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Vaccines are in short supply, and pregnant women and people with underlying illnesses shouldn’t take the nasal injection, which is the most common form available right now. We speak with Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

• More on the H1N1 Swine Flu from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

There’s No Place Like Home

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Americans are becoming less nomadic — less willing to relocate away from home than at any time since 1942, when the government first started tracking America’s comings and goings. Our guest, Joel Kotkin, calls it ‘the new localism’ and says that this new cultural attitude is profoundly re-shaping the country. Joel Kotkin is presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University. His upcoming book is ‘The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050.’  Kotkin is also executive editor of the website New Geography.com.

Growing Anti-Americanism in Pakistan

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Students protest against the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in Lahore, Pakistan. (AP)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faced critical questions about U-S policy toward Pakistan during a town hall session with university students in Lahore today. They asked Clinton whether the U-S is forcing Pakistan to use military force on its own territory as it fights the Taliban. Clinton said the United States would do the same thing if terrorists were attacking targets inside the US. The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool reports from Islamabad on the growing wave of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.

A Female Writer Speaks Out About Letterman

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Nell Scovell was a writer on the David Letterman show…a rare woman in a sea of men.  Scovell writes about a hostile work environment on the staff, especially for women like her who were not sleeping with him. She writes about this and the shortage of women comedy writers in the recent edition of Vanity Fair.

Actor John Cazale

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Actor John Cazale’s film career was brief but incredible. He played Fredo in The Godfather I and II. He acted alongside Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon; and alongside Gene Hackman in The Conversation. As he was dying of cancer, he co-starred in The Deer Hunter.  Cazale’s life and work is the subject of a new film, “I Knew It Was You”. We speak with director Richard Shepard.

Music from the Show

• Euphone, “Island I’d Love to Live On”
• The Album Leaf, “Thule”

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13 Democrats and 1 Republican on the Senate Finance Committee voted to approve a health care overhaul bill today.  Before the vote we spoke with Congressional Correspondent Gail Chaddock of the Christian Science Monitor.

‘Republican Gomorrah’

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Journalist Max Blumenthal spent six years covering the radical right, we speak with him about his new book “Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party.” Blumenthal is also senior writer for The Daily Beast.

Children and Swine Flu

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Doctors are warning parents to be on the lookout for signs that swine flu has taken a deadly turn. While experts say H1N1 is no more dangerous than seasonal flu, children seem to be catching it more easily. And the flu can become deadly when it causes pneumonia or other respiratory infections. Dr. William Schaffner of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine tells us what symptoms to look for and explains why the flu can turn deadly.

• Read more about how parents can be vigilant about the H1N1 flu

Five Farms, Part Two

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Our week long series “Five Farms” continues with a visit to the 106 acre hog farm run by Eddie and Dorothy Wise in Nash County, North Carolina. Eddie Wise is a fourth generation African-American farmer and he and his wife are trying to figure out how to entice one of their three children to take up the operation when Eddie is no longer able to work. It’s a challenge that’s especially wrenching for African-Americans, and so far Eddie’s only son won’t say for sure if he’ll leave his job in the city to raise hogs.  Our producer is John Biewen.

On Broadway

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Actors Daniel Craig, left, and Hugh Jackman take their bows at the curtain call for the Broadway opening performance of 'A Steady Rain', Sept. 29. (AP)

Here and Now’s Critic-At-Large, Ed Siegel is just back from the Great White Way and he fills us in on three of this season’s most talk ed about Broadway productions – “Hamlet” with Jude Law,” “A Steady Rain” with Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman and “Superior Donuts,” a new comedy from Tony Award winning playwright, Tracy Letts.

• ‘Hamlet’ at the Broadhurst Theatre through December 6th
• ‘A Steady Rain’ at the Schoenfeld through December 6th
• ‘Superior Donuts’ at the Music Box

Nurse Torrey Jones takes a blood pressure cuff off of patient Art Arteaga under a triage tent set up outside Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, Calif. to treat emergency room patients who exhibit signs of the flu on Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP)

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Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis set up a tent earlier this month to handle a significant increase in parents bringing in kids with flu symptoms. We speak with Dr. Barry Gilmore, director of emergency services at Le Bonheur, about what he’s seeing and what worried parents or patients should do.

High Stakes for Women in the Health Care Debate

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According to the National Women’s Law Center, three in five women are unable to pay their medical bills, more women than men are uninsured or underinsured, and many more women than men have foregone necessary care because of cost. We speak with Judy Waxman, vice president of health and reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center about the unique challenges facing women in the health care system.

The Week Ahead for the Obama Administration

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From healthcare reform to a meeting this week in Geneva about Iran’s weapons’ program — several major challenges await President Obama. He’ll also fly to Denmark to help Chicago win the bid to host the Summer Olympics in 2016. We speak with Ben Smith of Politico.com.

Stream Rehab

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During pioneer days farmers rerouted streams all over the eastern United States to irrigate crops and provide water for livestock. The result was not always beneficial for the plants, insects and animals that depended on the fragile, watery ecosystem for their well-being. Harry Goldstein, a producer for IEEE Spectrum Radio, traveled to a wetland in Kentucky to see how scientists are trying to return streams to their original paths and purposes.

Sports Conspiracies

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This one will be guaranteed to start an argument. The authors of the new book “The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All Time: Ranking Sports’ Most Notorious Fixes, Cover-ups and Scandals,” say there’s evidence to support the theory that the New England Patriots cheated their way to a Super Bowl dynasty. Co-author Mark Weinstein joins us to talk about that and some of the other conspiracy theories in the book.

Music from the show

• Kar Kar Madison, “Boubacar Traore”
• Peter Jankovic, “Astor Piazzola: Campero”
• Charles Mingus, “Boogie Stop Shuffle”
• Radiohead, “There, There”
• Fred Hirsch, “Desafinado”
• Herbie Hancock, “Watermelon Man”
• Adam Snider, “Swamp Angel”

Flowers and memorabilia are left by a reflecting pool during the eighth anniversary remembrance of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. (AP)

9/11 Anniversary

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On this anniversary of the terrorist attacks, we have a conversation about the war that traces its origins to this date. Yesterday, top Congressional democrats urged President Obama to outline a plan for winning the war in Afghanistan or he will risk their support if he has to ask for even more troops. We speak to the BBC’s security and defense correspondent, Nick Childs in London.

The Tender Bar: A Memoir

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In the book, “The Tender Bar“, Pulitzer Prize winning writer J.R. Moehringer recalls growing up fatherless in the Long Island town of Manhasset, where he was raised primarily by a a group of men hanging out in a bar. On September 11, 2001, 50 people from Manhasset died in the attacks on the World Trade Center, and suddenly Manhasset had many more fatherless children.

• Listen to our 2004 story on Manhassett’s marking of 9/11

Businesses Unprepared for Swine Flu

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Two-thirds of American businesses, including those in critical industries like food and energy, are unprepared for a possible major outbreak of swine flu this fall. We speak with Dr. Gillian SteelFisher, research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Night Owl Classes

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A follow up to a story we reported on earlier. Late night classes get underway at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. We hear from some of the night owls studying there.

Listener Letters

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We open up our inbox and hear from listeners.

A Gate At The Stairs

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Author Lorrie Moore knits together the shadow of 9/11 and a young girl’s bumpy coming-of-age in a luminous, heart-wrenchingly story. She joins us to talk about her first novel in 15 years, “A Gate At The Stairs“.

Music from the show

• Sun-Kil Moon, “Carry Me Ohio”
• Freddie Hubbard, “Gibraltar”
• Frank Sinatra, “Someone to Watch Over Me”
• Art Blakey, “C.O.R.E.”
• Paul Simon, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”
• The Wee Trio, “About a Girl”
• Jaco Pastorius, “Portrait of Tracy”

Yvonne Lavelle is author of the book “Baby and Toddler Signing by Kiddisign,” she’s also founder of the baby sign training company, Kiddisign.  She says that by teaching babies how to sign words like “hot,” “cold, “pain” and “water” children can convey how they’re feeling more directly and will feel less frustration. 

• What does research say about baby sign language?
• More research on baby signing

President Barack Obama Thursday, May 21, 2009, at the National Archives in Washington. Above is a mural painted by Barry Faulkner in 1936 of the Constitution Convention depicting James Madison delivering the final draft of the Constitution to George Washington. (AP)

Guantanamo Detainees

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President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney square off in dueling national security-themed speeches. President Obama wants to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities and possibly bring some of the detainees to the US. Mr. Cheney says President Obama’s policies put the nation at risk. We speak with Demetri Sevastopulo, Pentagon and intelligence correspondent for the Financial Times. We also speak with attorney Brent Mickum, who is representing one of the most notorious detainees, Abu Zubaydah.

Listen We speak with Mark Halperin, editor-at-large and senior political analyst for Time magazine.

Indio, California Penalizes Foreclosure Blight

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Rising foreclosures have many communities dealing with abandoned homes with overgrown lawns and broken windows. The town of Indio, California has made that type of neglect a crime- punishable by fines that can surpass $25,000 and possible arrest. We speak with Indio Police Chief Brad Ramos who says that most banks are complying and starting to keep up their properties.

Tracking Swine Flu

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The number of swine flu cases in Wisconsin has tripled in the past two weeks. We talk to Bevan Baker, Milwaukee’s health commissioner and Angie Hagy, the city’s head swine flu tracker, about what they’re doing to track the illness and prevent it from spreading.

All “A”s

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An agile anglomaniac artfully accumulates “A”s. Robert Manson Myers, a retired English professor, has achieved a first for the English language: a 200-page book titled “Ars Amatoria” (after the poem by Ovid) containing only words that begin with the letter “A.” We speak with Professor Myers about his abnormal alliterative avocation.  For more information on the book, you can email Sherry Clontz of Jostens Books at sherry.clontz@jostens.com

• Audio Extra! Hear Professor Myers read the poem “Aprilis”
• Also— hear Professor Myers’ definition of Academy Award

Music from the show

• Air, “Mike Mills”
• Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
• Tito Puente, “Royal T”
• Talking Heads, “This Must Be the Place”
• Kara DioGuardi, Cathy Dennis, and Mitch Allan “No Boundaries” sung by Kris Allen
• Sam Cooke, “A Change is Gonna Come” sung by Adam Lambert

Listen
The Boston Globe reportedly struck a deal with its largest union today to keep the paper going – but how long will it last? Young journalists are now acting as reporters, photographers, videographers and computer programmers – all wrapped into one. Is the all-platform journalist the answer? Or will these young minds come up with a new form of journalism? Our guests are Sara Gregory, a junior at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Joel Stonington, a grad student at Columbia Journalism School in New York; and Brian Boyer, a computer programmer turned new media journalist who recently graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

How Serious is the Swine Flu?

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U.S. officials are reversing earlier guidelines, saying they no longer recommend that schools be shut down for the flu, even as Texas reports its second flu related death, a 33-year old woman who officials say had other underlying health problems. We get the latest from longtime flu-researcher, Dr. Robert Webster of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis Tennessee. He says we should remain vigilant because the virus is still very young–it could turn more dangerous.

• More on the Swine flu from the CDC

Doctors Without Borders

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People check the damage on a vehicle after a car bomb exploded Wednesday at the entrance to a fruit and vegetable market in south Baghdad. (AP)

Car bombs killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more in Baghdad today. For the seriously wounded in Iraq, getting care is difficult. A team of Iraqi surgeons is working in a special clinic in Jordan that treats Iraqis with serious wounds from car bombs and other explosions. The care isn’t available in Iraq because hundreds of specialized doctors have left the country since the war started in 2003. Right now there are 100 Iraqis on the waiting list for treatment at the clinic.  The BBC’s Natalia Antelava visited the clinic in Amman.

The Edwards Affair

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Elizabeth Edwards’ memoir and her interview with Oprah come out tomorrow. In both, she muses on the affair that has sunk the political career of her husband John, who now faces a federal investigation into improper payments to his mistress. We speak with Rick Klein, Senior Political Reporter at ABC News.

Chuck Palahniuk’s “Pygmy”

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The author of “Fight Club” has developed an almost fanatical following for his brutal yet funny novels. In his latest, Palahniuk tells the story of Pygmy, a 13 year old terrorist from an unnamed country sent to the American heartland to implement Operation Havoc. We speak to Palahniuk about his book, his life, and bringing humor into dark subjects.

• Hear extended interview with Chuck Palahniuk

Music from the show

• The Lickets, “Meat City”
• The Doors,  “Peace Frog”
• Nathan Milstein, “Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin”
• The Wee Trio, “Flint”
• Kar Kar Madison, “Boubacar Traore”
• Steve Earle, “Transcendental Blues”
• The Dust Brothers, “Finding the Bomb”
•  Daniel Lanois, “Lovechild”

Listen
The World Health Organization raised its alert level to number 5, one notch below full-scale pandemic. So how contagious is it really, how many people are likely to get it and how deadly could it be? Matt McGrath, science correspondent for the BBC, is our guest.

• See a map of cases worldwide

‘The Sicario’ Speaks

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In his latest report from the frontline of the drug-related violence in Mexico, journalist Chuck Bowden tells the story of a hitman in Juarez — a man who tortured and killed people for the drug cartels. The hitman, known as The Sicario, is no longer a killer. He says he has found God, but now there’s a contract on his head. Bowden’s story about the killer is in the May issue of Harpers.

Climate Change with Columnist Thomas Friedman

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Two new studies published today in the journal Nature say that current goals of cutting Carbon Dioxide emissions are not dramatic enough to sufficiently slow global climate change. We speak with New York Times Columnist Tom Friedman about what he says is the only solution. We caught up with Friedman at Boston’s Museum of Science, where he was recently awarded the Washburn award for his writing on the environment.

Student Financial Aid Deadline

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Tuition deposits are due at many colleges on May 1st, but Gail MarksJarvis, who is the personal finance columnist at the Chicago Tribune, says it’s not too late for students to try to negotiate better financial aid deals.

• Calculate your “Expected Family Contribution” 
• More on Financial Aid

A.R.T. and ‘Hair’ Director Diane Paulus

Diane Paulus (center) during a rehearsal for a gala performance of 'Hair.' (Michael J. Lutch)

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We speak to one of the hottest voices in the American theater scene today, Diane Paulus. Not only is Diane the director of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful revival of the musical “Hair” but she has taken over the helm at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She tells us about her plans for the upcoming season.

• More photos from ‘Hair’

Music from the show

• Tito Puente, “Royal T”
• Steve Reich, “Nagoya Marimba”
• Steely Dan, “My Old School”
• Vince Guaraldi, “Linus and Lucy”
• “Hair,” from “Hair,” Lyrics by James Rado & Gerome Ragni, music by Galt MacDermot
• “Let the Sunshine in,” from “Hair,” Lyrics by James Rado & Gerome Ragni, music by Galt MacDermot
• “Let a Little Sunshine In,” from “Best of Both Worlds,” Lyrics by Randy Weiner, Music by Diedre Murray
• “86 Years,” from “Red Sox Nation,” Lyrics by Willie Reale, Music by Robert Reale
• “Aquarius,” from “Hair,” Lyrics by James Rado & Gerome Ragni, music by Galt MacDermot
• Radiohead, “There, ThereThe Wee Trio, “About a Girl”