard Holbrooketestifies before Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and repairing the Hubble, a risky mission with an extraordinary goal.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Fast Track to Same-Sex Marriage President Obama is just one supporter of gay rights who draws the line at same-sex marriage.  We talk about a movement that's been picking up speed and about the developing efforts by some to keep it going and by others to slow it down.  Also, Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi is released, and healthcare reform gets serious as the industry reaches out to the White House. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Who Should Be Next on the US Supreme Court? Liberal or Moderate? Man or Woman? Black, White or Brown? Should the next Supreme Court Justice have judicial experience or a record of service in other branches of government? We hear different as President Obama gets ready to pick his first nominee. Also, the pace of unemployment slows, and Pope Benedict visits the Middle East. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The High Cost of Higher Education The rising cost of tuition and fees makes college inaccessible for millions of young Americans while others graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. We look at their plight, their prospects and President Obama's plan to take over student loans and create a big, new entitlement program. Also, the stress test results, and the best record in baseball and performance-enhancing drugs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Afghanistan, Pakistan and American Security In Washington, the Obama Administration is hosting two weak leaders from strategic countries threatened by militant fundamentalists. Can the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan make common cause against the Taliban? Also, stocks rise on latest Labor Department report, and the so-called "torture memos" and possible legal discipline. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What's Next for the 'Two-State Solution?' The newly elected leaders of the US and Israel will meet later this month to tackle the ongoing struggle for peace in the Middle East. Will they agree to disagree on coping with Iran's nuclear program and about a so-called "two-state solution" with the Palestinians? Also, banks get stress test results, and cracking down on the Cayman Islands. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Today, It's Chrysler... Tomorrow, GM? Chrysler's been forced into bankruptcy with hopes of merging with Fiat in just a few weeks.  Presuming that all goes well, will American drivers take to Italian cars? Also, Obama's plan to curb corporate tax havens, and the underground world of steroids for the brain. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Detroit Revs Up One More Time The latest news from Detroit includes Chrysler's efforts this weekend to make deals that will keep it from heading to bankruptcy. Meantime, General Motors announced a revised business plan today, as well as the closure of historic Pontiac line.  What concessions did the unions make? What does Chrysler need to do to convince creditors not to pull the plug? What's next for the big three? Also, the swine flu pandemic, and journalists in jail. Who’s watching out for the watchdogs?Sara ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Medical Miracle with Conflicting Consequences Some 80 million baby boomers are reaching their late 50's. Will an aging population burden the young or use the wisdom that comes from experience to create a better society? Also, the Big Three automakers are tottering, and stopping a plague of crickets with hard rock music. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Torture Memos: Truth and Consequences Pressure is building to prosecute former Justice Department lawyers for supporting harsh interrogation techniques. We look at that and other issues posed by the release of controversial legal memos. Also, an update on yesterday's voter turnout in South Africa and the prospects for change.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Stress Tests: Economics and Politics So-called "stress tests" on nineteen big banks have postponed decisions that could be politically unpopular for the Obama Administration. Now that the results are due, we hear what the consequences might be. Also, Secretary Clinton goes back to Capitol Hill, and transportation produces almost a quarter of all greenhouse gases. Will garbage help to reduce global warming? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Pakistan Ripe for an Islamic Revolution? Recent events in Pakistan have increased alarm that a country with nuclear weapons is vulnerable to a Taliban-style Islamist revolution. We talk with Pakistanis and American experts. Also, Bush Administration officials may be tried for torture after all, and the former vice president who won't keep quiet.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Same-Sex Marriage: The Law, Religion and Politics Same-sex marriage has been legalized in 4 states and proposed in several others, but it's a long way from becoming a US institution. We talk about Constitutional rights, religious objections and political calculations. Also, today's UN racism conference sparks protests, and torture and war. What's the difference? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tea Parties, Terrorism and Political Partisanship Conservative bloggers and some Republican leaders accuse the Obama Administration of trying to silence their voices in the name of homeland security.  What do reaction to a report on right wing extremists and this week’s Tax Day “tea parties” reveal about the direction of partisan politics? Also, the EPA on the regulation of greenhouse gases, and brutal interrogation methods and possible consequences. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is a Wave of Foreclosures Heading Our Way? Just as the Obama administration’s “homeowner rescue” plan finally gets into gear, home foreclosures are on the rise. Also, the insurance agent AIG spends taxpayer money for PR to clean up its image. On Reporter's Notebook later on, women’s rights—or the lack of them in Afghanistan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A New President Goes South of the Border President Obama will stop in Mexico on his way to the Summit of the Americas.  Will it be a symbolic exercise or the start of a new era in US relations with Latin America? Also, the politics of tax day, and attempted piracy has been foiled today in the Indian Ocean. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Piracy: The Legacy of a Failed State Four more ships have been seized by Somali pirates who threaten vengeance for those killed during hostage rescues. We hear how instability in the Horn of Africa has bred international lawlessness. Should the merchant nations resort to force or help the region solve economic and political problems? Also, President Obama speaks hard truths about the economy and opens a crack in the door to engagement with Cuba.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Piracy on the High Seas and Gun Control in America Despite a rash of mass killings, calls for increased gun control are falling on deaf ears.  Has the NRA prevailed in Washington and state capitols?  Will American guns continue to flow to Mexican drug cartels?  Also, the US resolves to do what's necessary to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Religion in the 'Modern' World Secularism is a defining characteristic of the "Modern" world.  So why is there such an increase in religious belief? With two major religions celebrating holidays, we look at faith in America and other parts of the world. Also, "glimmers of hope" for the economy, and America's electrical grid and cyberspies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Behavioral Science and Political Change Scientists of human behavior helped Barack Obama get to the White House. Now they're helping him "nudge" Americans to make "better" choices.  We hear the pros and cons of a new form of leadership. Also, stocks continue rebound on good news about banks, and a proposal for small investors to get in on bank bailouts.  What are the benefits and the risks? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barack Obama and Fidel Castro's Cuba In Latin America and in Washington there's pressure for changing the policy of isolating Fidel Castro's Cuba. As President Obama prepares for the Summit of the Americas, how far is he willing to go? Will he insist that Cuba change its repressive ways? Also, a hijacked crew retakes its ship from Somali pirates. On Reporter's Notebook, are Nevada politicians embarrassed to tax legal prostitution? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Wars of the Future and the Wars of the Past Defense Secretary Gates says cutting the F-22 jet fighter was "not even a close call,” but the project provides jobs in no less than 44 of the 50 states. We hear about upcoming battles over a defense budget that reorients the Pentagon from conventional warfare to counterinsurgency.  Also, President Obama greeted warmly in Iraq, and Vermont becomes the fourth state to recognize same-sex marriage. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tough-on-Crime Policies Overwhelm Shrinking State Budgets State prison budgets have quadrupled in the last 20 years, out-pacing every state government spending category except healthcare. Guest hostLawrence O'Donnellconsiders the price of being tough on crime and what changes states are making to run corrections systems that they can afford. Also, President Obama unveils his strategy for Afghanistan. On Reporter's Notebook, who is taking advantage of  rock-bottom home prices? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Does Obama Have a Strategy for Victory in Afghanistan? President Obama wants to dial down in Iraq andup the ante in Afghanistan. His plan to send 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan is meeting increasing resistance from his liberal supporters at home and skepticism from some allies. Is there a better strategy? What alternatives has the President considered? Does history prove that Afghanistan cannot be tamed?Lawrence O'Donnellguest hosts. Also, the administration calls for expanded oversight power of financial system, and the spread of new Hoover ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Obama Administration's Delicate Balance with Mexico President Obama got no questions about Iraq or Afghanistan in last night’s press conference, but was asked if the raging violence of drug cartels in Mexico is “a national security threat.” Guest hostLawrence O’Donnellexplores the new tensions in US relations with Mexico and what the Obama Administration hopes to achieve with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s meeting today with Mexican President Felipe Calderón.  Also, Obama meets with Senate Democrats on ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website American Populism: 21st Century Style Some AIG executives have given their bonuses back, but the fires of populist anger have already been lit.  Can Republicans credibly lead the charge against Wall Street?  Will leftists turn on the Democrat in the White House?  Can public outrage be harnessed to help fix the economy? Also, Geithner and Bernanke face hostile questioning on Capitol Hill, and American cops are giving up codes for plain English. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Bailout Backlash The bailout of America's financial system began last fall, but the Bush Administration is history.  Now the Obama Administration is faced with growing outrage over the use of public money to rescue failed private companies. Also, the cheapest car in the world goes on sale in India. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Great Recession and the Erosion of Trust With the onslaught of the Great Recession, public confidence has all but evaporated in money managers, investment advisors and financial institutions, public and private.  We ask a variety of observers, who can you trust now? Also, President Obama reaches out to Iran, and General Scott Gration will be Obama's special envoy to Darfur. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Healthcare and Information Technology The Obama recovery plan contains $19 billion to help American doctors computerize their records. Will Information Technology reduce the costs of healthcare and the incidence of medical error or make things worse? Also, the Fed may be saving credit markets, but who'll save the Fed? On Reporter's Notebook, America's veterans on the sixth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website AIG: Political Outrage and Financial Stability On Capitol Hill today, it was all about AIG. We hear about millions in executive bonuses, billions in bad debt and proposals for new regulatory authority.  Also, Senate Democrats declare their independence. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Auto Industry: In Survival Mode GM and Chrysler may be on the verge of bankruptcy, but auto sales are declining so fast the entire industry is in trouble. We assess the prospects for its survival and what the future might look like. Also, Capitol Hill outraged at AIG, and democracy and instability  in Pakistan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Credit Card Economy Comes Home to Roost Two thirds of the US economy depends on consumer spending, and credit cards account for a big proportion of that. But with more and more people struggling to pay their bills, credit card companies are now making it harder. Is anyone looking out for consumers? Is there a need for reform? Also, AIG audaciously issues $165 million in bonus payments, and endangered languages. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barack Obama: Doing Too Much or Too Little? President Obama says he has no choice between getting the economy moving now while simultaneously rebuilding it over the long term. So he’s being criticized for doing too much and for not doing enough. We update the first eight weeks. Also, signs of life in the economic darkness, and Cramer versus Stewart on cable TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bernard Madoff: Behind Bars Bernard Madoff violated the trust and burned up the fortunes of 4800 people. He's likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars. But until now, has he been protected -- by a de-regulated financial system and a culture of greed? Also, the Iraqi shoe-thrower gets three years, and another Obama appointee steps down, this time from a high-level intelligence job. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Climate Change and Nuclear Power Climate change and the need for clean energy might revive America's nuclear industry but, will it?  High cost and the fear of terrorism are still major issues, and without Nevada's Yucca Mountain, deadly nuclear waste has no place to go. Also, President Obama's big earmark problem, and the UN has been marking time on illegal drugs.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Global Recession Brings Global Insecurity Forget the "axis of evil."  Economic recession now threatens political upheaval in important parts of the world, with national security consequences here in the US. We look at potential sources of trouble today. Is Washington paying attention? Also, stocks rally on news from Citibank, and the Dalai Lama calls Tibet a "hell on earth." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Income Redistribution: Basic Fairness or 'Class Warfare?' The Obama budget and tax plan would shift America's wealth from the top down. Is it time to close the gap between rich and poor or would increased taxes stifle growth by removing incentives for the wealthy to keep on working?  Are there other causes of income inequality? Also, a turnaround on stem-cell research, and a promise to crack down on defense contractors.  Is Obama up to the job? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barack Obama, Technology and the Internet Telecommunications technology is changing so fast that federal regulators can barely keep up.  We talk about Internet access, neutrality and openness as seen by the Obama Administration. Also, unemployment reaches an“astounding” level, and the return of daylight savings. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Could AIG Wreck the Global Economy? American Insurance Group, the world's biggest insurance company, is getting history's biggest bailout.  But where are almost $200 billion in taxpayer dollars ending up? The Federal Reserve told a senate committee today that going public could destroy AIG, putting at risk the world's financial system. We update the hearing and get the background. Also,“substantial doubt” about GM's ability to survive, and Russia and Iran are on the agenda as Hillary Clinton attends her first m ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tracking the Great Recession, Region by Region No place in America is recession proof, but some places are being hit much harder than others.  Today we find out where it's worst and why, and ask what communities will need most to help them to bounce back.  Also, new details on the Obama Administration's foreclosure prevention program, and a sitting head of state is indicted for crimes against humanity. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website America's 'New Path' in the Middle East The Obama Administration says it's cutting a "new path" toward Middle East peace. With Israel and the Palestinians both divided among themselves, we hear about outreach to Syria, Turkey and even Iran. Also, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown becomes the first European leader to visit President Obama, and the Church of Rome and the Theory of Evolution. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is It Time to Cease Fire in the War on Drugs? Three former South American presidents are among those who’ve asked the United States for a "paradigm shift" in the so-called "War on Drugs." New York and California are already moving in that direction. Is it wasting billions of dollars while addiction and violence increase? Would legalization perpetuate a dangerous cycle and make matters worse? Also, the government tries to keep AIG afloat, and lost Chinese relics and Yves St. Laurent.  Who's the real owner. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Religious Violence and Political Turmoil in Pakistan More US troops will go to Afghanistan, but US diplomacy is focused on that country together with Pakistan.  We hear about Pakistan’s deal with Muslim extremists and ask best-selling author Greg Mortenson what he’s telling the US military about the remote provinces of both countries.  Also, the President outlines the end to the war in Iraq, and the Obama budget as a massive political gamble. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website National Security and American Values Suspected terrorists have been held for years in US military prisons with no charges and no trials, creating a conflict between constitutional rights and national security. As soon as next month, Barack Obama will face tough choices about presidential power. We hear about a US Supreme Court case which could have dramatic and long-lasting consequences. Also, Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget blueprint, and Mexican drug cartels — all over the US. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Public Speaking and Public Policy After weeks of grim predictions of hard times to come, President Obama tried to lift the mood of the nation in last night's address to a joint session of Congress.  Also, a decision on Iraqi troop withdrawal may be forthcoming this week. On Reporter's Notebook, will the District of Columbia get a vote in Congress?   Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 'Nationalizing' America's Banks: Rumors and Realities The Obama Administration says the banking system will remain private. But at the same time, it's taking steps that could lead to government ownership. Would that be "nationalization" under another name? What's in store for the taxpayers? Also, the President prepares to address Congress, and methane gas released by melting ice in the Arctic creates a feedback loop for global warming.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Getting to Know You: The Obama Administration and China Human rights and currency manipulation were on the back burner for Hillary Clinton’s visit to China. The Secretary of State emphasized economics and global warming. Also, President Obama discusses the stimulus package with the governors, and Hollywood and Bollywood at last night’s Oscars.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Does News Have a Future? As of last year, more people were getting their news for free on the Internet than were paying for newspapers and magazines.  We hear proposals for preserving journalism as we've come to know it and for creating new ways of serving consumers of information. Also, President Obama warns mayors against misusing stimulus-package funds, and Hollywood and the Oscars. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barack Obama Crosses the Border Barack Obama leaves the country for the first time as President. We hear about free trade, troops in Afghanistan and environmental protection from the US and Canadian points of view.  Also, California’s budget madness sort of comes to a close, and universal healthcare – Canadian style. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website President Obama and the Home Mortgage Crisis President Obama wants to stop foreclosures and slow the slide in homeprices. Is that a good idea? Will $75 billion be enough to meet hisobjectives? Also, the nightmare in Detroit continues. On Reporter's Notebook, did Illinois' US Senator Roland Burris lie under oath?  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barack Obama, Back on the Road Bipartisanship didn't work on Capitol Hill, but the massive stimulus bill passed anyway.  Now the President is back on the road.  Also, a US military leader says Obama's plans to withdraw from Iraq is optimistic, and the State of California runs out of money. We look at the politics and economic recovery. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website More Troops for Afghanistan, but What's the Mission President Obama wants more troops in Afghanistan, but the US presence is increasingly unpopular. So is the country's corrupt and ineffective government. We hear about the challenges of shifting America's focus on terror from Iraq to South Asia. Also, the Obama Administration awaits the Big Three's auto-industry restructuring plans and, on her first trip in a new job, Hillary Clinton arrives in Japan.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website This Time It's Peanuts: Food Scares and Food Production Contaminated peanuts have been linked to deaths and illness, and have landed owners of a peanut-processing plant in front of a House subcommittee. Since 2002, there've been more than half a dozen bacteria-related food contaminations. Guest hostSara Terryexplores the vulnerability of the nation's food supply. How rigorous are the standards for protecting it? Also, Judd Gregg pulls out, eroding President Obama's efforts of bipartisanship, and trashed in space. When satellites collide, who cle ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Can President Obama Organize America? Barack Obama transformed political campaigns by creating a grassroots network of 13 million people. Can they be mobilized to help accomplish Obama's agenda? The effort begins this weekend, and we get a preview of what could be a sea change in the way that America is governed. Also, the Senate works on the stimulus bill as the economy sheds jobs, and with unemployment on the rise, states are cutting welfare. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barack Obama: Shareholder-in-Chief After the stimulus bill, the President's next economic challenge will be another massive bailout. We talk about how much federal control should come with increased federal ownership of America's major financial institutions.  Also, hot and heavy politicking over the stimulus bill, and faith-based initiatives— Obama style. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ethics and Accountability at the Obama White House Two of President Obama's top appointees withdrew yesterday because they failed to pay federal taxes.  Is "changing the culture" of Washington easier said than done?  Will the political distraction interfere with efforts at policy change? Also, tighter restrictions on executive compensation for companies getting federal bailouts, and an about-face on global warming from the new Secretary of Energy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Healthcare Reform without Tom Daschle Can the US afford to reform a failing system of health care in the midst of an economic crisis? Can it afford not to? We hear what's in the stimulus bill and how it could shape debate on questions of life-and-death. Also, former Senator Tom Daschle withdraws his nomination for Health and Human Services Secretary, and the case for private jet planes for busy corporate executives. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Stimulating the Economy, Now and in the Future Bill Clinton declared the Era of Big Government "over." Well, it'sback, with a stimulus package big enough to start re-shaping theeconomy.  We look at the possible impacts now and in the long term. What will it mean for free trade and the global economy?  Also, a bumpy road ahead for Obama cabinet picks, and theIraqi elections and US troop withdrawals. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Does Bipartisanship Really Matter? Barack Obama won big, but he's been spending his first few days in the White House reaching out to Republicans.  So far, they haven't reached back.  Whatever ends up in the stimulus package, the economy's likely to get worse. Also, the US economy shrank last year, though not as fast as expected. On Reporter's Notebook, private jets and executive bonuses, what can the public do? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is the Fight against Global Warming a Losing Battle? Scientists now say climate change can’t be reversed for 1000 years, even if greenhouse gases are cut to pre-industrial levels. What does that mean for green technology?  Should the consumer economy be reduced instead of expanded?  Also, Governor Blagojevich on his impeachment trial, and the Postal Service is threatening to drop a day of deliveries.  Is it crying wolf? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Job Cuts Are Taking Their Toll Some 2.5 million Americans lost their jobs in 2008, and this year three million more are likely to be laid off.  We look at the impact of unemployment across the country.  What will it take to get the next job in a restructured economy? Also, President Obama's envoy is in Jerusalem as fighting flares, a Super Bowl ad is more than just a commercial.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Economic Stimulus and the Promise of Bipartisanship Barack Obama said he'd restore the economy in a bipartisan way, but debate over his stimulus package sounds all too familiar. Also, President Obama and George Mitchell reach out to Arabs. On Reporter's Notebook, the first bill likely to be signed into law by President Obama. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Why Are US Troops in Afghanistan? Barack Obama promised to get US troops out of Iraq and send more to Afghanistan. Vice President Biden says more casualties should be expected. We hear about deteriorating conditions and the risks of escalation. Also, President Obama directs the EPA to review fuel standards, and financial troubles for America’s premier newspaper, the New York Times. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website America’s Capitol City and Urban Problems Nationwide Washington, DC is a divided city. High officials, government workers and diplomats live and work in prosperous neighborhoods. The majority black population lives somewhere else. Barack Obama says he wants to bring the two together. Also today, two diplomatic envoys for troubled parts of the world. What’s in store for the Middle East and South Asia? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will the Banking Crisis End with Nationalization? Nobody wants the US government to take over the banking industry, but more and more people are saying it might happen. Three hundred billion dollars given to banks by the Bush Administration is hardly small change, but bank losses may add up to two trillion anyway. On Reporter's Notebook, opening up the records. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Inaugural Address Heard Around the World Tens of millions of people watched Barack Obama take office. News coverage, commentary and public opinion are as diverse as the audience. Today we’ll hear what’s being said in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. On Reporter's Notebook, fast action on Guantanamo Bay and growing problems with Mexico. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website America’s 44th Peaceful Transition of Power After taking the oath of office on Abraham Lincoln’s bible, President Barack Hussein Obama called it “a moment that will define a generation.” On our program, we’ll discuss the Inaugural Address in the context of history and contemporary politics. And we’ll talk about what comes next. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Dreams and the Realities of Black Americans Barack Obama won 95% of the black vote in November’s election, but African Americans are anything but unanimous on what his election will mean. On Reporter's Notebook later on, a surprise Obama advisor and confidant: John McCain. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Controversial Presidency Comes to an End George W. Bush enjoyed 90% approval ratings after September 11th. There was widespread initial support for his war in Iraq. But he leaves office less popular than any outgoing president since Richard Nixon, and since the November elections he has tried to shape his own legacy. On Reporter's Notebook later on, jet airliners and migrating birds. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Big Change in Store at the Department of Justice Barack Obama’s nominee for Attorney General told a Senate Committee today that “water-boarding” is torture. But Eric Holder also admitted mistakes during his service in Bill Clinton’s Department of Justice. We’ll hear some of today’s questions and answers and talk to supporters andskeptics about one of the incoming president’s most important cabinet choices. On Reporter's Notebook, Steve Jobs and the future of Apple. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Bush Administration and Possible War Crimes Should Bush Administration officials be investigated for war crimes? Barack Obama has been lukewarm toward that idea, but today an Administration insider is saying there was "torture" at Guantánamo Bay. Should somebody be called to account? Where should the buck stop? Also, Egypt struggles to mediate the Gaza conflict, and the future of "don't ask, don't tell" in America's military. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hillary Clinton's Confirmation Hearing Finally freed from the politics of holding a New York Senate seatand running for president, how will Hillary Clinton's foreign policyviews change now that she's on the verge of Senate confirmation asSecretary of State? Also, Barack Obama goes to Capitol Hill to sell hisstimulus plan, and the Detroit Auto Show. It's one gloomy party.Lawrence O'Donnellguest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Can Barack Obama Follow the Money? The first half of last year's $700 billion financial bailout was so badly handled that Congress is reluctant to hand out the second half. If Barack Obama can't make the case that he can do better, he may suffer his first defeat before he's even in office. Also, alleged Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff free despite violating his bail, and the US and Mexico: immigration and drug cartels. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barack Obama, the Middle East and Iran As the fighting continues in Gaza, Barack Obama is choosing a team to deal with the Middle East, including Iran. Today he repeated his campaign pledge to rely on diplomacy. Also, unemployment jumps over the moon, and what's next for Rod Blagojevich, who's been impeached for abusing his powers as Governor of Illinois. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Political Salesman Lays It on the Line Barack Obama began a tough selling job today with an urgent warning about years of recession if Congress fails to enact a massive stimulus program. We look at the state of the economy and how different it might look, even after recovery. Also, the UN suspends food aid to Gaza, citing danger to its staff. On Reporter's Notebook, does the Internal Revenue Service have a heart after all? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Israel, Gaza and the Prospects for Peace Responding to mounting international pressure, Israel today opened a three-hour "humanitarian window" in Gaza. After that, the fighting resumed. We hear from Gaza itself, update efforts to achieve a ceasefire and talk with American Jews with conflicting opinions.  Also, President-elect Obama says the stimulus must not bust the budget, and Russia, Ukraine and natural gas for the European Union during a bitter cold-snap. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Can Barack Obama Save a Failing Economy? Barack Obama wants government spending and tax cuts big enough and soon enough to revitalize the economy. We hear debate about what might happen if he gets his stimulus plan -- or if he doesn't. Also, Roland Burris and the US Senate. On Reporter's Notebook, is it time for an outsider to run the CIA? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website There Is No Let-up in the Fighting in Gaza Israel's invasion of Gaza continues and so does Hamas rocket fire. We hear from both sides today and update the fighting and the diplomacy. Also, as Barack Obama arrives on Capitol Hill, it's still not clear just who will be in the Senate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Wall Street, Main Street and Economic Crisis Wall Street's received a lot of the blame for the financial crisis, but taking advantage good deals is an American tradition. We look at Main Street's contribution to the nation's economic troubles.  Also, the challenges President-elect Obama has inherited, and regrets and betrayals in New York's High Society. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Internet Reading Speeding Us Up by Dumbing Us Down? More and more kids spend long hours on the Internet.  At the same time, reading scores are declining. Is there a connection? Does the brain work differently with a book than with a computer?  What’s the impact on reading proficiency? Should schools recognize that young people are on the Internet and teach them how to use it well? Also, will Barack Obama be a special challenge for stand-up comedians? (This edition ofTo the Pointwill be pre-empted by holiday programming, but wi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Politics, the Economy and Lifestyles: Predictions for 2009 A black man won the White House, while a white woman from Alaska won the hearts of conservatives. The economy imploded as financial scandals rocked the headlines, and Americans began to rethink their consumer ways. 2008 was definitely one for the history books. Guest hostSara Terrylooks at what's ahead in 2009. Also, the political pitfalls of filling four senate seats, and kicking off the new year on the gridiron. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Re-Regulating a Failed Financial Industry In 2002, when Wall Street scandals like Enron and WorldCom rocked the business world, the government prosecuted 513 cases of securities fraud. In the first eleven months of 2008, there were just 133 prosecutions. Also, Israel continues its Gaza offensive, and Little Bill Clinton's American Life, a year-long story about a young refugee from Africa.Sara TerryGuest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Israel Continues to Pound the Gaza Strip As Israeli jets continue to fire on the densely-populated Gaza Strip, guest hostSara Terrylooks at the impact in Gaza, the region and around the world. What is Israel trying to accomplish?  What pressures do the attacks place on Arab leaders and the US? Will Israel's actions fuel Islamic militancy around the world? Also, Barack Obama's rise to the presidency. A reporter looks back at her own coverage of the race. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Money: The Key to Happiness or the Root of All Evil? Is money the key to happiness or the root of all evil? If growth and prosperity don't provide a sense of wellbeing, what will? With a fiscal crisis already under way, we take a new look at the way happiness is measured and how it's achieved in the US and other parts of the world.  Also, the inventory glut on store shelves and at frozen ports, and overcoming the fear of numbers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Meat and Milk from Cloned Animals in America's Food Supply? Twelve years after scientists produced Dolly the Sheep from the cells of another animal, the FDA says milk and meat from cloned livestock is safe to eat. Is the world ready? Critics say cloning's expensive, inefficient and cruel. What about the quality of the food and the "yuck" factor? Also, a business editor on stimulating the economy, in early American history, Christmas was banned by Christians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will the 'Nanny State' Be Replaced by the 'Daddy State?' Mexico has seen a dramatic reduction in poverty with a program that pays poor mothers to keep their families healthy and keep their children in school. Will it end what's called "the culture of poverty?" Would it work in the US? Also the winter weather turns worse on travelers, and despite new violence in Gaza, Bethlehem is crowded with tourists. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barack Obama and 'Universal' Healthcare Reform Barack Obama says America's healthcare system is a contributor to the country's economic decline. There's a growing consensus that recovery can't happen without healthcare reform. If costs are cut, can quality be maintained? How much should government be involved in setting standards as well as paying the bills? Also, despite falling prices, thehome sales dropped more than expected last month, and Europe warms up to Obama when it comes to Guantánamo Bay. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Preserving Wall Street, the Auto Industry and the Income Gap Everybody understands the hourly wage contracts the United Auto Workers agreed to with GM and Chrysler. But only Wall Street knows how or why investment bankers get bonuses worth tens of millions of dollars. Are Washington's bailouts punishing transparency, rewarding stealth and preserving the income gap? Also, Toyota expects its first operating loss since 1941, and another White House tries to control the historical record. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Has Barack Obama Split the Difference on Education Reform? Barack Obama has picked a secretary of education who’s endorsed both sides of the raging debate over how to improve American schools. Will he become an agent of change or will splitting the difference reinforce the status quo?  Why is Obama so focused on early childhood education? Also, the White House steps in to bail out automakers, and despite an international military crackdown, another band of Somali pirates is about to collect millions in ransom money. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Has Barack Obama Split the Difference on Education Reform? Barack Obama has picked a secretary of education who’s endorsed both sides of the raging debate over how to improve American schools. Will he become an agent of change or will splitting the difference reinforce the status quo?  Why is Obama so focused on early childhood education? Also, the White House steps in to bail out automakers, and despite an international military crackdown, another band of Somali pirates is about to collect millions in ransom money. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cyber-warfare and Weapons of Mass Annoyance As many as 15 million infected computers may be sending spam and disrupting Internet networks around the world. Cyber-warfare is a real threat to national security and the economy. We talk about how it works, who should take charge of cyber-defense and how civil liberties can be protected. Also, Barack Obama picks a a securities-industry regulator to lead the SEC. On Reporter's Notebook, will the Kennedy dynasty rise again?   Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bernard Madoff: Wall Street's One-Man Wrecking Crew Sophisticated people and institutions worldwide fell victim to Bernard Madoff’s Wall Street Ponzi scheme, not to mention the Securities and Exchange Commission.  How come they all got taken for $50 billion dollars when others so clearly saw fraud? Also, Governor Rod Blagojevich vows to break his silence as impeachment proceedings proceed, and 63 percent of Americans say the country's in the midst of long-term economic decline. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will the Outgoing Administration Be Called to Account by the New One? Last week a unanimous bipartisan Senate report accused high Bush Administration officials of approving abusive interrogations. Now Vice President Cheney confirms that he was on board. Will Barack Obama investigate or leave the recent past to future historians? Also, Obama's cabinet continues to take shape. On Reporter's Notebook, does the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate still matter? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will Federal Money Mean Economic Recovery? Barack Obama wants big federal spending to rebuild infrastructure, promote green technology and create or save 2.5 million jobs.  We look at the benefits and the risks of what he calls a "jolt" to the flagging economy? Also, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is likely to face impeachment, and the shoes that shook the Arab world. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website In American Politics, Is Corruption Business as Usual? Is politics for public service or personal gain? That’s one of the many questions raised when a US Senate seat is put up for sale. We talk about what constitutes corruption in a political system based on trading favors. Also, the latest on the Big Three bailout, and Bush, Obama and closing Guantánamo Bay. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will Washington Rescue Detroit's Big Three? As debate began in the Senate today, Republicans still opposed the Big Three bailout passed last night in the House. Are Southerners unwilling to prevent an economic disaster in the Midwest? Is more "nationalization" really a bad idea? Also, Barack Obama picks Tom Daschle to head the Department of Health and Human Services, and the US wants the UN to track down Somali pirates on land as well as by sea.   Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Price of Gasoline: Good News and Bad Next week, OPEC will be meeting about the price of oil: down from $147 a barrel last July to $44 today. Meantime, the price of gasoline in the US just might go to a dollar a gallon. That's good news for consumers, but trouble for global warming and international stability. Also, the White House and Congressional Democrats make a deal on the auto bailout, and the latest on the political scandal in Barack Obama's home state. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Mexico Losing Its War on Drugs? New official statistics reveal the cost of Mexico's drug wars: Five thousand have been killed this year, one thousand during last month alone.  What's the risk of brutal violence crossing the border? Also, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been taken into federal custody, and Blackwater security guards are charged in a US court with manslaughter in Iraq.   Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Federal Bailouts and Double Standards A bailout of the Big Three automakers now seems likely, but why is Detroit being asked for more concessions than Wall Street? We look at the double standard for federal bailouts and ask whether a real industrial policy would make things better or worse. Also, Pakistan has moved against the mastermind of the group that attacked Mumbai, and more bad news for the news business in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Higher Education and the Global Economy Even when the recession is finally over, the US may have problems competing with the rest of the world. That's because of a growing education gap. Family incomes aren't keeping up with rising cost of higher education. We hear what that means for competition in the global economy.  Also, unemployment climbs faster than expected, and OJ Simpson has been sentenced to 15 years in state prison. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Detroit Pleads for Survival...Again The Big Three automakers have updated their plans and increased what they’re asking in federal help for survival. Instead of $25 billion, now they want $34. We hear how their latest appeals were received by a Senate Committee today. Also, Canada's newly elected, conservative Prime Minister has nearly been forced out of office, and US Senate candidates in Minnesota may have to draw lots to see who won.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Shifting Focus in the War on Terror President Bush has often said that Iraq is the "central front" in the war on terror.  Barack Obama says it's Afghanistan, and even Defense Secretary Robert Gates seems to be coming around to that point of view. But no easy transition is possible from one to the other. Also, the UAW agrees to reopen contract talks asautomakers go back to Capitol Hill, and George W. Bush talks about his "greatest regret" as President of the United States. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Aftermath of What's Called 'India's 9/11' Last week's deadly terrorism in Mumbai has increased tensions between India and Pakistan, nuclear powers that have gone to war three times in the past 50 years. We update events and ask if one target was Barack Obama's foreign policy goals. Also, the Big Three submits plans to Congress in a second attempt at a rescue, and in Tijuana, 38 people killed in three days as Mexico's drug wars continue. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Obama Cabinet: Change and Continuity Barack Obama today appointed what's called his "team of rivals," including a defeated primary opponent, a holdover from the Bush Administration and a former commandant of the Marines. Will Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates and General James Jones work together or does Obama face unintended consequences? Also, tensions between Pakistan and India increase after the attacks in Mumbai, and Eric Holder as Barack Obama's choice to reform a troubled Justice Department. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Wall Street, Home Foreclosures and the Presidential Campaign With a crisis on Wall Street and home foreclosures soaring, does the US economy need more government or less? Recent statements make Obama and Clinton seem far from McCain. Does the rhetoric reflect the reality? We talk with all three campaigns. Also, President Bush says Iraq has reached a "defining moment." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Battle for Basra and the Race for the White House President Bush has high praise for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's crackdown on Shiite militias, but there's a lot at stake for both leaders. Maliki's political future and US troop withdrawals are both at risk. What could it all mean for McCain, Obama and Clinton? Also, US officials are accused of "meddling" in Pakistan, and the African president who won't leave. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will Medical Care for the Elderly and Poor Be a Broken Promise? The federal government promises healthcare for the elderly and the poor, but Medicare and Medicaid are steaming toward a "fiscal train wreck." The law requires the next president to resolve a problem that's been building for years. Also, Iraq's escalating violence. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Political Comebacks and Shifting Opinions Last week political pundits had Barack Obama on life support because of his pastor, Jeremiah Wright. This week, they're asking when Hillary Clinton will quit the campaign. Do primary victories really determine who's likely to win in November? What's behind the sudden swings in conventional wisdom? Also, the US military admits a big mistake, and a surprise Obama endorsement from a conservative Republican. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fighting Terrorism with Tactics from the Cold War Osama bin Laden and other terrorists are harder to get close to than the Soviet leaders during the Cold War. US agencies want an increase in "soft power" to get inside the heads of extremists and potential recruits. We hear the pros and cons and ask if al Qaeda is running a better propaganda machine than the western alliance. Also, the Mayor of Detroit is charged with felony crimes, and the Olympic Torch begins its trip from Greece to China. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website China, Tibet and the Summer Olympics The Olympic games are providing an international forum for Tibetan grievances against Chinese rule. During a week of violent protest, China has cracked down. What's the international reaction? Will the incident make life better or worse in Tibet?  Also,  Obama wins another endorsement, and presidential candidates and passport files. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Patriotism and Political Dialogue in America The furor over Barack Obama's church has pushed his presidential campaign into the most dangerous possible political territory -- questions about his patriotism. Has the founding fathers' notion of American exceptionalism created to an exceptionally patriotic country?  Guest host Lawrence O'Donnell talks about the defining role patriotism plays in American politics and what role patriotism plays in the politics of other countries. Also, President Bush signs legislation to protect the U ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The African American Church: Intersection of Race, Religion, Politics Race, religion and politics collided in Barack Obama's presidential campaign yesterday as they do every Sunday in many African American churches. Guest host Lawrence O'Donnell talks to the reporter who sparked the controversy, and discusses the roots of the black church in the US and its current role in African American society. Also, President Bush marks the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, and how the Panama Canal helped create the Reagan Revolution. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Gun Battle in the US Supreme Court Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in the case of a Washington, DC security guard that could re-define America's relationship to guns. Guest host Lawrence O'Donnell explores whether the Second Amendment grants each of us an absolute individual right to bear arms and how likely it is that the court will find all gun control laws unconstitutional and return the country to an unfettered free market in guns. Also, Barack Obama on his former pastor, and the crisis in Tibet. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website After Five Years in, Where Do We Stand in Iraq? With US troops now on the ground in Iraq for a period longer than World War II, what do we have to show for their efforts? Guest host Lawrence O'Donnell explores progress in Iraq and American response to our efforts there. Also, the Bear Stearns collapse: how a crisis on Wall Street affects the economy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Democratic Party: Stuck in the Mud? Democrats are increasingly worried that the nasty campaign between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is destroying what's supposed to be their race to win in November. Is it just them or is the party itself divided on race, gender, age and social class?  What does it all mean for November? Also, a bailout for Bear Stearns, and the Vatican adds to the list of sins. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Energy Security and Global Warming US energy demands are rising as the price of oil goes through the roof and foreign sources are increasingly uncertain. Canadian tar sands and domestic coal would provide energy security, but at the risk of increased global warming. Can renewables be developed in time? How high is the price of economic growth? Also, the Secretary of the Treasury wants to rein in mortgage markets, and Florida Democrats and the presidential nomination.  What a mess! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Historic Changes in New York; Boeing Takes off the Gloves Boeing is challenging the Air Force over a $40 billion contract to a team led by European manufacturers. How many jobs will go overseas? Is it a threat to national security? What was the role of John McCain and lobbyists in his campaign? Also, ethics crusader Eliot Spitzer is driven from office by long-time association with expensive prostitutes, and one of the Pentagon's top commanders resigns. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website In New York, a Sex Scandal, and Sanctions against Iran Since yesterday's brief public apology, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer has been holed up in his 5th Avenue apartment. Will he resign or face impeachment? Then, will UN sanctions persuade Iran to slow down its nuclear program? Is Iran more interested in Iraq? Has Iran's long-running confrontation with the US turned into a new Cold War? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website NAFTA, the Canadian Government and the Democratic Campaign Obama and Clinton are focused on tomorrow's vote in Mississippi, but the hangover from last week's NAFTA flap in Ohio is not over yet. We hear about the role of the Canadian government.  Does renegotiating NAFA make sense? Also, pharmaceuticals in America's water supply, and the latest update on the oldest story of all: the age of the universe.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Obama Has Oprah, but Clinton has �Saturday Night Live�� Hillary Clinton�s new momentum has political junkies fixated on the influence of popular culture on politics. Gushing videos by Obama supporters prevailed on YouTube until a satirical TV comedy skit made Clinton seem victimized by reporters. Did that influence news coverage of the campaign? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website After Ohio and Texas: What's Changed and What's the Same? Hillary Clinton has bounced back again with a big win in Ohio and a squeaker in Texas, enough to make sure that she and Barack Obama will be campaigning for weeks to come.  We analyze the results and look to the future.  Also, Mike Huckabee calls it quits, and another fake memoir. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Peace Prospects in the Middle East, and in the Democratic Party Ohio and Texas might settle the Democratic nomination today -- and then they might not.  Can Secretary Rice get the Annapolis peace process back on track?  Will the contest between Obama and Clinton come to an end or continue for weeks to come? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Cost of War in Iraq and Afghanistan The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may cost America $3 trillion, a far cry from the $50 billion estimated when combat began.  How did the expenses get so high? How long will it take to pay them off? Will the benefits be worth the money?  Also, Florida and Michigan lobby to seat Democratic delegates, and saber rattling and diplomacy in South America. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Housing Crisis Is Eating America's Economy Housing foreclosures are still on the rise, often because of cheap mortgages that are now worth more than the properties they were based on. Greedy banks are partly to blame, but so are home-buyers looking for increased values--guaranteed. Also, after eight days Turkey pulls out of Iraq, and the legacy of a murder victim in the Brazilian jungle. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website In Russia, Democracy or One-Man Rule. Russia will have a new president after Sunday's election, but Vladimir Putin will still be in charge.  We hear about Russia's trade-off between freedom and stability, and the differing interests of Wall Street and Washington.  Also, President Bush doesn't think the country's headed for a recession, and continuing drought has inflamed a border dispute between Georgia and Tennessee. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Rhetoric and Reality in Presidential Campaigns Both this year's current presidential front-runners say they have shrugged off Washington lobbyists and embraced public financing of political campaigns.  We look at McCain and Obama and compare their rhetoric with their records. Also, the latest suicide bombing kills kills a Pakistani Army General, and the New York Philharmonic in North Korea. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pakistan, Afghanistan and America's War on Terror Pakistan's newly elected opposition parties have joined forces against President Pervez Musharraf. They want talks with Islamic militants, including the Taliban. What's the future of a Bush Administration ally in the war on terror? What's the likely impact on Afghanistan, where NATO forces are struggling against a tough enemy and among themselves? Also, hot times for both parties on the presidential campaign trail. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website George W. Bush Goes to Africa President Bush is in Africa this week, where he's more popular than he is in most other places. What will his anti-AIDS and malaria programs mean for his legacy? Do other countries need more help than the five he's visiting? Does the US plan a military presence in Africa, a major supplier of oil? Also, John McCain takes aim at his apparent rival, and the Navy takes aim at a failed spy satellite. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Big Changes from Cuba to Pakistan There are big changes in store for Cuba and Pakistan. Fidel Castro has resigned from office. Pervez Musharraf has been soundly defeated in parliamentary elections. We talk with reporters and others in both countries and the US. What's the likely impact on American interests in South Asia and 90 miles from the beaches of Florida? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senate Passes Record Defense Budget, but Are We Safer? Is big money making America safer? Plus, a suicide bombing rocks Afghanistan, and ABC-TV and the politics of September 11th. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Housing Bubble Losing Air? After 911 and during the war on terror, the housing market has helped keep America�s economy going. Monday, this Labor Day, we broadcast an archived edition of To the Point on whether the housing bubble is losing air. Will the promise of short-term profit leave homeowners facing long-term debt? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Senate Passes Record Defense Budget, but Are We Safer? Is big money making America safer? Plus, a suicide bombing rocks Afghanistan, and ABC-TV and the politics of September 11th. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Housing Bubble Losing Air? After 911 and during the war on terror, the housing market has helped keep America�s economy going. Monday, this Labor Day, we broadcast an archived edition of To the Point on whether the housing bubble is losing air. Will the promise of short-term profit leave homeowners facing long-term debt? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iran and Nuclear Brinksmanship Now that Iran has refused to stop enriching uranium, the US is building the case for economic sanctions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The US Army and the Realities of Modern Warfare Iraq and Afghanistan are not the big wars envisioned by the US Army's high-level doctrine. What will the future require. We hear about a battle raging within the Army itself. Also, Roger Clemens goes before a House committee over the use of human growth hormone; and McCain, Obama and the Potomac primaries. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is It Possible to Ban Weapons in Space. Russia and China today renewed a proposal the Bush Administration has been opposed to, an international treaty banning weapons in outer space. Also, new help for the holders of sub-prime mortgages, and today's Potomac primaries and Democratic "momentum." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What's Happening to the Religious Right. The religious right is alive and well in America, but a "new generation" of evangelicals is also focused on poverty, the environment and many other issues. Also, six September 11 suspects will face murder charges, and a look at tomorrow's primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Race for President and the Politics of Change In an election year that has been defined by unexpected changes in political fortunes, what kind of changes might still be in store. Would a race between John McCain and Barack Obama, or John McCain and Hillary Clinton, mark a return to a more civil and less cut-throat approach to campaigning. Or is all the talk about change just this year's version of an election strategy. Also, Scotland Yard on Benazir Bhutto's death, and Hollywood writers may be back at work as early as Monday. Sara Ter ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The California Ballot and The Four Leading Candidates Today, voters in 24 states go to the polls. In California, voters will be asked to decide seven state propositions that cover issues ranging from a phone tax and term limits to tribal gaming. In this special second edition of To the Point, Warren Olney looks at the California ballot, examining both the candidates and the measures. (1-2pm)   Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Super Tuesday: In the Eyes of the Rest of the World As Americans turn out for caucuses and primaries in 24 states, Super Tuesday has the rapt attention of people with no direct role to play. Will America choose a black man or a woman.  Will the world---s most powerful country be led by a businessman, a military veteran or a former preacher. On Reporter's Notebook, what kind of person wants to face the rigors of a modern presidential campaign. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Today the Candidates, Tomorrow the Voters Tomorrow is the biggest day in the history of presidential nominations.  More than 20 states will hold caucuses and primaries for both Republicans and Democrats.  We sample political capitals all over the country to get a sense of what's in store.  Also, the Democratic race tightens while McCain surges, and comparing the Obama and Clinton healthcare proposals. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website With California Debates Over, It's Almost Time for Voting Both parties have staged their last debates before Super Tuesday, which could be decisive for either Republicans or Democrats. We hear about last night's Democratic "conversation" in Hollywood and look at last-minute challenges and strategies. Also, Microsoft's offer to buy Yahoo, and satire about the culture of Washington and "the strange and scary tribes that run our government." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Race for President Comes Down to the Final Four Last night it was the Republicans, tonight it's the Democrats--in California for their last debates before they go almost nationwide next Tuesday. With just two Democrats left and just two Republicans with a real chance, will the debates make a difference. Will either nomination be decided any time soon. Also, a break in an undersea cable cuts Internet services to of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and $31 billion in profits last year for Royal Dutch Shell. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Giuliani and Edwards: Now You See Them, Now You Don't After a distant third-place showing in Florida, Rudy Giuliani is expected to endorse John McCain later today. On the Democratic side, John Edwards made this announcement today in New Orleans. Also, the Fed on interest rates and the Senate on a stimulus package. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Last State of the Union Speech and 11 Months to Go George W. Bush has delivered his last state of the union address, but he still has 11 months left in the world's most powerful office.  We look at what's ahead and get some early assessments of his legacy.  Also, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan continues his attempt to stem post-election violence, and more trouble with election machines in Florida. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Presidential Politics in a Time of Transition Tonight, President Bush will deliver his final speech on the State of the Union.  Tomorrow it's Florida for the Republicans. Next week, for both parties, it's Super Tuesday in more than 20 states around the country. Also, Kennedy endorses Obama, and the spy satellite that's fallen out of its orbit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will the Race for President Turn into a Generational Showdown. Can Barack Obama mobilize post-boomers against the politics of the past. Do Hillary and Bill Clintons' appeal to "experience" make older voters want to see them back in the White House. Also, President Bush and Congressional Democrats may be in for another battle over Iraq, and federal raids on four Southern California art museums may lead to criminal indictments. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Darfur, the Economy and Presidential Politics After Rwanda, the United Nations said it would step in when governments failed to protect their people from genocide. Darfur is the first test, but the government of Sudan is defiant. Is international intervention an empty promise. Also, the White House and Congressional leaders have reached a tentative deal on stimulating the economy, and the latest from South Carolina and Florida. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website An Exodus from Gaza Early today, explosions knocked down several miles of fence between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians streamed across the border by the tens of thousands. We hear how it happened and what it means for Palestinian factions, Israeli security and Egypt's international obligations. Also, Congress pressured to move quickly with a stimulus package, and accusations fly across the Obama and Clinton campaigns. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Economic Trouble in an Election Year The Federal Reserve made a surprise cut in the interest rate today, but the markets dropped anyway, and there's more talk about a recession. Is it coming. Is it already here. Is the stimulus package really about the economy or politics. Also, Jose Padilla is sentenced to 17 years and, in case anyone's paying attention, the Oscar nominations are in. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Results Are In and the Races Are On This weekend's results from Nevada and South Carolina created new challenges for presidential candidates and new uncertainties for their political parties. We hear who's hot, who's not and what's happening to set the stage for multiple showdowns just two weeks from tomorrow.  Also, Democrats talk a lot about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  What about the Republicans.  We'll take a look at race politics and American history. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Meat and Milk from Cloned Animals in America's Food Supply. The FDA says meat and milk from cloned animals is safe enough, but the USDA thinks Americans won't eat it. We hear about cost and cruelty to animals, and talk to a top chef who says customers can't tell the difference. Also, President Bush calls for an "economic stimulus package," and it's the Democrats in Nevada tomorrow and the Republicans in South Carolina. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cars Are King, from Detroit to Beijing The Detroit Auto Show is going green, or so automakers want us to believe. But the Earth may not be able to sustain a polluting industry that's expanding fast in China, India, Brazil and Russia. We hear what's in store for the American market and the rest of the world. Also, the Fed Chief wants an economic stimulus package, and presidential politics and Nevada casinos. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website It's the Economy, Stupid, All Over Again With Michigan in a virtual one-state recession, Mitt Romney won yesterday's primary by promising federal assistance. Will that work Saturday in South Carolina. With five candidates still standing, the Republican race is in chaos. We get an update and look at the role of the economy in presidential politics. Also,  President Bush winds up his Middle East tour, and undersea sonar, national security and whales. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Race and Civil Rights in the Democratic Primary Campaign Barack Obama has demonstrated that he can attract white voters, but race has become an issue in the Democratic primary campaign. Sensitive nerves have been touched and reacted to by the Obama and Clinton campaigns. Can the candidates calm the waters before the Democrats become a divided party.  Also, Citigroup reports its first loss in 10 years, and the FDA says cloned animals are safe to eat. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The US and Unintended Consequences in Iraq Finally, the military surge has been followed by what the US called "benchmark legislation." But it could divide, instead of uniting, Shiites and Sunnis. Also, President Bush arrives in Saudi Arabia, and tomorrow's Michigan primary. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Presidental Politics and the Promise of Change Every election is about change of some kind, but this year it's the buzzword of presidential candidates from Barack Obama to Mitt Romney.  Are they all saying the same thing or does the same word convey a range of political messages--depending on what an individual voter wants to hear. Also, the Federal Reserve avoids using the "R" word, and remembering Sir Edmund Hillary. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is George Bush Engaged in Lame Duck Diplomacy. In Ramallah today, President Bush laid out more of his vision for a Palestinian state next to Israel. Will the parties agree, or is it too little, too late. Also, are the Arab states still hoping to isolate Iran. Are they looking ahead to next president of the US. Also, American attacks against al Qaeda are up as political expectations are down in Iraq, and the presidential campaigns may going on for a long while. We hear about today's developments in both parties. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Comebacks in New Hampshire and the Road Ahead There's big change in this year's presidential contests because of two New Hampshire comebacks----one expected and the other a major surprise. Also, President Bush promotes his version of a two-state solution, and Monday's report that Obama was leading Clinton by 13 points. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website As Presidential Voting Begins, Remember Florida. Seven years ago, it was hanging chads.  This year, it's computers that can break down or be subject to hacking. Have 3.9 billion federal dollars guaranteed accurate counts in US elections.  Is voter fraud at the polls a real problem.  How about sales of absentee ballots.  Which states are likely to be the next Florida. Also, George Bush makes his first presidential visit to Israel, and an update from New Hampshire. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Republicans and Democrats Debate Change and Experience Clinton and Romney are hoping to stay alive as the latest polls show Obama widening his lead and McCain coming on strong. We get a preview of tomorrow's New Hampshire primaries. Also, today's death penalty case before the US Supreme Court. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iowa Shakes Up the Presidential Campaigns With the New Hampshire primaries now just four days away, there is no time for either he joy of victory or the agony of defeat. We look at last night's results in Iowa and how they're shaping the future of both parties' presidential campaigns. Also, a presidential historian looks at this year's candidates. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pakistan: Is a Nuclear Power Becoming a Failed State. Detectives from Scotland Yard will help Pakistan investigate the killing of Benazir Bhutto, but can they give President Pervez Musharraf much-needed credibility. Also, more post-election violence today in Kenya, and Republicans and Democrats caucus tonight in Iowa--with high stakes for America---s political future.  Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website American Politics Stranded in Iowa Democrats and Republicans will start registering their preferences in tomorrow's Iowa caucuses. We look at a thoroughly un-democratic process that could be crucial to selecting the next President of the United States. Also, elections in Pakistan delayed as Scotland Yard investigates the Bhutto assassination, and violence in Kenya breaks down a bastion of stability in the Horn Africa. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Today's Internet Killing Our Culture. Are Wikipedia, Google and an infinite number of web blogs, liberating our culture or killing it by abolishing traditional standards and blurring the difference between what's really true and what's false. We consider the backlash against Internet 2.0. Also, the upcoming Iowa caucus, and despite the unhealthy aspects of America's diet, Michael Pollen says some food is OK after all. Note: This archived edition of TtP, will not air live on KCRW as it will be pre-empted by special holiday pro ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Doomday Scenarios: What to Believe. By January of this year, global warming had been added to rumors of nuclear war and the "Doomsday Clock" was moved two minutes closer to midnight.  That hasn't been changed since. On this archived New Year's Eve edition of To the Point, are recent predictions of catastrophe are equally credible. Also, a progress report on congressional ethics reform, and New Year's Eve in Des Moines, Iowa. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will Labor Disputes Change the Face of Entertainment. How did show business---the workplace where adults are supposed to have fun---get itself roiled in a bitter labor dispute that is crippling the industry. Guest host Lawrence O'Donnell explores the Writers Guild strike and how it might foreshadow other Hollywood labor disputes that could change the face of American entertainment in 2008. Also, response to the Bhutto assassination --- from the streets of Pakistan to the US presidential campaign trail. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pakistani Opposition Leader Bhutto Assassinated At age 54, Benazir Bhutto---s political career and life came to a bloody end today in Pakistan.  Guest host Lawrence O---Donnell gets the latest developments from Pakistan. Also, does the army's new armored vehicle fit the mission in Iraq. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Effectiveness of Our Charitable Giving Aristotle said "to give away money is an easy matter---and in any man's power.  But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, for what purpose and how, is neither in every man's power nor an easy matter." Many Americans will be making those decisions in the final days of tax year 2007. Guest host Lawrence O'Donnell explores how we can target our charitable giving to be most effective. Also, this year's lackluster holiday sales, and  the tiger attack in the San Francis ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What's Next for the US and Iran. President Bush says it's up to Iran to avoid international sanctions, but the latest Intelligence Estimate will make his case harder to make with western Europe, Russia and China.-- We look at the prospects and hear more about how and why the Administration released a report that contradicted its own policies. Also, habeus corpus gets its day in court--again, and medical researchers think they have explained why the flu always comes in the winter.-- Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will Voters Give Hugo Ch--vez All the Power He Wants. The King of Spain has asked Hugo Chavez to ---shut up.--- But the President of Venezuela is making his voice heard at home and around the world. On Sunday, voters may give him new powers and the chance to be re-elected for the rest of his life.-- Some former supporters call it dictatorship in the making. On Reporter's Notebook, America---s hurricane season goes out with a whimper. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russian Democracy and Power Politics Vladimir Putin has restored authoritarian rule, but growth and stability have made him wildly popular with most Russians. This weekend's parliamentary elections are expected to increase Putin's strength, even as his presidency will soon come to an end. Will he hold on to political power. Are America's frayed relations with Russia in for further deterioration. Also, citizen Musharraf is sworn in as Pakistan's president, and fireworks from last night's Republican debate in Florida. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Battle for Iowa: The Hawkeye State at Ground Zero for '08 The acceleration of the presidential primary schedule was supposed to make the traditional early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire less important. But things haven---t quite worked out that way. Also, the Middle East peace conference, which begins tomorrow in Annapolis, Maryland, and Senate Republican Whip Tent Lott calls it quits. Marc Cooper guest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chinese Imports and Product Safety Toys, tires, foods and toothpaste have raised questions about the safety of imports from China. Is China trying to clean up its act. What about the demand for cheap products from US companies--and from consumers. We hear a program that's as relevant today, as the holiday season gets underway, as it was when it was first broadcast back in July. Also, will immigration enforcement mean a shortage of Christmas trees. (This archived edition of To the Point will not air live on KCRW as it will ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Biofuels: The Benefits and the Bad News The UN has given mixed reviews to biofuels that produce energy from agricultural products. They may be counter-productive for the environment. America's corn farmers are reaping a financial harvest from ethanol. Is it really cleaner and cheaper. What does it mean for the price of food.-- Also, the upcoming Middle East peace summit in Annapolis, and is thin really healthier than fat. (This archived edition of To the Point will not air live on KCRW as it will be pre-empted by special holiday ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Can President Bush Bring Peace to a Scarred Holy Land. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is leading a final push for Mid-East peace next week in Annapolis. There are already harsh critics, but she has invited 49 participants and President Bush will personally try and create momentum for his proposed two-state solution. Also, GOP conservative Huckabee rises in the presidential polls, and at the start of the holiday movie season, few films promise as much debate as an odd look at Bob Dylan. Jim Sterngold guest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is America's Thirst for Expensive Oil Fueling Dictators. After a decade in which oil-producing countries struggled with weak markets, booming prices have suddenly rearranged global politics. All but forgotten during the 1990's, OPEC now is influencing decisions from Washington to Beijing. Also, producing stem cells without destroying human embryos, and Southeast Asia's booming trading powers try to unite. Will concerns about Myanmar's military dictators leave them divided. Jim Sterngold guest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Death Penalty in America: Is It Time for a Change. Executions are on hold in America until the US Supreme Court decides whether lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment.-- Is it time for the states to review the death penalty process from arrest to conviction.-- Also, devastating floods in Mexico's state of Tabasco and Venezuela's exceptional program for training children in music. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New Drums of War in the Middle East With 100,000 Turkish troops massed on the border with Iraqi Kurdistan, the US is trying to avoid an explosive new conflict. Also, Chrysler cuts thousand of jobs, and waterboarding and Senate confirmation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Presidential Politics: Eight Weeks from the Starting Line Last night's Democratic presidential debate was the liveliest yet. Also, verdicts in the 2004 Madrid subway bombing, and the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Should America Use 'Soft Power' in the Middle East. With the US bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, even tough-minded conservatives are talking about a new emphasis on "soft power." We talk about what that means and how it could serve America's interests in an increasingly dangerous world. Also, immunity for Blackwater security guards, and the US Supreme Court, the First Amendment and child pornography on the Internet. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sub-Prime Loans and the Economy The subprime mortgage crisis may force 2 million people out of their homes and a small army of Wall Street executives out of their jobs. Will there be a recession.-- Would government intervention make things better or worse. Also, the US turns another province over to Iraqi control, and Christina Fernandez de Kirchner succeed her husband as President of Argentina. What that could mean for other women in politics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bungled White House Battle against Terrorist Financing. The US government spent 15 years tracking a Middle Eastern charity, the Holy Land Foundation, on suspicions it was financing terrorists. President Bush froze its assets after September 11 and prosecutors filed criminal charges. The case fell apart this week. Also, the President tours a scorched southern California, and Facebook becomes a money machine. Jim Sterngold guest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is America Drying Up. California is tinder dry. The Southeast is facing a critical shortage of water. Winter is coming late to the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic. Iis it just a spell of weird weather or long-term climate change. Will industry, agriculture and residential development have to adapt to stave off disaster. Also, a trickle of good news on the fires raging across southern California, and it's the Red Sox and the Rockies in this year's World Series.-- Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The World Awash in American Weapons There's a boom in both legal and illegal weapons sales worldwide.-- The US is both the leading exporter and the leading target on the black market.-- Also, a federal state of emergency as 17 fires rage out of control in southern California, and tensions flare on the Turkey-Iraq border. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is It Time to Reform Education Reform. President Bush wants Congress to renew No Child Left Behind, but after five years there's little consensus on education reform. Also, an update on the wildfires burning throughout southern California. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website War and Peace, and the Importance of Language One and a half million Armenians were slaughtered almost 100 years ago. Yesterday, a committee of Congress labeled it "genocide." Also, Al Gore and the Nobel Peace Prize. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Farm Labor, Immigration and Food Security American farmers insist that immigration enforcement has dried up the supply of farm labor. Some are resorting to prison inmates and others are moving to Mexico. Also, Turkey recalls its ambassador over the Armenian genocide bill, plus Vice President Cheney and the expansion of executive power. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website China, the Olympic Games and Environmental Pollution Next summer's Olympic Games have focused attention on China's economic expansion and the environmental pollution that's going along with it. Also, UAW picket lines go up at Chrysler, and an unlikely apology from Los Angeles' Chief of Police. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fred Thompson Makes It Official While eight republican candidates were trudging through yet another debate in New Hampshire last night Fred Thompson upstaged them -- from Los Angeles. He went on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and finally announced he was running for the White House. Also, more grim news on Iraq, and investors question whether Apple has stumbled with its new iPhone. Jim Sterngold guest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website No Child Left Behind: Is It Passing or Failing. No Child Left Behind---the President's education reform---gets mixed reviews; some members of Congress are hoping to make some changes. On this archived edition of To the Point, we take another look at the pros and cons---before Congress comes back to debate what needs to be done. Also, Congress returns to Washington, and organized labor's opposition to one form of immigration enforcement.****This program will not air live on KCRW as it will be preempted by Labor Day music programming.-- It ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Have Junior Officers Lost Confidence in Their Commanders. Junior officers with more experience on the ground are now blaming the generals for what's gone wrong in Iraq.-- Was America's Army trained for the wrong war. Is there a "trust gap" between officers of Generation X and their superiors. President Bush and the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and Leona Helmsly's $12 million dog. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Global Warming and the Rush to the Arctic Global climate change is melting the ice above the Arctic Circle, creating a rush to control new shipping lanes and untold riches beneath the sea. Will the Russian flag beneath the North Pole be a "Sputnik moment" for the United States. Also, another recall on toys from China, and America's "bumbling" use of bad guys in the war on terror. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Crucial Vacancy at the Bush White House Karl Rove, the President's top political strategist, will leave the White House at the end of this month. Also, the Red Cross report describing CIA treatment of detainees in the war on terror, with techniques learned from countries known to use torture. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website America's Changing Image in the Middle East Support KCRW's Summer SignUp: (http://www.kcrw.com) Middle Easterners are used to seeing the US as the invincible Superpower, but events in Iraq are changing America's image. Also, stock prices continue to drop, and gay rights and Democratic presidential candidates. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Obama Gets Tough on Pakistan Barak Obama's threat to attack al Qaeda in Pakistan has made that country an issue in the presidential campaign. Is it time to get tough with President Pervez Musharraf. Plus, an update on the Minneapolis bridge collapse, and liberal bloggers and the DailyKos convention. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ethics Reform; Minnesota Bridge Collapse Last night's bridge collapse on a major commuter artery for Minneapolis could be a wakeup call for America's infrastructure. Also, with one of its senior members under investigation, will the Senate agree to ethics reforms passed by the House. Is Washington really trying to clean up its act. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Politics of Health Insurance for Children Democrats and some Republicans want to expand health insurance for children, paid for by increasing the tax on tobacco. President Bush has threatened a veto. Also, Donald Rumsfeld deflects the controversy over the death of Pat Tillman, and Saudi Arabia says it may open an embassy in Iraq. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Arms for Diplomacy in the Middle East The Bush Administration is negotiating a state-of-the-art arms sale to Saudi Arabia at the same time the Saudis are accused of destabilizing Iraq and condoning terror. Also, a health update on Chief Justice John Roberts, and Rupert Murdoch gets Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Gordon Brown Visits Camp David Britain's new Prime Minister met with President Bush today at Camp David. What's the latest on the "special relationship." How different is Brown from Tony Blair when it comes to Iraq and the "war on terror." Plus, the South Korean hostages, and a breakthrough in the battle against Multiple Sclerosis. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Farm Bill and the Quality of the Food We Eat After promising to reform the subsidies that critics call corporate welfare, the House passed a new Farm Bill today. Also, the market's downward slide and NASA responds to a report that it allowed astronauts to fly drunk.-- Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Water and Human Conflict around the World Many wells are going to be drilled to determine if an ancient lake under Darfur in western Sudan is still full of water. Would plentiful water end four years of bloody violence. Will water shortages lead to other conflicts around the world. Also, Pakistan's Supreme Court deals a blow to President Musharraf, and contempt of Congress and executive privilege. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Wi-Fi: Camping and the Call of the Internet More and more Americans are taking their computers when they head to the wilderness to supposedly get away from it all. With Wi-Fi access increasingly available at campgrounds, some folks just can't resist the call of the Internet. Also, progress on the nuclear stand-off between the US and North Korea, and David Beckham prepares to score with LA soccer fans. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Surgeon General and the Role of Science in National Policy From global warming to stem-cell research and sex education, opponents charge that the Bush Administration has twisted science to suit its political agenda. The battle over President Bush's nominee for Surgeon General has raised the issue again. Also, President Bush on US progress in Iraq, and exposing a major hole in the government's security system. Jim Sterngold guest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The War in Iraq: Strategy and Politics American and Iraqi casualties are mounting, Republicans are defecting, and Democrats are challenging the President's war powers once again. Will a phased withdrawal come sooner than planned, as the Iraq Study Group recommended a year ago. Have officials in Baghdad lost the chance to influence debate in Washington. Also, Pakistani troops raid the Red Mosque in Islamabad, and baseball's All-Star game. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website As Feds Play Politics, Local Solutions to Immigration Emerge As the White House and Congress grapple over immigration reform, local towns and cities dramatize the nation's divisions.-- There's "zero tolerance" in one place and a welcome mat in another.-- Is illegal immigration both a burden and a blessing. Also, a suicide bomber strikes inside Baghdad's Green Zone and, on Reporter's Notebook, Don Imus and words that offend, depending on who's using them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Can President Bush Be the Next 'Come-back Kid.' With 21 months left to go in his second term, George Bush looks more and more like a lame duck president.-- We hear some harsh criticisms from life-long Republicans and hear whether the awesome powers of the White House can provide for a comeback.-- On Reporter's Notebook, we talk with the Italian journalist who exposed forged documents used to bolster the war on Iraq. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Assessing 'Benchmark' Progress in Iraq, Two Months into Surge Assessing 'Benchmark' Progress in Iraq, Two Months into Surge Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tough Talk at the Summit Meeting in Mexico On the last stop of his Latin American tour, President Bush heard some tough talk today from Mexico's President Felipe Calder--n. Immigration and illegal drugs are high on the agenda.-- What can a lame-duck US leader do for a counter-part who's just getting started.-- Also, the flap over fired US attorneys continues with reports of White House involvement.-- Democrats want Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to step down. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bush Heads South of the Border, Rhetoric Turns Left President Bush is visiting Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico this week, carrying with him a complicated economic and trade agenda. But after keeping Latin American issues on the backburner for six years, can he effectively compete with rising radical leaders like Hugo Ch--vez.-- Plus, House Democrats unveil their plan for a withdrawal from Iraq. On Reporter's Notebook, will President Bush grant Lewis Libby a pardon.-- Marc Cooper guest hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Administration of Justice and Partisan Politics The firing of eight US Attorneys has raised questions about the Bush Justice Department and partisan politics. Did a Congressional hearing reveal why they were let go. Are routine personnel matters being"overblown."-- Plus, another Russian journalist has died mysteriously and, on Reporter's Notebook, in France, ordinary citizens can now be jailed for doing what journalists do all the time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Libby Verdict; Shabby Treatment of Wounded Soldiers Lewis"Scooter"Libby's conviction is just the latest bad news for the Bush Administration.-- Plus, the running scandal over treatment of combat veterans by the Veterans'Administration.-- Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website North Korea and Nuclear Weapons The US and North Korea are talking today in New York amid new questions about US intelligence on North Korea's development of nuclear weapons. The US is updating its nuclear warheads. What's the message to other countries. Plus, Congress begins investigation into the sorry state of the Department of Veterans'Affairs and, on Reporter's Notebook, a gourmet dinner party featuring cloned beef. Would you accept an invitation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The US and Britain, Guns or Butter. The US and Britain are first in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and last among developed nations in taking care of their children. Is there a connection.-- We talk about imperialism, the welfare state, history and contemporary realities. Plus, House Democrat Howard Berman on his plan to bring the troops home from Iraq and, on Reporter's Notebook, genetic research shows that the ancestors of presidential candidates owned slaves. The candidates are John McCain, John Edwards--and Barack Obama ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The US and Britain, Guns or Butter. The US and Britain are first in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and last among developed nations in taking care of their children. Is there a connection.-- We talk about imperialism, the welfare state, history and contemporary realities. Plus, House Democrat Howard Berman on his plan to bring the troops home from Iraq and, on Reporter's Notebook, genetic research shows that the ancestors of presidential candidates owned slaves. The candidates are John McCain, John Edwards--and Barack Obama ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Stock-Market Sell-Off; To Be or Not to Be...Gay Wall Street is cutting its losses after another steep sell-off. There are mixed messages about the state of the economy.-- What does China's stock market have to do with it.-- Also, Pastor Ted Haggard has renewed a long-running controversy with implications for religion and politics.-- Is homosexuality a treatable condition.-- Is it nurture or nature. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Stock-Market Sell-Off; To Be or Not to Be...Gay Wall Street is cutting its losses after another steep sell-off. There are mixed messages about the state of the economy.-- What does China's stock market have to do with it.-- Also, Pastor Ted Haggard has renewed a long-running controversy with implications for religion and politics.-- Is homosexuality a treatable condition.-- Is it nurture or nature. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is the HPV Vaccine Right for Middle School Girls. To protect against a cancer-causing, sexually-transmitted virus, the Governor of Texas has ordered mandatory vaccination of young girls. We look at a moral and medical controversy that could spread to at least 20 other states.-- Plus, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gives a thumbs-up to the economy and, on Reporter's Notebook, the US will sit down with Iran and Syria in regional talks about Iraq.-- Could that lead to diplomacy on other issues. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is the HPV Vaccine Right for Middle School Girls. To protect against a cancer-causing, sexually-transmitted virus, the Governor of Texas has ordered mandatory vaccination of young girls. We look at a moral and medical controversy that could spread to at least 20 other states.-- Plus, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gives a thumbs-up to the economy and, on Reporter's Notebook, the US will sit down with Iran and Syria in regional talks about Iraq.-- Could that lead to diplomacy on other issues. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website After the Non-Binding Iraq Resolution, What's Next. In the House of Representatives, the debate is over at last.-- The resolution opposing the President's increase of troops in Iraq is expected to pass later today. Since the President plans to ignore it, what happens next.-- We'll look at the options and the prospects for action that's"binding."---- Also, Italy will try 26 US citizens, most of them CIA, in a case of"extraordinary rendition"and, on Reporter's Notebook, why is the Bush Justice Department firing prosecutors. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iraq, Iran and America's Credibility President Bush denies any intention to invade Iran, but foreign allies and adversaries--and many Republicans--are skeptical.-- The administration is haunted by what some call the"Iraq syndrome."What will it take to restore America's credibility.---- Plus, Hamas'resignation as the ruling party in the Palestinian Territories and, on Reporter's Notebook, why are Hungary and the Czech Republic better for children than the United States. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iraq, Iran and America's Credibility President Bush denies any intention to invade Iran, but foreign allies and adversaries--and many Republicans--are skeptical.-- The administration is haunted by what some call the"Iraq syndrome."What will it take to restore America's credibility.---- Plus, Hamas'resignation as the ruling party in the Palestinian Territories and, on Reporter's Notebook, why are Hungary and the Czech Republic better for children than the United States. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Warfare Being Contracted Out by the Pentagon. Democrats in Congress are taking a long look at private contractors, the second largest force in Iraq. Does outsourcing help soldiers do their jobs and save money.-- Does it allow for warfare without accountability.-- Plus, President Bush reminds the Congress that its nonbinding Iraq resolution should not curtail further funding for the war.-- On Reporter's Notebook, if you think Antony and Cleopatra looked like Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, think again. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website An Iraq Debate Has Finally Begun on Capitol Hill Congress has taken up where the Senate left off and has begun debate on the President's increase of troops in Iraq. By proposing only a non-binding resolution, the Democrats are getting heat from both the Left and the Right. How many Republicans will go along.-- Does Congress have the power to cut off the money.-- Plus, North Korea agrees to a phased shutdown of its nuclear program in exchange for aid and oil. On Reporter's Notebook, sea lions and dolphins may go on patrol against terrorist ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is the New Russia Looking More Like the Old. Vladimir Putin berated the US this weekend in terms that echoed the Cold War. Is the New Russia looking more like the old.-- We look at Kremlin takeovers of energy and the-- media.-- What about the imprisonment and mysterious killings of business rivals and political critics.---- Plus, Iran denies US charges that it armed Shiite groups in Iraq with armor-piercing weaponry.-- On Reporter's Notebook, the Dixie Chicks and the politics of pop music. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is the New Russia Looking More Like the Old. Vladimir Putin berated the US this weekend in terms that echoed the Cold War. Is the New Russia looking more like the old.-- We look at Kremlin takeovers of energy and the-- media.-- What about the imprisonment and mysterious killings of business rivals and political critics.---- Plus, Iran denies US charges that it armed Shiite groups in Iraq with armor-piercing weaponry.-- On Reporter's Notebook, the Dixie Chicks and the politics of pop music. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Katrina and the Role of Government In New Orleans, the removal of bodies is under way, and officials say the city has finally been secured. But Americans have been jolted by government failure to prevent and cope with disaster, and for the first time since September 11 they're telling pollsters that domestic issues are more important than the war against terror. After 25 years of demanding government cutbacks, even conservative commentators are predicting a"progressive resurgence." Has Katrina accomplished what the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Flawed Planning, Katrina Resources Directed Elsewhere Military vehicles have moved in to control the violence in New Orleans as the Army Corps of Engineers feverishly works to shore up the city's main levee. While meals and other supplies are coming into Mississippi towns, yet many are still without basic staples, even water and necessary medicine. Five days after Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, flights have begun taking people out of New Orleans; busloads of people are heading west to Houston's Astrodome, which may be their home for sever ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Katrina: America's Worst Disaster and the American Red Cross Charitable donations in the aftermath of Katrina are unprecedented in US history--more than a billion dollars, with three-quarters going to the American Red Cross. But is the Red Cross providing immediate relief for hurricane victims as mandated by Congress? Small-town officials say the organization was nowhere to be found. Was it overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster? Did local laws and priorities get in the way? Will the Red Cross reimburse local churches and other charities th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Googled! Will the Internet Come Back to Haunt You? The Internet is often called"virtual" reality, as if it had nothing to do with the real world. But because it stores vast amounts of information about almost everyone, the Internet can have tangible impact on everyday life. The CEO of Internet search engine Google didn't like it when personal information about him was published by a reporter who spent 30 minutes on Google. Yahoo, Microsoft MSN and other search engines know whom you talk to, what you talk about and what you're thi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website It's Down to the Wire for Iraq's New Constitution Iraq is currently governed by a temporary constitution, which stipulates that if a new constitution is not agreed on by midnight tonight, the interim government will go out of existence and new elections will have to be held. But Sunni Arabs who ruled under Saddam Hussein fear that Kurds and Shiites are making a deal to monopolize Iraq's oil. If they're not part of the action, the Sunnis could fuel an increasingly violent insurgency for a long time to come. After last-minute postponements, ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Do American Farm Subsidies Have a Future? Four years ago, in Doha, Qatar, the US and other major world economies vowed to reduce tariffs and subsidies that distort free international trade. Two years later, the talks dissolved in chaos. The last chance for agreement comes in December, and this week US Trade Representative Rob Portman announced that the US will cut subsidies by 60% by 2010, if Japan and Europe cut theirs by 80%. US farmers say their safety net is being given away, developing countries say the US and Europe are playi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What Does GM-UAW Deal Mean for American Workers? The US auto industry once led the manufacturing world, providing high wages, adequate health benefits and generous pensions. Now, auto-workers are among those getting squeezed out of what's called"economic recovery." After looking at General Motors'financial situation, United Auto Workers Union leaders have agreed to $15 billion in healthcare reductions. Delphi, the parts maker spun off from GM seven years ago, wants to impose a two-thirds pay cut to help the company out of bankrup ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Press, Karl Rove and a Stolen Election The Grand Jury is still out on whether Karl Rove committed perjury, obstructed justice or exposed a CIA agent. But Washington reporters are taking heat for protecting confidential White House sources when the real story should be the identity of a leaker. The media also are being questioned for playing down a Democratic report that Republican dirty tricks helped President Bush win Ohio last year. Are reporters trading their independence for high-level access? Is Rove the master of media man ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Harvest of Shame in America's Breadbasket? Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is perpetually at odds with the Democrats who control California's state legislature, but they've come to agreement on one thing. After four farm workers died from exposure last month, there was bipartisan support for emergency regulations to require protection from blistering heat. The incidents also cast new attention on the living and working conditions of the men and women who put the food on America's tables, 40 years after Cesar Chavez made ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Bush Administration's Woes and Its Image Abroad During the first term of his presidency, riding a post-September 11 crest of domestic popularity and with his party in control of both houses of Congress, President Bush set the US on a unilateral path in international relations. Today, on a wide range of foreign policy issues, and with his administration weakened by scandals and the post-war failures in Iraq the President -- and America's position in the world --- is different. His opponents at home and abroad may take joy in his chastenin ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Have Crimes Been Committed Inside the Bush White House? Lewis"Scooter" Libby has resigned after his indictment for perjury, making false statements and obstruction of justice. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says the chief of staff to Dick Cheney"endangered national security" by revealing the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. The Vice President, who accepted the resignation with"deep regret," reminded that Libby is presumed innocent until a contrary finding is made by a jury." Karl Rove, top political aide ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Political Thunderbolt: Hamas Wins Palestinian Elections After decades in power, the late Yasser Arafat's Fatah party has been ousted by Palestinian voters. Hamas, dedicated to the destruction of Israel, will now form a new government. Hamas won 76 of 132 seats in parliament; Fatah, the losing party of President Mahmoud Abbas, won just 43. At the White House today, President Bush called it"healthy" evidence of democracy in the Middle East, but said the US will not deal with an armed political group that advocates violence. Is Hamas pr ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iraq and the Prospect of All-Out Civil War After last week saw the worst sectarian violence since the US invasion, talks on forming a unity government in Iraq broke down. Now, a daytime curfew in Iraq has been lifted and the streets of Baghdad and other cities are quiet by current standards, although powerful tensions remain. Iraqi security forces are on high alert, but have been infiltrated by Shiite militias. Sunnis want militias of their own. Are political leaders--or religious clerics--really in charge? Will conflicts that da ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dubai, Port Security and Ethnic Stereotyping Dubai Ports World won't take over terminals at six American ports until the Bush Administration has tried a selling job on the Congress. The State of New Jersey and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are going to court to stop it and Congress may pass legislation as soon as next week. Still, President Bush insists he'll veto any new law and that that treating Dubai as less trustworthy than other countries sends a"signal to the Middle East" that would be"disastrous.&q ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Dubai Ports Deal: Politics and National Security Democrats have dreamed about a chance to outflank President Bush on national security. Now, his own administration may have handed opponents an issue. At his cabinet meeting today, President Bush again defended allowing an Arab company to control terminals at ports in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. He called Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates,"a valuable partner" in the war on terror. But Republican leaders in Congress, right-wing talk r ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Dubai Ports Deal: Politics and National Security Democrats have dreamed about a chance to outflank President Bush on national security. Now, his own administration may have handed opponents an issue. At his cabinet meeting today, President Bush again defended allowing an Arab company to control terminals at ports in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. He called Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, "a valuable partner" in the war on terror. But Republican leaders in Congress, right-wing talk ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bird Flu, the Next World Pandemic? Bird flu is turning up all over the world--in birds. So far, the only humans affected are those in immediate contact with birds, but the virus is deadly. Of 170 humans that have been sickened by bird flu, 92 have died. But the spread of the virus in birds--from Asia to Africa and to Europe--has led to fears that it could mutate so it could pass from human to human, which could lead to an outbreak worldwide. Researchers simply don't know if bird flu will do that or just disappear. What t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bird Flu, the Next World Pandemic? Bird flu is turning up all over the world--in birds. So far, the only humans affected are those in immediate contact with birds, but the virus is deadly. Of 170 humans that have been sickened by bird flu, 92 have died. But the spread of the virus in birds--from Asia to Africa and to Europe--has led to fears that it could mutate so it could pass from human to human, which could lead to an outbreak worldwide. Researchers simply don't know if bird flu will do that or just disappear. What t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Has Guant--namo BayOutlived Its Usefulness? The treatment of prisoners at Guant--namo Bay"was clearly abusive" and"contrary to everything we were ever taught about American values." That comes not from a human rights group but the recently retired General Counsel for the United States Navy. President Bush has said repeatedly that the US does not"torture" so-called"enemy combatants" in the war on terror, but Alberto Mora, a Bush appointee, says there's no moral or practical distinction between Pentago ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Greenland's Glaciers Melting Fast Another alarm about Global Warming came with last week's report that glaciers in Greenland are melting faster than ever. Skeptics already are raising questions, adding that air and water pollution are much more immediate threats than rising sea levels. Some scientists claim that Earth is reaching a"tipping point," beyond which no conceivable effort will make a difference. Others say human beings will adapt to whatever happens. In the meantime, why not launch a satellite that cou ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Has Guant--namo Bay Outlived Its Usefulness? The treatment of prisoners at Guant--namo Bay"was clearly abusive" and"contrary to everything we were ever taught about American values." That comes not from a human rights group but the recently retired General Counsel for the United States Navy. President Bush has said repeatedly that the US does not"torture" so-called"enemy combatants" in the war on terror, but Alberto Mora, a Bush appointee, says there's no moral or practical distinction between Pentago ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Greenland's Glaciers Melting Fast Greenland's glaciers are melting into the oceans three times faster than they were ten years ago. Is global warming reaching a tipping point? Monday, on To the Point, can human efforts slow the rate of climate change... before it's too late? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Does Vice President Dick Cheney Have Too Much Power? Five days after last weekend's shooting accident in Texas, President Bush said Vice President Cheney's handling of it was"just fine" with him. But during the interim, it appeared there was growing tension between their staffs. Today, Cheney spoke out about it again during a speech in Wyoming. Outside the White House, even Republicans are asking if Cheney's unprecedented power and independence is damaging to the President. Has Cheney become a sort of"co-president" whose penc ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Does Vice President Dick Cheney Have Too Much Power? Five days after last weekend's shooting accident in Texas, President Bush said Vice President Cheney's handling of it was "just fine" with him. But during the interim, it appeared there was growing tension between their staffs. Today, Cheney spoke out about it again during a speech in Wyoming. Outside the White House, even Republicans are asking if Cheney's unprecedented power and independence is damaging to the President. Has Cheney become a sort of "co-president" whose pe ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Starving Out Hamas On Saturday, the newly elected Palestinian parliament will be sworn in, with Hamas in the majority for the first time. Hamas will not renounce violence or recognize the right of Israel to exist. So Israel plans to freeze $50 million a month in taxes and customs duties, money the Palestinian Authority needs to pay 140,000 employees, who support a third of the population. The US and Europe regard Hamas as a terrorist organization, which means a large portion of their aid to the Palestinians w ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Federal Response to Katrina Called'National Disgrace' Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff got a grilling today from Senators of both parties. Why did disaster workers run around"like Keystone cops" in response to Hurricane Katrina? At the same time, a committee of House Republicans called the federal response"a national disgrace." Even the Bush White House is said to be preparing a scathing report on the federal response to Katrina. There's a lot of tough talk on Capitol Hill, but will multiple, ongoing investigatio ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Starving Out Hamas On Saturday, the newly elected Palestinian parliament will be sworn in, with Hamas in the majority for the first time. Hamas will not renounce violence or recognize the right of Israel to exist. So Israel plans to freeze $50 million a month in taxes and customs duties, money the Palestinian Authority needs to pay 140,000 employees, who support a third of the population. The US and Europe regard Hamas as a terrorist organization, which means a large portion of their aid to the Palestinians w ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Unhappy Returns for American Veterans Medical advances and better armor mean that troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are surviving wounds that killed soldiers in previous wars, but many who have not been disabled physically are coming home with other problems. The Army's Surgeon General says 30% of veterans have mental health problems three or four months after coming home. Reservists and National Guard members often don't get their jobs back, and unemployment for the youngest veterans is triple the national average. Senators of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Federal Response to Katrina Called'National Disgrace' Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff got a grilling today from Senators of both parties. Why did disaster workers run around"like Keystone cops" in response to Hurricane Katrina? At the same time, a committee of House Republicans called the federal response"a national disgrace." Even the Bush White House is said to be preparing a scathing report on the federal response to Katrina. There's a lot of tough talk on Capitol Hill, but will multiple, ongoing investigatio ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Internet: Public Trust or Center for Private Profit? Telephone companies and cable operators, which invest billions in the electronic hardware that brings the Internet to consumers, want to change the way customers pay for that access. Instead of the current flat fees, they want different users to pay different amounts, according to how much they go on line and how fast they get service. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and eBay are among the Internet providers who claim that means corporate censorship of the marketplace of ideas. Consumer groups to ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Internet: Public Trust or Center for Private Profit? Telephone companies and cable operators, which invest billions in the electronic hardware that brings the Internet to consumers, want to change the way customers pay for that access. Instead of the current flat fees, they want different users to pay different amounts, according to how much they go on line and how fast they get service. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and eBay are among the Internet providers who claim that means corporate censorship of the marketplace of ideas. Consumer groups to ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Unhappy Returns for American Veterans Medical advances and better armor mean that troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are surviving wounds that killed soldiers in previous wars, but many who have not been disabled physically are coming home with other problems. The Army's Surgeon General says 30% of veterans have mental health problems three or four months after coming home. Reservists and National Guard members often don't get their jobs back, and unemployment for the youngest veterans is triple the national average. Senators of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative After the Soviet Union fired the first satellite into orbit, a crash program led the US to revolutionize science and technology. Now, among high school seniors in the world's top countries, the US ranks 16th in science and 19th in math. China, India--even South Korea and Singapore--are putting the US to shame, turning out highly skilled, innovative PhDs in science and engineering, pushing unfettered inquiry where the US once was unrivaled. President Bush says his Competitiveness Initiative ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative After the Soviet Union fired the first satellite into orbit, a crash program led the US to revolutionize science and technology. Now, among high school seniors in the world's top countries, the US ranks 16th in science and 19th in math. China, India--even South Korea and Singapore--are putting the US to shame, turning out highly skilled, innovative PhDs in science and engineering, pushing unfettered inquiry where the US once was unrivaled. President Bush says his Competitiveness Initiative ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Are America's Top Executives Paid Too Much Money? With business leaders on trial and in prison, there's growing concern about executive compensation. American CEO's get more than 300 times the pay of an average worker. Golden parachutes, stock options and free use of company jets are hidden away in proxy statements or not reported at all. Some pay packages encourage decisions that are good for top executives but bad for their companies. We talk to business reporters, legal experts, contract negotiators and union strategists about CEO dema ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Are America's Top Executives Paid Too Much Money? With business leaders on trial and in prison, there's growing concern about executive compensation. American CEO's get more than 300 times the pay of an average worker. Golden parachutes, stock options and free use of company jets are hidden away in proxy statements or not reported at all. Some pay packages encourage decisions that are good for top executives but bad for their companies. We talk to business reporters, legal experts, contract negotiators and union strategists about CEO dema ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bush's 2007 Budget: Guns and Butter in an Election Year The hundreds of billions of dollars involved in President Bush's latest budget are beyond the comprehension of most American taxpayers and most of the beneficiaries of federal programs. It proposes to cut domestic programs and increase defense spending, with still more money later on for Iraq and Afghanistan. The White House plan would also make tax cuts permanent and increase the deficit. Is defense spending driven by real security needs, the requirements of big corporations that live on f ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Domestic Spying: The Law and the Politics After Senators of both parties spent yesterday grilling the US Attorney General, even some Republicans say that President Bush is making an illegal power grab by claiming authority to wiretap Americans communicating with suspected terrorists overseas without a court order. Among them is Republican Committee Chair Arlen Spector, who said he was"not persuaded" by Alberto Gonzales. Democrats are treading carefully so as not to seem weak when it comes to the threat of terrorism on Ameri ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bush's 2007 Budget: Guns and Butter in an Election Year The hundreds of billions of dollars involved in President Bush's latest budget are beyond the comprehension of most American taxpayers and most of the beneficiaries of federal programs. It proposes to cut domestic programs and increase defense spending, with still more money later on for Iraq and Afghanistan. The White House plan would also make tax cuts permanent and increase the deficit. Is defense spending driven by real security needs, the requirements of big corporations that live on f ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Furor over Cartoons Mocking Prophet Mohammed Last September, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten challenged cartoonists to draw the Prophet Mohammed, claiming it wanted to test whether the artists would censor themselves due to fear of violence from radical Islamic immigrants. Islamic clerics then circulated the drawings in Muslim countries, reportedly adding cartoons that were much more offensive than the originals. In Europe itself, re-publication in the name of press freedom has sparked Islamic protests that, in turn, have provoke ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Domestic Spying: The Law and the Politics After Senators of both parties spent yesterday grilling the US Attorney General, even some Republicans say that President Bush is making an illegal power grab by claiming authority to wiretap Americans communicating with suspected terrorists overseas without a court order. Among them is Republican Committee Chair Arlen Spector, who said he was "not persuaded" by Alberto Gonzales. Democrats are treading carefully so as not to seem weak when it comes to the threat of terrorism on Amer ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Furor over Cartoons Mocking Prophet Mohammed Last September, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten challenged cartoonists to draw the Prophet Mohammed, claiming it wanted to test whether the artists would censor themselves due to fear of violence from radical Islamic immigrants. Islamic clerics then circulated the drawings in Muslim countries, reportedly adding cartoons that were much more offensive than the originals. In Europe itself, re-publication in the name of press freedom has sparked Islamic protests that, in turn, have provoke ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is the US'Winning'the War in Iraq? President Bush said Tuesday night, there's"a clear plan for victory" in Iraq and that"we are winning." He said,"The road of victory is the road that will take our troops home," but he did not say just what he meant by"winning." Today's Washington Post editorializes that his"actions... do not match the rhetoric," and that if the troops come home too soon they"will have lost." We get different views of what"winning" might look like and ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The State of the Union in an Election Year White House speechwriters reportedly worked on 30 drafts before completing last night's State of the Union address. President Bush spoke in the aftermath of the bungled response to Katrina, the failure to reform Social Security and the mess in Iraq. By comparison to his past State of the Union addresses, this one contained modest proposals. His statement that"America is addicted to oil" got a lot of the headlines, but there was little detail about getting off the petroleum economy ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is the US 'Winning' the War in Iraq? President Bush said Tuesday night, there's "a clear plan for victory" in Iraq and that "we are winning." He said, "The road of victory is the road that will take our troops home," but he did not say just what he meant by "winning." Today's Washington Post editorializes that his "actions... do not match the rhetoric," and that if the troops come home too soon they "will have lost." We get different views of what "winning" might look li ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The State of the Union in an Election Year White House speechwriters reportedly worked on 30 drafts before completing last night's State of the Union address. President Bush spoke in the aftermath of the bungled response to Katrina, the failure to reform Social Security and the mess in Iraq. By comparison to his past State of the Union addresses, this one contained modest proposals. His statement that "America is addicted to oil" got a lot of the headlines, but there was little detail about getting off the petroleum econom ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What's Up with the Democrats? Judge Samuel Alito was confirmed today to the US Supreme Court, and tonight President Bush gets the bully pulpit for his State of the Union address. For Democrats, the President's many weaknesses provide a moment of opportunity, but the Alito nomination showed how divided they are. Some call today's failed filibuster a good idea. Others say it'll hurt Democrats in Red states. Angry liberals are asking why a conservative Virginian was picked to respond to President Bush. We hear about the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website President Bush and the State of America's Healthcare Since President and Hillary Clinton's ill-fated proposals in 1993, the cost of healthcare has doubled and more people than ever have no health insurance at all. In tomorrow's State of the Union Address, President Bush is expected to propose a plan derived from his ideas about ---an ownership society,--- like last year's Social Security reform. As always, the devil is in the details. Health Savings Accounts would shift the costs of medical care from corporate employers to patients themselv ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What's Up with the Democrats? Judge Samuel Alito was confirmed today to the US Supreme Court, and tonight President Bush gets the bully pulpit for his State of the Union address. For Democrats, the President's many weaknesses provide a moment of opportunity, but the Alito nomination showed how divided they are. Some call today's failed filibuster a good idea. Others say it'll hurt Democrats in Red states. Angry liberals are asking why a conservative Virginian was picked to respond to President Bush. We hear about the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Six-Party Talks Resume In the year since disarmament talks were suspended, North Korea claims that it's been constructing more nuclear weapons. As China, Japan, South Korea and Russia all prepare to resume six-nation discussions tomorrow in Beijing, the US has publicly acknowledged bi-lateral consultations with North Korea. While that's what Pyongyang has long demanded, the US official in charge says they were"just trying to get acquainted." If the talks fail, how dangerous might North Korea become? We ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website More London Bombings as Congress Debates the Patriot Act London today experienced what police call"attempted" bombings with eerie similarities to those of two weeks ago, but this time, there were no deaths and only a single injury. As police investigate possible links, Prime Minister Blair is urging Londoners to get on with their lives. Today's incident comes just as the Congress considering possible amendments to the Patriot Act, passed just 45 days after September 11, with"sunset" provision that will go out of effect unless the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Dis-organization of American Labor Yesterday, the AFL-CIO consisted of 56 unions. Today, as the organization continues it 50th birthday celebration in Chicago, the Teamsters and the Service Employees International have taken away some 25 percent of the AFL-CIO-s working members and a lot of its budget, creating the biggest split in the labor movement since the Depression. Other unions may follow. Is this week-s split about principle or personality and money? Can the dissenting unions re-start the organized labor movement ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Energy Bill and America's Future Congress has passed the energy bill. If the Senate does too, President Bush says he-ll sign. It-s a massive piece of legislation, but what ordinary Americans are likely to see is an extension of daylight savings time. While Republican leaders call it a -great first major step- toward energy independence, even supporters concede the bill won-t cut gasoline prices or reduce dependence on foreign oil. It bypasses global climate change altogether. Is it a blueprint for a safer America or a mi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Super Human? When he won his seventh consecutive Tour de France on Sunday, he was called a freak of nature, able to use oxygen more efficiently than any other human being. Geneticists, neuroscientists and other specialists are working on innovations that could make any of us into a Lance Armstrong. From robots that will enter our bloodstream to devour cancer cells and near-infrared wavelengths that will heal a soldier's wound right on the battlefield to a pill that could improve a child's SAT score by 2 ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website London Bombings, Transit Safety and International Terror British police killed a man in a London subway today and released closed-circuit TV pictures of four suspects in yesterday's aborted bombings. President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair have insisted that terrorists are motivated not by their policies, but by an ideology of hatred against the western lifestyle and values. Though the Independent says senior ministers have dismissed the Iraq connection by disparaging their critics, the London paper now says that"an authoritative report ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Terrorism, Shoot-to-Kill and America's Local Police After transit attacks in London, terrorism is considered inevitable in the United States, with the burden falling on local police. That means 18,000 separate departments with little specialized training and no access to the centralized intelligence said to be"key" to preventing attacks. Is it really possible to stop a determined suicide bomber? Will ethnic profiling antagonize moderate Muslims at the time they're most needed in the fight against Islamic extremists? We hear about c ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website President Bush and the State of America's Healthcare Since President and Hillary Clinton's ill-fated proposals in 1993, the cost of healthcare has doubled and more people than ever have no health insurance at all. In tomorrow's State of the Union Address, President Bush is expected to propose a plan derived from his ideas about ---an ownership society,--- like last year's Social Security reform. As always, the devil is in the details. Health Savings Accounts would shift the costs of medical care from corporate employers to patients themselv ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hamas Victory, a New Political Reality in the Middle East In Gaza today, angry demonstrators blamed President Mahmoud Abbas for his Fatah Party's stunning defeat in Palestinian elections. In the West Bank, Abbas himself asked the winning Hamas to form a new government. The stunning victory of the militant group has set off blame-games in both Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and has become the major issue in Israel's election campaign. Will the burdens of governance force Hamas to abandon violence and accept Israel's right to exist? Will ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hamas Victory, a New Political Reality in the Middle East In Gaza today, angry demonstrators blamed President Mahmoud Abbas for his Fatah Party's stunning defeat in Palestinian elections. In the West Bank, Abbas himself asked the winning Hamas to form a new government. The stunning victory of the militant group has set off blame-games in both Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and has become the major issue in Israel's election campaign. Will the burdens of governance force Hamas to abandon violence and accept Israel's right to exist? Will ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Political Thunderbolt: Hamas Wins Palestinian Elections After decades in power, the late Yasser Arafat's Fatah party has been ousted by Palestinian voters. Hamas, dedicated to the destruction of Israel, will now form a new government. Hamas won 76 of 132 seats in parliament; Fatah, the losing party of President Mahmoud Abbas, won just 43. At the White House today, President Bush called it"healthy" evidence of democracy in the Middle East, but said the US will not deal with an armed political group that advocates violence. Is Hamas pr ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Hunt for Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden's been heard from again, sounding weak and unhealthy after four years on the run and the loss of top-level supporters, but students of al Qaeda say word that he's still alive could inspire other terrorists to carry out threats he can't make good on himself. After meeting yesterday with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, President Bush said he'll visit Pakistan in March. Bush has said nothing in public about the recent air strikes that killed 13 Pakistani civilians, but not their ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Do Ford and Other US Auto Manufacturers Have a Future? The Ford Motor Company is following General Motors with factory closings and brutal cutbacks in North American operations. Henry Ford invented assembly-line mass-production and paid his workers enough that they could buy the cars they were making. Now great-grandson Bill is laying off some 30,000 North American workers, because the cars they produce aren't selling. While the CEO says he plans to fight Toyota and win, skeptics say he's not confronting the real cost of union labor, and that ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Do Ford and Other US Auto Manufacturers Have a Future? The Ford Motor Company is following General Motors with factory closings and brutal cutbacks in North American operations. Henry Ford invented assembly-line mass-production and paid his workers enough that they could buy the cars they were making. Now great-grandson Bill is laying off some 30,000 North American workers, because the cars they produce aren't selling. While the CEO says he plans to fight Toyota and win, skeptics say he's not confronting the real cost of union labor, and that ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Hunt for Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden's been heard from again, sounding weak and unhealthy after four years on the run and the loss of top-level supporters, but students of al Qaeda say word that he's still alive could inspire other terrorists to carry out threats he can't make good on himself. After meeting yesterday with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, President Bush said he'll visit Pakistan in March. Bush has said nothing in public about the recent air strikes that killed 13 Pakistani civilians, but not their ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Search No Evil: The Bush DOJ, Internet Porn and Google The Bush Justice Department has subpoenaed four Internet search giants for information on what users search for on the web. Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL have all complied, but Google has refused to supply information about millions of search queries by its users. While the government says it's trying to protect children from the booming business of online pornography, privacy advocates worry that the request may set a precedent for more invasive Big Brother-type demands. Just how private is t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Search No Evil: The Bush DOJ, Internet Porn and Google The Bush Justice Department has subpoenaed four Internet search giants for information on what users search for on the web. Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL have all complied, but Google has refused to supply information about millions of search queries by its users. While the government says it's trying to protect children from the booming business of online pornography, privacy advocates worry that the request may set a precedent for more invasive Big Brother-type demands. Just how private is t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What Happens When Women Take Power? Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria has written that"one of the quiet, unreported tidal waves of the past decade is the rise of women in public life." The past few weeks have seen the first women heads of state in Africa and South America and the first woman Chancellor of Germany. Iraq's new parliament will be 25% female. In 1990, Mary Robinson became the first female President of Ireland. For the next seven years, she increased the profile ofan office with limited powers. In 1997, she was ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lobbying: Will Congress Reform Itself? Today's Wall Street Journal editorializes that both Democrat and Republican lobby reforms of the practices that produced the Jack Abramoff scandal and brought down Tom DeLay are"hilariously predictable." Others agree, partly because the reforms would limit what lobbyists do, rather than members of Congress themselves. What about"earmarking" money on behalf of special interests? Does refusal to deal with campaign financing create a major loophole? We look at proposals from ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What Happens When Women Take Power? Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria has written that "one of the quiet, unreported tidal waves of the past decade is the rise of women in public life." The past few weeks have seen the first women heads of state in Africa and South America and the first woman Chancellor of Germany. Iraq's new parliament will be 25% female. In 1990, Mary Robinson became the first female President of Ireland. For the next seven years, she increased the profile of an office with limited powers. In 1997, she wa ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iran, Diplomacy and the Military Option Iran is adamant about research that could lead to nuclear weapons, so Western Europe is no longer playing"good cop" to America's"bad cop." In just two weeks, the International Atomic Energy Agency's policy board will meet to decide if Iran should be referred to the UN Security Council. Israel is the latest nation asking Russia to approve in advance a package of sanctions if Iran continues the research program that could lead to nuclear weapons. Even if Russia and China go ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Brave New World of Nanotechnology Nanotechnology means manipulating atoms to make things that are a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Most Americans may never have heard of it, but it's already an important part of many consumer products. Cosmetics, stain-resistant fabrics, golf balls and computers all contain these manufactured components that are invisible to the human eye. Medical cures and pollution controls could be next, producing a one trillion-dollar industry by 2015--unless some unexpected ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iran, Diplomacy and the Military Option Iran is adamant about research that could lead to nuclear weapons, so Western Europe is no longer playing"good cop" to America's"bad cop." In just two weeks, the International Atomic Energy Agency's policy board will meet to decide if Iran should be referred to the UN Security Council. Israel is the latest nation asking Russia to approve in advance a package of sanctions if Iran continues the research program that could lead to nuclear weapons. Even if Russia and China go ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Brave New World of Nanotechnology Nanotechnology means manipulating atoms to make things that are a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Most Americans may never have heard of it, but it's already an important part of many consumer products. Cosmetics, stain-resistant fabrics, golf balls and computers all contain these manufactured components that are invisible to the human eye. Medical cures and pollution controls could be next, producing a one trillion-dollar industry by 2015--unless some unexpected ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Future of Stem Cell Research, The Aftermath of Outright Fraud Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk really did clone Snuppy the puppy, but his claim of creating stem cells from human patients turned out to be faked. His admission of fraud cast doubt on predictions that stem cell research might lead to treatments or cures of human diseases. It's also cast doubt on the credibility of Science magazine, which published his claim. America's Catholic Bishops are among those now ridiculing stem cell research itself as the chasing of"miracle cures" for the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Future of Stem Cell Research, The Aftermath of Outright Fraud Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk really did clone Snuppy the puppy, but his claim of creating stem cells from human patients turned out to be faked. His admission of fraud cast doubt on predictions that stem cell research might lead to treatments or cures of human diseases. It's also cast doubt on the credibility of Science magazine, which published his claim. America's Catholic Bishops are among those now ridiculing stem cell research itself as the chasing of"miracle cures" for the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blueprint for Rebuilding New Orleans Unveiled President Bush said yesterday that New Orleans is making progress, but ignored angry protests over the city's latest plans for renewal. Mayor Ray Nagin's Commission to Bring New Orleans Back would give residents four months to prove they can rebuild devastated neighborhoods--or lose their property. The New Orleans Times Picayune says"the most controversial question [is] whether the city's footprint should be made smaller to reflect a population expected to reach only half its pre-Katrin ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blueprint for Rebuilding New Orleans Unveiled President Bush said yesterday that New Orleans is making progress, but ignored angry protests over the city's latest plans for renewal. Mayor Ray Nagin's Commission to Bring New Orleans Back would give residents four months to prove they can rebuild devastated neighborhoods--or lose their property. The New Orleans Times Picayune says"the most controversial question [is] whether the city's footprint should be made smaller to reflect a population expected to reach only half its pre-Katrin ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Presidential Power in Wartime In today's final round of questions, Senate Democrats pressed Judge Samuel Alito about presidential power, especially in wartime. Torture, domestic spying and the war in Iraq itself raise constitutional issues that could find their way to the US Supreme Court. One issue that hasn't been raised--but which has become part of the public debate--is the power to declare war itself. Does the Constitution really mean that only Congress can declare war or can the President do what he wants to pro ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reporters, Sources and Confidentiality Weeks after Judith Miller got out of prison, the argument over confidential news sources continues on Capitol Hill. Such sources provide reporters with information only if they're promised they won't be identified. Though in 1972 the US Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment does not protect anonymity in federal cases, prosecutors have been reluctant to pursue reporters unless there's no other way to obtain information they need. Now, prosecutors and judges all over the country are de ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Presidential Power in Wartime In today's final round of questions, Senate Democrats pressed Judge Samuel Alito about presidential power, especially in wartime. Torture, domestic spying and the war in Iraq itself raise constitutional issues that could find their way to the US Supreme Court. One issue that hasn't been raised--but which has become part of the public debate--is the power to declare war itself. Does the Constitution really mean that only Congress can declare war or can the President do what he wants to pro ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Changing the Rules on Washington Lobbying A Washington firm has shut down its lobbying operation due to press reports about its ties to Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff. Under indictment in Texas, DeLay's given up his post as House Majority Leader, and Abramoff's talking to the FBI, but House Speaker Dennis Hastert still is promising major reform. Has the growth of government, combined with human nature, made corruption inevitable? Reformers say it's time to abandon that cynical view and get on with the job of cleaning up Capitol Hil ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reporters, Sources and Confidentiality Weeks after Judith Miller got out of prison, the argument over confidential news sources continues on Capitol Hill. Such sources provide reporters with information only if they're promised they won't be identified. Though in 1972 the US Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment does not protect anonymity in federal cases, prosecutors have been reluctant to pursue reporters unless there's no other way to obtain information they need. Now, prosecutors and judges all over the country are de ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Changing the Rules on Washington Lobbying A Washington firm has shut down its lobbying operation due to press reports about its ties to Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff. Under indictment in Texas, DeLay's given up his post as House Majority Leader, and Abramoff's talking to the FBI, but House Speaker Dennis Hastert still is promising major reform. Has the growth of government, combined with human nature, made corruption inevitable? Reformers say it's time to abandon that cynical view and get on with the job of cleaning up Capitol Hil ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Israel and the Middle East after Ariel Sharon Despite three brain surgeries in less than a week, Ariel Sharon shows signs of life. He is able to breathe on his own and has responded to pain tests, but his own surgeon says he will not return as Prime Minister of Israel. It will take days to awaken him from an induced coma and doctors will then pass their assessmentsto Attorney General Meni Mazuz. Until Sharon is finally declared incapacitated, his chair will be left empty at cabinet meetings as it was yesterday with Ehud Olmert presid ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Israel and the Middle East after Ariel Sharon Despite three brain surgeries in less than a week, Ariel Sharon shows signs of life. He is able to breathe on his own and has responded to pain tests, but his own surgeon says he will not return as Prime Minister of Israel. It will take days to awaken him from an induced coma and doctors will then pass their assessments to Attorney General Meni Mazuz. Until Sharon is finally declared incapacitated, his chair will be left empty at cabinet meetings as it was yesterday with Ehud Olmert presi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Judging US Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito President Bush's latest nominee is a mainstream conservative to supporters, but liberal opponents call him a dangerous ideologue way to the right of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The American Bar Association, no special friend of the Bush White House, gives Alito its highest recommendation, but his opponents say their concerns go all the way back to his application for work in the Justice Department of President Ronald Reagan. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin i ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Judging US Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito President Bush's latest nominee is a mainstream conservative to supporters, but liberal opponents call him a dangerous ideologue way to the right of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The American Bar Association, no special friend of the Bush White House, gives Alito its highest recommendation, but his opponents say their concerns go all the way back to his application for work in the Justice Department of President Ronald Reagan. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin i ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Abramoff, Washington Lobbyists and the Business of Government The Jack Abramoff scandal has exposed how the growth of lobbying has made Washington a profit center for American corporations. Some $2 billion to $6 billion a year are being spent on influence peddling, which means opportunities for both legal profit-making and widespread corruption. Do ordinary citizens have a chance of being heard by their elected officials? What does it mean for America's role as a model democracy? We speak with lobbyists and others about how the system works, how it ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Abramoff, Washington Lobbyists and the Business of Government The Jack Abramoff scandal has exposed how the growth of lobbying has made Washington a profit center for American corporations. Some $2 billion to $6 billion a year are being spent on influence peddling, which means opportunities for both legal profit-making and widespread corruption. Do ordinary citizens have a chance of being heard by their elected officials? What does it mean for America's role as a model democracy? We speak with lobbyists and others about how the system works, how it ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Change in Strategy at the Department of Homeland Security Columbus, Ohio, used homeland security money on body armor for firehouse dogs. Newark, New Jersey air conditioned its garbage trucks. The State of Wyoming and North Pole, Alaska--which got $500,000 to protect just 1700 people, get more per capita to prepare for terrorism than New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Now, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says funds to fight terrorism aren't"party favors to be distributed as widely as possible," asserting that"tough choices ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will the New Year Bring a New Reality to Iraq? The final election results might not be official for two weeks, but Iraqi politicians already are making deals as they work to form a new government. One Sunni group is bargaining with Shiites and Kurds, cutting out other Sunnis and America's secular favorite, Iyad Allawi. Meantime, current Iraqi officials say a US air strike killed 12 family members, including two children. Is this the recipe for a stable democracy or a prelude to civil war? Will Iraq's neighbors begin to get in on the a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Change in Strategy at the Department of Homeland Security Columbus, Ohio, used homeland security money on body armor for firehouse dogs. Newark, New Jersey air conditioned its garbage trucks. The State of Wyoming and North Pole, Alaska--which got $500,000 to protect just 1700 people, get more per capita to prepare for terrorism than New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Now, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says funds to fight terrorism aren't "party favors to be distributed as widely as possible," asserting that "tough choic ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will the New Year Bring a New Reality to Iraq? The final election results might not be official for two weeks, but Iraqi politicians already are making deals as they work to form a new government. One Sunni group is bargaining with Shiites and Kurds, cutting out other Sunnis and America's secular favorite, Iyad Allawi. Meantime, current Iraqi officials say a US air strike killed 12 family members, including two children. Is this the recipe for a stable democracy or a prelude to civil war? Will Iraq's neighbors begin to get in on the a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website America's Energy Future Makes for Strange Bedfellows Despite Republican and Democrats'claims to"do something," the price of gasoline is by no means under control and the jury's still out on this year's energy bill. Meantime, two unlikely allies are pushing for cars they claim could get 500 miles to the gallon--with available technology and alternative fuels. Environmentalists want to clean up the air. Hawks and neo-cons say dependence on fossil fuels is a threat to security. Would the technology really work? Would it require mo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Movies Get Political From the battle between Joseph McCarthy and Edward R. Murrow, to terrorism and oil in the Middle East, the recent films coming out of Hollywood seem like a throwback to the days of the politically charged Network and China Syndrome. Just a year or two ago, Good Night and Good Luck or Syriana might have been called un-American. Not today. Steven Spielberg's Munich, which opened just a week ago, has already prompted an outpouring of reactions to its tale of Israeli revenge against terrorists ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website America's Energy Future Makes for Strange Bedfellows Despite Republican and Democrats' claims to "do something," the price of gasoline is by no means under control and the jury's still out on this year's energy bill. Meantime, two unlikely allies are pushing for cars they claim could get 500 miles to the gallon--with available technology and alternative fuels. Environmentalists want to clean up the air. Hawks and neo-cons say dependence on fossil fuels is a threat to security. Would the technology really work? Would it require ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hollywood's Summer of Discontent Hollywood's dismal box office has been widely reported this summer, but there's a vast range of differing explanations. Edward Jay Epstein's new book, The Big Picture, contains some stunning statistics. In 1948, 90 million Americas, or 65 percent of the population went to the movies. Last year, the number was down to 30 million or 10 percent. Whatever the reason, 73 percent of respondents in one poll said they'd rather watch movies at home. Is it home-entertainment centers, economic unce ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Shuttle Trouble Space-walking astronauts replaced a gyroscope on the International Space Station today, while NASA was trying to determine if trying to fix Shuttle Discovery would make its re-entry into the atmosphere safer or riskier still. Meantime, despite 2 1/2 years and $100 million, NASA admits that it launched Discovery without solving the foam-tile problem that led to the Columbia disaster 30 months ago. Has the Shuttle program outlived its usefulness? Are its missions worth the risk? Would gro ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What Happened to the Atkins'Diet? Dr. Robert Atkins was a cardiologist who determined that low-fat foods with high carbohydrates led to obesity. By experimenting on himself and his patients, he found they could lose weight by cutting carbohydrates and getting protein from meat and other foods full of fat. Atkins'Diet Revolution sold 20 million copies in more than 20 languages, spawning an industry based on low-carb foods, but the craze has suddenly declined, so much that Atkins Nutritionals has declared bankruptcy. Why has ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website War of Terror Becomes Struggle against Global Extremism After September 11, President Bush said a"war on terror" would bring the nation together. Others in the Administration argued that"war" didn't fit the reality of the threat faced by America. Last week, at the National Press Club, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he never liked the idea of calling it"war" because"the long term problem is more diplomatic, more economic, more political than it is military." Richard Myers and other administration offi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Are Pharmaceutical Companies Selling Sickness? Millions of Americans are using a rising number of prescription drugs for conditions ranging from teenage shyness to menopause. In 1993, the average number of annual prescriptions per person was seven; in 2004, it was 12--and growing. Once, we were grateful for a prescription to soothe a migraine headache or extreme stomach flu. Now, our medicine cabinets are bulging with pills for everything from erectile dysfunction and menopause to insomnia, indigestion, high cholesterol, anxiety and r ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Movies Get Political From the battle between Joseph McCarthy and Edward R. Murrow, to terrorism and oil in the Middle East, the recent films coming out of Hollywood seem like a throwback to the days of the politically charged Network and China Syndrome. Just a year or two ago, Good Night and Good Luck or Syriana might have been called un-American. Not today. Steven Spielberg's Munich, which opened just a week ago, has already prompted an outpouring of reactions to its tale of Israeli revenge against terrorists ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Are Pharmaceutical Companies Selling Sickness? Millions of Americans are using a rising number of prescription drugs for conditions ranging from teenage shyness to menopause. In 1993, the average number of annual prescriptions per person was seven; in 2004, it was 12--and growing. Once, we were grateful for a prescription to soothe a migraine headache or extreme stomach flu. Now, our medicine cabinets are bulging with pills for everything from erectile dysfunction and menopause to insomnia, indigestion, high cholesterol, anxiety and r ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Video Games: Innovative or Addictive Entertainment? From video gaming to hand-held computers, we have become a nation of addicts to small-screen games, Internet browsing, and email messages. Video games are the fastest growing segment of the entertainment industry with an estimated 50% of Americans playing, both on-line and on consoles in our homes. Some 74% of those players state they would rather play video games than watch television. How is the video age affecting today's youth? While there are advantages to time spent on computers, the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Video Games: Innovative or Addictive Entertainment? From video gaming to hand-held computers, we have become a nation of addicts to small-screen games, Internet browsing, and email messages. Video games are the fastest growing segment of the entertainment industry with an estimated 50% of Americans playing, both on-line and on consoles in our homes. Some 74% of those players state they would rather play video games than watch television. How is the video age affecting today's youth? While there are advantages to time spent on computers, the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Presidential Power Reaching an Unchecked Status? As details emerge on President Bush's order for warrantless eavesdropping on overseas telephone calls and emails of US citizens with suspected ties to terrorism, the level of current presidential power comes increasingly under scrutiny. The President reminds that we are at war, one in which the intelligence measures at issue are fair game. His administration maintains that it needs the freedom to make quick decisions in navigating the post-September 11 anti-terrorism landscape. Meantime, ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Intelligent Design, Evolution and American Politics Asked about Darwin's theory, President Bush has said that"both sides ought to be properly taught." The question is both sides of what? More than 100 years of experimentation and observation have convinced mainstream scientists that evolution is a proven theory. The US Supreme Court has outlawed teaching Creationism as an alternative in public schools, because it's religion, not science, and since we first broadcast this program, a federal judge said the same thing about"intell ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Presidential Power Reaching an Unchecked Status? As details emerge on President Bush's order for warrantless eavesdropping on overseas telephone calls and emails of US citizens with suspected ties to terrorism, the level of current presidential power comes increasingly under scrutiny. The President reminds that we are at war, one in which the intelligence measures at issue are fair game. His administration maintains that it needs the freedom to make quick decisions in navigating the post-September 11 anti-terrorism landscape. Meantime, ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Intelligent Design, Evolution and American Politics Asked about Darwin's theory, President Bush has said that "both sides ought to be properly taught." The question is both sides of what? More than 100 years of experimentation and observation have convinced mainstream scientists that evolution is a proven theory. The US Supreme Court has outlawed teaching Creationism as an alternative in public schools, because it's religion, not science, and since we first broadcast this program, a federal judge said the same thing about "inte ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Christian Values and the&quotWar&quot over Christmas Some conservative Christians and commentators on Fox News have claimed there's a"liberal plot" to de-Christianize Christmas. Stores such as Target, Sears, Lowe's, Office Max, Kmart, Staples, Home Depot and Kohl's that wish customers"Happy Holidays" have been criticized and even boycotted by the American Family Association, which released a bulletin asking its members"to let them know you are offended by their anti-Christian and anti-Christmas bias." Other Christians ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will Democracy Advance the Peace Process in the Middle East? There was more violence today in the Middle East. After three militants were killed by Israel, a Palestinian rocket was followed by Israeli artillery fire. Meantime, politics on both sides are increasingly complicated. In last week's local Palestinian elections, Hamas demonstrated its growing strength by winning in several cities, including Nablus, the biggest town in the West Bank. Next month, parliamentary elections are scheduled--the first since 1996--but the rise of Hamas has put them ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iran, Israel and the Atom Bomb In Vienna today, Iran met with Germany, France and Britain on the issue of Iran's intention to enrich uranium. It's the first such meeting since August, but nobody expects much progress, especially after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ridiculed the Holocaust and said Israel should be"wiped off the map." Was that a real threat? Was it international posturing or mainly for domestic consumption? How close is Iran to making a nuclear weapon? We talk about Iran's internal polit ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website End-of-Year National Politics: A Lame-duck President, a Divided Congress and 2006 ElectionsThe House has adjourned for the year, but the Senate is still wrestling with defense and budget bills loaded with partisan controversies, including the Artic National Wildlife Reserve, cuts in social programs and extending the Patriot Act. Some Republicans are defying the White House and Vice President Cheney's rushing home from his overseas trip in case he's needed to break a tie. What about the Patriot Act? Will voters be more ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Civil Liberties, National Security and Domestic Surveillance Democrats--and some Republicans--have called for investigation of whether the White House is violating the law and encroaching on civil liberties, but President Bush said today he'll continue to authorize wiretaps on some Americans without asking for court orders from FISA, the court established by the Foreign Intelligence Security Act. The President insists he's justified by the law, Congress, the Constitution and the demands of national security. Are civil rights being compromised? Did ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Post-Election Iraq and the Future of Iraqi Oil Long before September 11, and the Bush Administration's assertion that oil had nothing to do with the invasion that led to"regime change in Iraq," US policy makers were saying that Saddam Hussein's use of oil as a diplomatic weapon made that country a destabilizing influence to the flow of oil to the industrialized world. Controlled by American, French and British oil companies until they were nationalized in 1972, Iraq's oil reserves--still the second or third largest in the world ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Fight Escalates over Renewal of the Patriot Act A rare coalition of liberals and conservatives-including the ACLU, gun groups and tax watchdogs--may hold up reauthorization of the Patriot Act before Congress adjourns for the holidays. When the FBI failed to prevent September 11, Congress enacted what supporters call vital new intelligence tools for preventing terrorism. But there-s been bitter controversy over provisions that permit searches of library records and secret searches of homes and businesses, allowances opponents call unche ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Fight Escalates over Renewal of the Patriot Act A rare coalition of liberals and conservatives-including the ACLU, gun groups and tax watchdogs--may hold up reauthorization of the Patriot Act before Congress adjourns for the holidays. When the FBI failed to prevent September 11, Congress enacted what supporters call vital new intelligence tools for preventing terrorism. But there-s been bitter controversy over provisions that permit searches of library records and secret searches of homes and businesses, allowances opponents call unche ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website War and Peace and the Democratic Party: The Legacy of Eugene McCarthy As President Bush struggles to regain support for Iraq, many Americans are mourning the death this weekend of a former Senator who evokes memories of another unpopular war. Opposition to Vietnam by the late Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota made Lyndon Johnson vulnerable in 1968 and legitimized the anti-war movement, making it part of America's political history. As Democrats prepare for upcoming elections, where does the anti-war movement stand now? We talk with journalists, public policy ex ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iraq Gets Ready for Another Election Iraqis are getting a taste of American-style campaigning, with TV spots, wall posters and local political machines. Hospital patients, soldiers, prisoners and ex-patriots are already voting, but most Iraqis will go to the polls on Thursday. Despite threats of violence, the turnout is expected to be higher than ever with Sunnis participating this time and a lot at stake. Fourteen million voters will be able to choose among 7,000 candidates from 226 political groups that are competing for 275 ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Are Katrina Victims Forgotten Already? Our guest, James O-Byrne is Editor of the Living Section of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he-s been shaping news coverage of the recovery. He-s especially well qualified for that assignment- because he-s one of those who lost his own home.Making News: House Votes to Extend Tax BreaksDespite the increasing federal deficit, Congress yesterday completed the passage of 56 billion dollars in tax cuts - focusing on stock dividends and capital gains. That ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Are Federal Air Marshals Up to the Job? At Miami International Airport yesterday afternoon, American Airlines Flight 924 was still at the gate. Other passengers have told reporters that Rigoberto Alpizar ran down the aisle of airplane pursued by his wife, who was shouting, -he's sick, he's sick.- Confronted by two Air Marshals, Alpizar indicated he had a bomb. Instead of dropping to the ground as ordered, Alpzar reached into his bag. The marshals shot and killed him. Did Rigoberto Alpizar have to die? Are air marshals traine ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Defending Torture and Secret CIA Prisons As Condoleeza Rice tours Europe, debate about torture continues in Washington. Republican John McCain got 90 votes in the Senate for a blanket ban on"cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of prisoners. President Bush has threatened his first veto unless the CIA is exempt from that language. Our guest, Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist for The Weekly Standard magazine, has written that,"torture is a terrible and monstrous thing, as degrading and morally corrupting to t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website America Unprotected Eight billion dollars for homeland security with no guarantee that the nation is any safer. That-s the verdict of the former 911 Commission. Wyoming gets more money per capita than target-rich California, and Columbus, Ohio used federal funds to buy body armor for fire department dogs. The Commission empanelled to study September 11th, says the nation is ill-prepared for another attack by terrorists - which it calls inevitable. One Commission member is Tim Roemer, a former Democratic Cong ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website When is a Bribe Not a Bribe on Capitol Hill? California-s Republican Congressman Randy"Duke" Cunningham has pleaded guilty to taking 2.4 million dollars in bribes, including a Rolls Royce, a 7,000-dollar antique toilet and a yacht as his personal residence. Jerry Kammer, who writes for the Copley News Service in Washington, co-authored a story about"co-conspirator No. 1" in Cunningham-s bribery indictment is our guest on the topic. Bruce Bartlett worked for both the Reagan and first Bush Administrations. He-s now a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Olin Foundation Closes The John M. Olin Foundation is shutting its doors today after 35 years of financial support for conservative ideas and institutions. In its wake, groups like the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute are defining policy for the Bush Administration and Congress. How did conservative think tanks get to be so powerful? Have they advanced the financial goals of their funders as well as ideology? Can wealthy progressives adopt the same strategies and compete more effective ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Can President Bush Close the Credibility Gap on Iraq? Faced with dwindling public support, President Bush began a public relations offensive today to convince Americans he has a strategy for the war in Iraq. In a speech and a policy paper, the President emphasized the role of US troops in training Iraqi forces, but rejected any timetable for American troops to come home. What's the military reality on the ground in Iraq? What does the President mean by"victory" and how does he hope to achieve it? What's the political reality here at ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Disappearing Pension Plans In the past, Americans worked most of their adult life for one company. In retirement their earned pension repays that loyalty by taking care of retirees through old age. Today, the cold reality is that many of those pension agreements aren't worth the paper they're written on. Changes in bankruptcy laws have made it easier for companies from airlines to automakers to shed pension obligations, robbing employees of the power to sue a company to enforce retirement promises. Some bankruptcy ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Politics of Immigration Four years after September 11th, President Bush has returned to the issue of immigration reform. At the Mexican border with Texas today, he repeated his call for crack down--along with a so-called"guest worker" program. According to recent polls, the President-s call for action comes none too soon. Carrol Doherty is Associate Director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press joins us with her insight.Making News: Buying Influence: Congressman Cunningham's Confessio ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What Ever Happened to the Atkins Diet? The low-carb food fad is fading away--so fast that Atkins Nutritional, the company that spawned it, has filed for bankruptcy. Cardiologist Robert Atkins determined that patients could lose weight by cutting carbohydrates and getting protein from meat and other foods full of fat. His Diet Revolution sold 20 million copies in more than 20 languages. Why has confidence faded so fast in a diet that seemed to encourage indulgence rather than abstinence? Was the doctrine oversold or misrepresent ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website American Museums under Fire over Antiquities Gaze upon the artifacts of ancient Rome or Greece in any major American museum and you're likely to be looking at objects that may have been stolen. With rules on the acquisition of antiquities in constant flux from country to country and era to era, the confusion has led to criminal charges against one of the world's most respected antiquities curators. Marion True, formerly at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, is on trial in Rome for allegedly acquiring looted Italian antiquities. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Poverty in America on Thanksgiving Day "Parts of the United States are as poor as the Third World" according to a recent United Nations report on global inequality. Any doubts about poverty in America have been erased by the plight of New Orleans, where 30 percent lived below the official poverty line. Whatever happened to Lyndon Johnson's"War on Poverty?" Have massive government programs instituted by Democrats failed to deliver or have they been eviscerated by Republican cuts in taxes and spending? What does ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Firestorm of Debate over Iraq Withdrawal Since the US launched of the Iraq War, there have been opponents, from citizens on the street to leaders in Congress. But last week, when Pennsylvania's John Murtha, a Democrat who originally voted in favor of going to war, vehemently called for the withdrawal all troops within six months, he stirred a fresh firestorm of voices. While public opinion polls indicate that a growing number of people feel US presence in Iraq is fostering the escalation of insurgency fighting, supporters of Pres ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Have We Abandoned the Folks Devastated by Katrina? This Thanksgiving week we're just one week shy of the three-month mark since Hurricane Katrina tore along the Gulf Coast. The population of New Orleans has diminished from just under half a million on August 28, the day before the storm hit, to 75,000 residents. With night-time temperatures in the 30's, half are still without heat or sewage in a city with few resources to rebuild. Those temporarily living in hotels across the country at FEMA's expense, face a December 1 change in housing s ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is the Federal Government about to Sell off the West? Late last night, the Congress passed $50 billion in spending cuts with reluctant moderate Republicans providing a two-vote margin. Among other provisions is a scheme to increase revenue by selling off federal lands at cut-rate prices. The measure would lift a ban on what's called the"patenting" of federal land claimed for mining under a law that's been on the books since 1872, a change that would allow the land to be purchased for $1000 dollars an acre. But critics say it could be ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website President Bush Heads to China President Bush was talking tough today about North Korea and nuclear weapons, just one of the many issues he faces in Asia. The President advised Pyongyang that it will not get the light-water nuclear reactor it wants until after it gives up"nuclear weapons and programs." In Pusan, where Bush will talk about trade and bird flu, South Korean President No Moo-Hyun said there is no"fundamental disagreement" between the two countries. Then, it's on to the region's emerging sup ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Truth about Pre-War Intelligence Republicans in the Senate have challenged President Bush to report on his strategy for turning the Iraq conflict over to the Iraqis themselves and bringing American troops back home. Meantime, before leaving on his trip to Asia, the President struck back at his critics by accusing Democrats of rewriting history. These developments are taking place against the background of polls that show a majority of Americans believe they have been misled. As dispute continues over how the war began, wh ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is the Medicare Drug Benefit Too Much of a Good Thing? Until now, the 42 million elderly and disabled people on Medicare have been paying for their own prescription drugs or going without them. That burden is supposed to be relieved in January by the new Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, a plan the Bush Administration claims will cut drug costs for a typical beneficiary in half. But that's only if the beneficiary signs up, and there are at least 40 drug plans to choose from--all with different premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Despite t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Europe Losing its Christian Identity? In France, rioting continued for the 13th straight night, and the cabinet of President Jacques Chirac has asked Parliament to extend emergency rule for three months. We discuss how France is dealing with the angry children of immigrants. England is also addressing a similar measure of change. Church-going Christians may soon be outnumbered by observant Muslims. Our guests join Warren in a lively discussion on the issues.Making News: Condoleezza Rice in JerusalemSecretary of State Condol ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Veterans, Public Opinion, and the War in Iraq When US soldiers first went to Iraq, the war was popular with American civilians. Now public opinion is changing. Are US objectives still clear to the men and women who've been in combat? On Friday, Veterans'Day, we'll hear a range of views from returning soldiers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Terrorism in Jordan; Republican'Backlash Insurance' Segment #1: Suicide Bombers Cause Death and Destruction at Hotels in AmmanOn a website used by Islamic extremists, a message purporting to be from Al Qaeda in Iraq claims responsibility for the coordinated bombings of three hotels in Amman Jordan yesterday that left 57 dead and at least 102 wounded. Al Qaeda in Iraq is led by a Jordanian, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The government of Iraq says the attacks are a"wake-up call" for Jordanians who sympathize with supporters of Saddam Hussein ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Local Elections and National Trends In the aftermath of Republican big-time losses in yesterday's state-wide elections in Virginia, New Jersey and California, political pros are reading the results and the tea leaves. President Bush himself took a hit in Virginia. Democrats claim momentum is on their side for next year's Congressional show-downs. Republicans advocate forgetting the national message with the reminder that all politics is local. We talk about winners and losers and look for signs of political change. We exp ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fire and Violence Rage across France In Paris last night there was a lull in the violence, but elsewhere in France, more than a thousand vehicles were torched and 12 police officers were injured in the twelfth night of rioting. The French government has invoked new police powers in an attempt to quell the clashes that have produced the worst property damage since World War II. The children of black-African, Arab and Muslim immigrants say they're told they're French but are treated as outsiders--unaccepted and unemployed. Has ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Dick Cheney Losing His Clout? In Panama today, President Bush said, we"have an obligation to protect the American people" in the war on terror but,"we do not torture." This, despite Vice President Cheney's effort to exempt the CIA from a Senate resolution requiring US interrogators to stick to the Geneva Conventions. News reports say there is growing resistance to Cheney's stand from the State Department, the Pentagon and even the West Wing. Should the interrogators be free to use"any means necessa ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Congress Slashes and Burns After weeks of trial balloons floated and partisans getting first licks in about what should stay and what should go, the nuts and bolts process of budget cutting is underway. Today, the House of Representatives Budget Committee began work on its version of the federal budget. In a process ironically called"reconciliation," the honorable members are looking for savings totaling $50 billion over the next five years. Entitlement programs, the traditional targets of conservatives, ar ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Democrats Flex Their Muscles and Shut Down the Senate Democrats sent the Senate into secret session yesterday, enraging Republicans. But the parliamentary tactic worked, and the august body is resuming its delayed investigation into the intelligence failures in the run-up to the Iraq War. Majority Leader Bill Frist accused Minority Leader Harry Reid of"hijacking" the Senate. Is this a new phase in the way business is done in Washington? Was it a stunt as Republicans claimed, or a new strategy by the Democrats as public opinion turn ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will the US Supreme Court Take Another Right Turn? When he was nominated to an appellate court in 1990, Democrats praised Samuel Alito as an apolitical public servant and Senate confirmation was unanimous. That was then, this is now. Yesterday, when President Bush nominated him to the US Supreme Court, Judge Alito had amassed what Harriet Miers had not: more than 240 opinions, including 41 dissents, in issues ranging from civil and states'rights, gun control and abortion. Conservatives and liberals are ready to wage political warfare. How ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Libby Indictment President Bush has changed the subject in Washington, at least for the moment, by naming a new nominee to the US Supreme Court. Judge Samuel Alito has a 15-year appellate court record that is hailed by the right and denounced by the left as"extreme." Meantime, on Thursday, Lewis"Scooter" Libby will make his first appearance in a court proceeding that ultimately might feature testimony from Vice President Cheney. The indictment of a high-level White House aide is nothing ne ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website U.S. Policy in Latin America Apart from the war on drugs and financial crises, Latin American news rarely commands our headlines. But lately left-leaning, anti-American governments are proliferating throughout Latin America. For decades, the leader in socialist, anti-american dogma has been Cuba-s Fidel Castro. Venezuela-s President, a great friend of Castro-s, Hugo Chavez is quickly climbing the power ladder of our hemisphere, all the while angering the U.S. Government. Earlier this week, former Presidential candidate ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The War in Iraq and American Politics Camped down the road from the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a dead soldier is raising the profile of the anti-war movement. That's political trouble both for the President and his Democratic opponents. Despite an improved economy and bills on energy and transportation, the Bush approval ratings are sinking fast because of the war in Iraq, but anti-war Democrats are attacking their party's leaders for not trying to capitalize on the President's problems. We exa ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Labor Movement in Strife In July, the AFL-CIO gathered to celebrate its 50th birthday, only to see its two biggest unions go their own way. The organization was once 56 unions continues, minus 25 percent of its members and a big chunk of its budget. The Teamsters and Service Employees International Other unions may follow. Is this week's split about principle or personality and money? Can the dissenting unions re-start the organized labor movement or has it become irrelevant to the globalized economy? In this a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Alaskan Climate Change and Political Reality Alaska's melting permafrost and shrinking glaciers are concrete evidence that global warming is real. That's the conclusion of Hillary Clinton and John McCain, who are visiting Alaska this week with fellow Senators. Alaska's own Senators and its lone Congressman, who are not accompanying the delegation, say the human cause of global warming is still in doubt, and they're opposed to new regulations being proposed by their colleagues. What does it mean for the rest of the 49 states? We hear ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download |