Fact-Checking the Healthcare Debate

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Government figures indicate that the number of people without health insurance rose to 46.3 million last year as people began losing jobs. We check in with Angie Holan of Politifact.com about the current debate over reforming healthcare.

• Read full text of President Obama’s Speech

End of Life Directives and La Crosse, Wisconsin

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90% of the residents of La Crosse, Wisconsin have end of life directives. A hospital in town pushed to have a provision about end of life counselling included in healthcare reform legislation in Washington. We speak with Bob Hammes, director of medical humanities at Gundersen Lutheran Hospital.

• More on end of life care from the public radio documentary, “Quality of Death – End of Life Care: Inside  Out”

Middle East Envoy Heads to Israel

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President Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, is headed to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s plan to build new homes in the occupied territories will likely top the agenda. The BBC’s correspondent in Jerusalem, Tim Franks, joins us to talk about how this might affect the long running peace process.

9/11 Culture

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How have the tragic events of September 11th inspired artists? Jeffrey Melnick, associate professor of American Studies at Babson College, explains in his new book, “9/11 Culture,”  how 9/11 figures into the film “Chicken Little” and the TV show “Lost”.  According to Melnick, “Chicken Little” is the fullest expression of the post 9/11 father fantasy — a reassurance that fathers will be there for their children, even when the sky is falling.

Music from the show

• Peter Dixon, “Nagog Woods”
• Radiohead, “Morning Bell”
• The Lickets, “Meat City”
• Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
• Bruce Springsteen, “The Rising”
• Shelley Fabares, “Johnny Angel”
• Rage Against the Machine, “Killing in the Name”
• Jay Z and Punjabi MC, “Beware”
• Willie King, “Terrorized”