Bank Lending

Has the $200 billion that the federal government gave to hundreds of the nation’s banks actually increased lending as it was intended?  One of the biggest bailout recipients, Citigroup, is outlining plans today to lend $36.5 billion.  What does this mean for businesses and consumers?  We speak with Binyamin Appelbaum, financial reporter for The Washington Post.

Darwin at 200

Science writer David Quammen says Charles Darwin was an extremely cautious man who was burdened by a radical idea.  In an article in National Geographic, Quammen describes Darwin’s five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle and the radical idea that slowly emerged from the journey.

• Read another article on Darwin by Quammen in National Geographic.

Campaign Against Digital Dating Violence

Another new word has emerged from the digital revolution: “sexting,” or texting nude photos.  This  practice and others, including hacking into a boyfriend or girlfriend’s MySpace or Facebook account, and constantly texting a significant other to find out what he or she is doing, are all new, problematic behaviors  the Family Violence Prevention Fund calls “digital dating violence.”  We speak with Nick Law, chief creative officer of the digital advertising agency R/GA, that helped create the new “That’s Not Cool” campaign that aims to teach kids how to know when others have crossed a “digital line.”

Meals on Wheels

The Meals on Wheels program exists to help senior citizens who would not be able to provide for themselves.  We’re joined today by Sandy Centazzo, Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island executive director, who tells us that budget cuts have forced even stop-gap programs like hers to turn away people in need. 

Blindspot

This new novel is a sexy tale of passion and politics, along with a murder mystery.  It was written by two historians who combined their academic chops with the freedom of fiction to create what The New York Times calls an “entertaining re-creation of colonial America on the brink of the Revolution.” Here & Now’s Alex Ashlock spoke with the authors, Jill Lepore of Harvard and Jane Kamensky of Brandeis.