What happens when idealism becomes power? Who has a right to exist somewhere? These are questions raised by the new one-woman play “Golda’s Balcony” about the late prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir. “Golda’s Balcony” is mainly set during one of Meir’s most troubling times as prime minister, with the events leading [...]

Anti-Americanism is on the rise, especially in Europe. But beyond the political bluster, diplomatic bickering, and mediatocratic flamethrowing, there’s a real philosophical rift opening up along the Atlantic. A provocative look at Anti-Americanism in Europe.
Guests:
Lee Harris, author, “Marx without the Realism: The Intellectual Roots of America-bashing”, which recently appeared in Policy Review
HDS Greenway, columnist for [...]

Who gets the rose? Who gets voted off the island? Who cares? Reality television is scorching the airwaves and even President Bartlett is feeling the heat. The West Wing is feeling the sting of The Bachelorette. When true love is on the line, who cares about national security?
Reality TV is altering the way [...]

Is the looming war in Iraq diverting America’s attention away from the War on Terror? Experts weigh in on how we’re doing on combating Al Qaeda and terrorism worldwide.
Guests:
Stephen Van Evera, MIT professor of political science
Victor Hansen, Professor of Classics, California State University-Fresno, and Visiting Professor of Military History at the Naval Academy

Last night in his State of the Union Address, President Bush said: “The economy grows when Americans have more money to spend and invest, and the best and fairest way to make sure Americans have that money is not to tax it away in the first place.” The economy is in trouble. But [...]

President Bush proposed sweeping Medicare reform. In his $400 billion plan: a prescription drug benefit for some, options for others. The GOP calls it healthcare “choice” for America’s seniors. Democrats call it “privatization”. Everyone agrees something needs to be done.
Guests:
Stuart Altman, Chaikin professor of National Health Policy at Brandeis University, former member of the National [...]

In one hour, President Bush will step up to the podium and deliver his State of the Union Address. The address comes at the halfway point of his presidency and the challenges are huge. The economy’s in the crapper. Medicare’s on life support. War looms with Iraq.
Oh what a difference a year makes. After [...]

The FCC plans to sharply relax its rules on media ownership – a move which would enable increased cross-ownership of media outlets. But critics say the move threatens the diversity of ideas, news, and analysis that is so central to American democracy.
Guests:
Michael Copps, FCC Commissioner
John Nichols, Political writer for The Nation and co-author of “Our [...]

Whether you call it the estate tax or the death tax, here’s the issue: If Johnny makes a billion dollars in the good old American way, should Johnny Jr. inherit that billion, untouched by government taxes?
Powerful interests in the Bush camp want to abolish the estate tax once and for all. And they are [...]

The good Swede, Hans Blix, laid out a full smorgasbord at the UN today. Something for everyone on the Security Council.
Stern, skeptical, critical words for Iraq — which will please Washington and no doubt be used to justify war. Steady, patient, deliberate words for the weapons inspection process — which will please Europe [...]

“Washington should declare moral bankruptcy,” says Arianna Huffington. WorldCom. Enron. Tyco. They are just the tip of a very large iceberg of corruption being perpetuated by what she brandishes is a “greed driven corporate class wildly out of whack with the core values of the American people.” This hour: On Point: Arianna [...]

It doesn’t matter which team wins, but there are reasons to cheer on Super Bowl Sunday.
Guests:
Charlie Pierce, regular contributor to NPR’s “Only A Game,” writer for the Boston Globe magazine

Since its premiere at the Teatro Apollo in Rome, 150 years ago, Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore has remained one of the most performed and loved operas in music. But with its hard to believe plot of gypsies, obsessive love and babies thrown into fires, and to that an incredibly difficult vocal score, the opera [...]

War fears are giving investors little cause for optimism.
Guests:
Greg Ip, economics reporter for The Wall Street Journal

So, Americans are fat. Tell us something new. It’s an epidemic, especially for American kids and a disproportionate number of poor and minority populations. A new book cuts through the fat on the supersized national waistline with claims against corporate culture, fast-dealing politicians and boomer gluttony.
Guests:
Greg Critser, freelance journalist and author of “Fat Land: [...]

Saddam says he’ll be waiting at the gates of Baghdad. If war happens, the ground campaign might be gritty street war in Iraq. Risk, readiness, and ramifications of urban warfare.
Guests:
Jonathan Finer, Washington Post staff writer stationed in Kuwait City
Michael Vickers, director of strategic studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, former [...]

Israelis go to the polls on Tuesday to vote for prime minister and a new ruling party. A whopping 28 parties are running, but many Israelis are as yet undecided about how they will vote, reflecting widespread confusion and frustration over the deadlock on the peace and domestic problems.
Guests:
Yaron Dekel, Washington bureau chief for Israeli [...]

Thirty years after Roe v Wade. The bitter divide of the abortion debate still polarizes Washington, examining the political fallout of the unresolved abortion war.
Guests:
William Saletan, chief political correspondent, Slate.com
Adrian Wooldridge, Washington correspondent, The Economist
Cynthia Gorney, associate dean of the graduate school of journalism, UC Berkeley and author, “Articles of Faith: A Frontline History [...]

America’s tax wars are rooted in real wars. Lincoln imposed the nation’s first income tax to pay the Union Army. During World War I, Woodrow Wilson told Congress that people were willing to “bear any burden and undergo any sacrifice, including taxes.” That was also the philosophy Franklin D. Roosevelt adopted in World [...]

Today, France says it won’t support a Security Council resolution on Iraq without more time. China, too. Stark differences are dividing the U.S. and its allies as the U.N. inspectors’ report draws near. Is Washington’s coercive diplomacy shaking or shrinking the international coalition?
Guests:
James Bone, UN correspondent for the Times of London
Morton H. Halperin, former director [...]