‘Af-Pak’ Strategy Reconsidered

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As the Obama Administration reportedly considers re-framing its war in Afghanistan to focus more on Al Qaeda in Pakistan, what is the debate in Pakistan about U.S. strategy and involvement? Our guest is Daniel Markey of the Council on Foreign Relations.

A Mother’s Uneasy Relationship with Son’s Online Gambling

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We speak to Lucy Ferriss, a writer and a mother, about her son’s fondness for gambling. He was a scholar athlete at college, but eventually dropped out to gamble full time. Ferriss tells her son’s story in the New York Times — is it an addiction? What happens when it becomes a career? Ferriss is a writer in resident at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. We also speak with Dr. Hilarie Cash, co-founder of the reStart Internet Addiction Recovery Program, which is a residential program for Internet and gaming addicts.  Dr. Cash is also co-author of the book “Video Games and Your Kids“, and co-founder of the consulting company, Internet/Computer Addiction Services.

New Japanese Cemetery: ‘Graveyard in the Sky’

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Traditional burial plots in Tokyo cost tens of thousands of dollars, so some people are turning to a new form of cemetery. The BBC’s Roland Buerk calls it a graveyard in the sky. It’s a building where the ashes of the dead are stored instead of being buried underground.

The Business of Climate Change

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We talk with Steve Melink, owner of the Melink Corporation in Milford, Ohio. He was one of more than 150 business executives who visited Capitol Hill this week to urge lawmakers to pass legislation that would put a federal cap on emissions that contribute to climate change. The lobbying blitz comes in the wake of a split among members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over the organization’s position on climate change.

Singer Neko Case

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Neko Case performing at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, 2007. (Flickr/Nancy)

We revisit our conversation with indie sensation Neko Case, whose sixth solo release is called “Middle Cyclone”. In it she uses extreme weather events, mistreated predators, and pianos she got for free on Craig’s List to construct songs about life and love. Case makes her first ever appearance on public radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion” this weekend.

Music from the show

• Peter Dixon, “Nagog Woods”
• Medeski, Martin and Woods, “Bloody Oil”
• Fred Hirsch, “Bloody Oil”
• Steely Dan, “Glamour Profession”