The Economy

President Bush says money is safe in the nation’s banks, but there are reports today that lists of troubled banks are circulating on Wall Street and in Washington. We speak to David Gaffen who covers Wall Street for the Wall Street Journal.

Brain Scientist’s Stroke Leads to Enlightenment

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Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained brain scientist whose fast-paced life came to a grinding halt when at the age of 37 she suffered a massive, near fatal stroke. The left side of her brain, that’s responsible for logic, ego and language went offline and she was left with a feeling of euphoria and enlightenment. She fully recovered over the course of 8 years, and she tells her story in the New York Times bestseller My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey.

Guantanamo Interrogation Tape

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A newly released tape gives the first glimpse of interrogations at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo bay. The tape shows a 16 year old Canadian detainee breaking down under questioning by Canadian agents, eventually sobbing and crying out, “Help me!” repeatedly. We’ll speak with Colin Freeze who’s been covering the story for The Toronto Globe and Mail.

When Satire Isn’t Funny – The New Yorker Cover

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We talk to author Ta-Nehisi Coates about the controversy stirred up by the New Yorker’s recent cover – a cartoon depicting Barack Obama as a Muslim and his wife as a terrorist. The New Yorker said it was satire, but the Obamas aren’t laughing. When does satire work and when doesn’t it?

Art Critics Out

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In the past year, 121 music, dance, film and book critics lost their jobs, as newspapers try to shore up their bottom line. We speak with Doug McLennan, editor of the arts journalism blog ArtsJournal.com. He says the future of professional art criticism might be online.