Rip Currents

Authorities in New York have pulled another body from the sea off Coney Island. It’s feared the body may be that of a young girl swept out to sea over the weekend in a series of drownings blamed on dangerous rip currents. To understand what’s going on, we speak to Tom Daly, a longtime lifeguard on Long Beach in New York, and Chris Brewster, president of the United states Lifesaving Association.

Alimony

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Journalist Elizabeth Benedict says the alimony laws in Massachusetts need to be updated and changed. She says they put a heavy burden on second wives–who can sometimes end up footing the bill of their new husband’s former spouse. Sally Frank, attorney and law professor at Drake University, also joins us to discuss divorce law.

Monica Goodling

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Will there be any punishment at all for former Justice Department employee Monica Goodling? She is criticized in a new report this week for violating the law when she discriminated against job applicants who were not conservative or Republican. We speak with Carl Tobias, professor of law at the University of Richmond, in Virginia.

When Global Becomes Local

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Years ago, people who went to Harvard University’s weekly furniture give-away had a pretty good chance of walking away with a used – but perfectly decent – item for their home or office. These days, though, there’s some stiff competition for that old filing cabinet or experienced sofa: people taking items only to recycle them for scrap metal and profit. As Here and Now’s Hammad Ahmed explains, it’s because of a changing global economy and a declining dollar. And the result is leaving some bargain hunters frustrated.

The Shack

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William P. Young’s first novel The Shack has topped the paperback bestseller lists for weeks. The book tells the tale of Mack, whose daughter has been brutally abducted and murdered. When Mack is summoned to the shack where his daughter died, he gets to ask God how he could let this horrible thing happen.