Listen
A new maximum security prison that sits largely unused in the small town of Thomson, Ill., might become the home of terrorism suspects from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center. Federal officials are inspecting the site today. We speak with Jerry Hebeler, president of the village of Thomson, who says the facility would bring jobs to the area. We also speak with Christi Parsons, Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.

China in Afghanistan

Listen
While the U.S. is battling the Taliban, a Chinese company is building a large mining operation in Afghanistan — and U.S. troops are protecting the Chinese workers. It’s the geopolitical future of Asia, says our guest, Robert Kaplan, in which China will benefit regardless of what happens to the U.S. in Afghanistan. Kaplan is a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a national correspondent for The Atlantic.

• Read Robert Kaplan’s op-ed in The Times: “Beijing’s Afghan Gamble”

‘Twilight’ Mania

Listen

Fans of the Twilight film series attend a UK fan party of the saga's latest film "New Moon" in London on Wednesday. (AP)

“New Moon,” the next film in the vampire love series “Twilight,” opens on Nov. 20, and advance sales have been huge around the country. But as the BBC’s Madeleine Morris reports, the love of “Twilight” isn’t just an American phenomenon: Britain and the rest of the world are mad for the books as well.

‘Don’t Be Creepy’

Listen
Google’s corporate philosophy is “Don’t be evil,” but, recently, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the company is being careful that it doesn’t cross the “creepy line” in the amount of data it collects from people. That could be tricky, considering the enormous amounts of information Google amasses from its search engine — along with Gmail, digital documents, virtual books, blogging, photo storage and, now, its smartphone software that powers Motorola’s new Droid phone. Here & Now media analyst and Boston University professor John Carroll talks to us about how to guard your privacy in a Google world.

• Google Dashboard

‘Lark and Termite’

Listen
Author Jayne Anne Phillips highly acclaimed novel “Lark and Termite” is one of five finalists in the fiction category for a National Book Award this year. “Lark and Termite” interweaves the stories of Lark, a young girl coming of age in 1950s West Virginia, her brain-damaged brother Termite, their aunt Nonie and Termite’s father, Robert, a soldier who is killed while escorting fleeing civilians during the Korean War. We revisit a conversation we had with the author earlier this year.  Read book recommendations from Jayne Anne Phillips.

National Book Award Nominees for Fiction

• Bonnie Jo Campbell, “American Salvage”
• Colum McCann, “Let the Great World Spin”
• Daniyal Mueenuddin, “In Other Rooms, Other Wonders”
• Jayne Anne Phillips, “Lark and Termite”
• Marcel Theroux, “Far North”

Music from the show

• Peter Dixon, “Nagog Woods”
• Freddie Hubbard, “Little Sunflower”
• Thelonius Monk, “Caravan”
• The Lickets, “Meat City”
• Fred Hirsch, “Desafinado”
• Massive Attack, “Future Proof”
• Steve Earle, “Transcendental Blues”

Listen

U.S. Army soldiers are seen at rear as Jamie Casteel, left, front, and her husband Scotty, right, of Duncan, Okla., stand outside the emergency room at Scott & White hospital in Temple, Texas, Thursday Nov. 5, 2009, waiting to hear news of their son-in-law, U.S. Army soldier Matthew Cooke, who was injured Thursday in the shooting at Fort Hood. (AP)

Officials at Fort Hood this morning said they had no problems with the job performance of 39-year-old Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who is suspected of killing 13 people at the Texas post yesterday. He was due to be deployed soon, and reportedly got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We speak with Amanda Kim Stairrett, Military Editor for the Killeen Daily Herald/Fort Hood Herald.

Also, what do we know about Nidal Malik Hasan? We’ll get a bio from Washington Post reporter Christian Davenport.

Guantanamo Detainees in Amherst Massachusetts?

Listen
If the Obama Administration closes the military detention center in Guantanamo Bay Cuba, what will it do with the detainees currently at the installation? This week, the town of Amherst Massachusetts voted to invite those detainees who have been cleared of terrorist charges to come to Amherst. As Here and Now’s Deborah Becker reports, the issue has been a divisive one.

Can’t Get There From Here

Listen
On October 16th, inspectors closed down the Crown Point Bridge that spans Lake Champlain and connects the states of New York and Vermont, saying the structure was in danger of collapsing. The bridge carried more than 3,000 vehicles a day and its closure has thrown the region’s economy into a state of chaos. We talk with Lisa Cloutier, owner of the Bridge Restaurant in West Addison, Vermont about the impact on the region’s businesses.

Juvenile Justice

Listen
The U.S is one of only two countries in the world that has sentenced minors to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Next week, the Supreme Court takes up the issue to decide whether children should do adult time for adult crimes. Our guest is Amy Bach, author of “Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court.”

The Indie Band ‘The Walkmen’

Listen
The New York-based Indie band “The Walkmen” have been compared to Bob Dylan and U2, but as they age- some have recently married and had kids- their hard rock sound is giving way to  softer ballads. Here & Now’s Jill Ryan recently caught up with the band at a concert in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• More Photos of the Walkmen

Music from the Show

• Radiohead, “There There”
• Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
• Massive Attack, “Teardrop”
• Paul Simon, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”
• Peter Dixon, “Nagog Woods”
• Fred Hirsch, “Desafinado”
• Talking Heads, “This Must Be the Place”
• The Walkmen, “Canadian Girl”
• The Walkmen, “The Rat”
• The Walkmen, “In The New Year”

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the incident with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and police officer James Crowley, Friday, July 24, 2009 (AP)

Listen
President Obama, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, and Cambridge police officer James Crowley will try to hash out their differences over a beer at the White House tonight. Gates had accused Crowley of being a racist for arresting Gates at his Cambridge home earlier this month. Now a Boston police officer has entered the fray, after sending a racially- charged email to the Boston Globe where he compares Gates to a “jungle monkey.” Our guest is African-American blogger Wayne Bennett.

Ferreting out Fraud in the Crash of ‘29

Listen
In the 30s the Pecora hearings uncovered the fraud that led to the crash of ‘29 and set the stage for the landmark financial markets legislation we associate with the New Deal. We’ll speak with Richard Parker, professor of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and author of several books, including, “John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economic.”

Young Gitmo Detainee in Court

Listen
A federal judge has ordered the release of an Afghan in custody for more than 6 years at Guantanamo Bay Prison in Cuba. Mohammad Jawad is accused of throwing a grenade at a U.S. convoy in Kabul in late 2002. Conflicting reports about his age say he may have been as young as 12 years old at the time. Previous attempts at trying Jawal failed when judges threw out evidence obtained under torture.  The Obama administration had asked for more time to possibly move his case to a U.S. criminal court. Evan Perez of the Wall Street Journal joins us.

A New University Goes Online

Listen
“The University of the People” is the brainchild of Israeli entrepreneur Shai Reshef. It’s doors open this fall. Reshef says the school is tuition-free — it charges students for tests, and the amount depends on where you live. Professors, he says, are eager to volunteer their time, and he envisions a school where students teach students using online social media sites.

13 Reasons Why

Listen
In his debut novel, “13 Reasons Why,” Jay Asher deals with the issue of teen suicide. The protagonist, Hannah Baker, records a series of audio tapes, explaining why she took her own life. The story is a powerful lesson in how rumors and innuendo can have disastrous consequences.

Music from the Show

• Air, “Mike Mills”
• Freddie Hubbard, “Gibraltar”
• Radiohead, “There There”
• Charles Mingus, “Pedal Point Blues”
• Yo-Yo Ma, “Bach: Suites for Solo Cello”
• Sigur Ros, “Nybatteri”

Listen
Ahmed Ghailani has become the first detainee to be transferred from Guantanamo into the United States to face trail. Ghailani is in New York City to be arraigned on 286 counts, including conspiring with Osama bin Laden to kill American citizens. We’ll speak with Carol Rosenberg, reporter for the Miami Herald and McClatchy newspapers, about what this might mean for other detainees.

Free Range Kids

Listen
Lenore Skenazy earned the nickname “America’s Worst Mom” after she let her nine-year-old son ride the New York City subway home alone. She answers her critics in “Free Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had, Without Going Nuts With Worry.” Her book is full of statistics supporting her premise that kids are safer today than when their parents were kids. She also has 14 “Commandments” for parents who want to give their kids a bit more freedom.

The People’s Court Chinese Style

Listen
Settling a family or property dispute in China can be frustrating because the courts often can’t or won’t settle small claims. So some Chinese are turning to television for mediation. The BBC’s Chris Hogg reports.

• Watch a BBC video of this story

Ethics at Business Schools

Listen
A growing number of graduates at the nation’s business schools are formally pledging to act ethically in their professions. Some, for example, promise to refrain from advancing their own “narrow ambitions” at the expense of others. We talk with Dr. Angel Cabrera, president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. Students there are asked to take an oath of honor at graduation.

Colbert Report in Iraq

Listen
Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert wore a camouflage suite and tie as he performed before hundreds of American troops from Iraq last night.

Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey on New Album

Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple performing in 2006. (Flickr/Khaotikit)

Listen
Using jangly guitars, power chords and sweet harmonies, Holsapple and Stamey have been making great pop music since the early 80s, with their influential band, The dB’s. Their first record together in 17 years updates their sound but also hearkens back to their previous work. It’s called “Here and Now.” The record is out today and Holsapple and Stamey are supporting it with a brief tour.

Music from the show

• Freddie Hubbard, “Gibraltar”
• Tito Puente, “Royal T”
• Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
• Sonny Rollins, “Get Happy”
• The dB’s, “Black and White”
• Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, “Widescreen World”
• Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, “Long Time Coming”
• Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, “Begin Again”
• Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, “Early in the Morning”
• Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, “Here and Now”

Taking a step to fulfill one of his major campaign promises, President Barack Obama issued an executive order today to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center within a year. However, the plan faces significant hurdles. Scott Silliman, professor of law at Duke University, joins us to discuss them.

Stories of an Abortion Doctor

On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we rebroadcast our conversation with Dr. Susan Wicklund. She has written about her life as an abortion provider in the book, “This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor.”

White House Redecoration

The Obamas have announced that California-based interior decorator Michael Smith will lead their White House redecoration project. Our guest, Deborah Needleman, says the White House is both a museum and a living home, and she’s arguing that the Obamas should follow the example of Jacqueline Kennedy in stressing the living over the museum. Needleman is founding editor in chief of Domino magazine and co-author of “Domino: The Book of Decorating.”

• Take a historical photo tour of the White House.

First Kids

How have the children of presidents fared growing up in the White House? We speak to Noah McCullough, the 13-year-old author of the book, “First Kids: The True Stories of All the Presidents’ Children.”

Slumdog Millionaire

The sleeper hit film about a young man from a Mumbai slum who is poised to win the top prize on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” picked up ten Academy Award nominations this morning, including Best Picture. The movie opens in India tomorrow. What will be the reaction to its grim portrayal of life on the streets? We speak to Cambridge resident Maya Chaudhari, who was born and raised in India, and also to Keshni Kashyap, who writes on Indian culture for the blog site “The Daily Beast.”