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Will lawmakers like the Obama Administration’s newly-released bank bailout plan as much as Wall Street did yesterday? Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testify at a House Financial Services Committee hearing today. We speak with Rick Klein, senior political reporter for ABC News; Rick writes The Note.

Addiction in America

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We speak with Benoit Denizet-Lewis, a journalist and recovering sex addict. For his new book, “America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life,” he followed eight people who are addicted to everything from cocaine to food. We also hear from Jody Pegram, executive director of A Sober Way Home in Prescott, Arizona, and one of the addicts in Denizet-Lewis’ book.

Tugboats pull the crippled tanker Exxon Valdez towards Naked Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska, April 5, 1989. (AP)

Exxon Valdez Plus 20

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Twenty years ago today the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in Prince William Sound in Alaska spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil. We check in with Mike Carey, a columnist with the Anchorage Daily News, on the spill’s legacy for Alaskans.

The Birthplace of Payday Lending

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In the early 1990s, there were fewer than 200 payday lending stores. Today payday stores outnumber McDonalds. And Johnson City, Tennessee claims to be the place where it all began. We speak with Daniel Brook, who writes about Johnson City in Harper’s Magazine. He’s also author of “The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner Take All America.”

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

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This Sunday, HBO premieres a new series based on the mystery books of Alexander McCall Smith. “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” is set in Botswana and stars Grammy Award winning singer Jill Scott as detective Precious Ramotswe. Here & Now’s critic-at-large Ed Siegel has a preview.

Music from the show

• The Lickets, “A Crowd of Pimps in the Rain”
• Tito Puente, “Royal T”
• Medeski, Martin and Wood, “Bloody Oil”
• Talking Heads, “This Must Be the Place”
• Radiohead, “Where I End and You Begin”
• Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
• “Savannah River Holiday: Overture” performed by the Boston Pops.

What’s the mood in Washington, as the city awaits Barack Obama’s inauguration? The Senate has passed the final installment of bank bailout money, lawmakers are hammering out details of Obama’s economic recovery plan, and even the most controversial of Obama’s cabinet appointments seem to be riding smoothly to confirmation. We speak with Gail Chaddock, congressional correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor.

Johnny Lee Clary

As a former Ku Klux Klan leader, Johnny Lee Clary used to deliver a message of hate, but he’s changed his tune and now devotes his life to educating kids on the dangers of racism. He tells us how he changed and how the election of Barack Obama as the country’s first African-American president could be a boon for hate groups.

Inaugural Poetry

Elizabeth Alexander will be just the fourth poet to read at the inauguration of an American president when she does so after Barack Obama’s inaugural address on Tuesday. But fellow poet David Yezzi says her task is a difficult one because historic occasions seldom give rise to historic poetry. Yezzi’s latest book of poems is “Azores,” which was chosen by Slate Magazine as one of the best books of 2008.

Air Safety

What helps crew and passengers survive a crisis in the air? We’ll speak with veteran pilot and safety expert John Cox, President and CEO of SOS, Safety Operating Systems.

“Big Love” Returns

HBO’s “Big Love” begins its third season on Sunday. We have a preview of the series about the escapades of a modern day polygamist and his three wives from Here & Now’s critic-at-large Ed Siegel. Ed also notes the premiere of a new series on the Showtime cable channel called “United States of Tara,” which features a woman with multiple personalities.

Johnny Lee Clary
As a former Ku Klux Klan leader, Johnny Lee Clary used to deliver a message of hate, but he’s changed his tune and now devotes his life to educating kids on the dangers of racism. He tells us how he changed and how the election of Barack Obama as the country’s first African-American president could be a boon for hate groups.

Inaugural Poetry
Elizabeth Alexander will be just the fourth poet to read at the inauguration of an American president when she does so after Barack Obama’s inaugural address on Tuesday. But fellow poet David Yezzi says her task is a difficult one because historic occasions seldom give rise to historic poetry. Yezzi’s latest book of poems is “Azores,” which was chosen by Slate Magazine as one of the best books of 2008.

Air Safety
What helps crew and passengers survive a crisis in the air? We speak with veteran pilot and safety expert John Cox, President and CEO of SOS, Safety Operating Systems.

“Big Love” Returns
HBO’s “Big Love” begins its third season on Sunday. We have a preview of the series about the escapades of a modern day polygamist and his three wives from Here & Now’s critic-at-large Ed Siegel. Ed also notes the premiere of a new series on the Showtime cable channel called “United States of Tara,” which features a woman with multiple personalities.