Ryland Peter Cooder first picked up a guitar at the age of 4 when he lost an eye and maybe needed a new friend. He found it, and so did the guitar and a world of musicians, from the recording studios of LA to Havana and Timbuktu. He’s been a studio star, recording his [...]

Latinos are moving into black neighborhoods. Their vote is being wooed in Washington, and they are more hopeful about their economic future than blacks. Tonight, On Point: the changing face of race in America. As the fortunes of Latino Americans rise will black Americans be left behind?
Guests:
Julian Bond, chairman, National Association for [...]

Guests:
Scott Peterson, in Iraq for the Christian Science Monitor

North Korea announced its intentiions to formally declare its possession of nuclear weapons and to carry out a nuclear test, administration officials announced today.
Guests:
Richard Wolfe, Chief Diplomatic correspondent Newsweek magazine

Books on free trade, income inequality and property rights don’t usually make for easy reading. But look hard enough and you’ll find these same economic principles in the works of wordsmiths like Charles Dickens, Upton Sinclair, and Kurt Vonnegut. When poet Robert Frost considers the opportunity cost of a road not taken, the [...]

The Bush administration has changed the rules of a major program within the Clean Air Act. The “New Source Review” program has been revised to allow electric utilities, refineries, chemical plants and other industrial manufacturers to make upgrades to facilities without using the best available environmental technologies. The General Accounting Office has released a report [...]

The abortion wars of the 80’s and 90’s have left Americans in an ethical and political quagmire, with an increasingly conservative middle ground. In his new book “Bearing Right, ” Slate political correspondent William Saletan says that it is the pro-choice conservatives that have won the abortion debate. And what we’re witnessing today [...]

The Bush administration said it is considering a U.N.-sponsored multinational force in Iraq, as long as an American commander leads it.
Guests:
Douglas Jehl, New York Times reporter

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of King’s “I Have Dream” speech, we examine the importance and relevance of King’s vision. The speech has been recited, rebroadcast, and reused for all kinds of arguments. But what did the original speech mean? What does it mean now? Has the dream been deferred?
Guests:
Drew Hansen, author, “The [...]

Detox. Purify. Weight loss. A growing number of Americans are putting down their forks and picking up fasting. But is fasting the way to weight loss and spiritual rejuvenation, or just another upper middle-class diet fad?
Guests:
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, founder, Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona
Natalia Rose, founder, The Rose Program and author of [...]

The federal government will rack up $480 billion in red ink in 2004, according to a report put out today by the Congressional Budget Office. We look at the numbers and add up the damage.
Guests:
Gail Chaddock, The Christian Science Monitor

Writer James Carroll is an outspoken columnist who calls the world as he sees it in all its glory and moral failings. A former priest, he is a bitter critic of many of the Bush administration’s policies in the war on terror and challenges his readers to examine their own beliefs. In a column about [...]

The United States had enough troops in Iraq to win the war, but winning the peace has proven to be an even greater challenge. This week, a congressional group returned from Iraq and warned that more troops would be needed to stabilize the country.
Troop buildup could also be achieved by bringing in the United Nations, [...]

The 1970s brought a new wave of daring and irreverent films that washed over the Technicolor dinosaurs of the ’60s. Characters like Travis Bickle, Nurse Ratched, and Michael Corleone gave the disaffected and divided nation a vision of themselves in a time of moral ambiguity and public distrust. The landmark films that, for a [...]

Jessica Stern bravely ventured into the hearts of Muslim fundamentalists organizations in Pakistan, Gaza, and Indonesia. She met with a vast array of extremist groups, including both the Jewish Underground in Hamas in Israel, the creator of the Taliban in Pakistan, and a former commander of the Covenant, the Sword, and the Army of the [...]

Three A-List reporters settle in for a conversation to remember the war in Iraq and reflect on lessons for building the peace. An On Point On Location special recorded live at The Whaling Church at Martha’s Vineyard
Guests:
Rageh Omaar, former BBC News Africa Correspondent, and Developing World Correspondent, now based in London
John Burnett, NPR’s Southwestern [...]

Ronald Reagan once called Moammar Gadhafi “the mad dog of the Middle East”. Well the old dog has got some new tricks, this week the United Nations is set to debate whether or not to lift sanctions on this one-time rogue nation. How has Libya managed to make its way from pubic enemy number one [...]

A step-back look at the impact of yesterday’s back-to-back bombings in Baghdad and Jerusalem on President Bush’s foreign policy.
Guests:
Maura Reynolds, White House reporter for The Los Angeles Times

Fifty years ago, in a bold and far-reaching covert operation, the CIA overthrew the elected government of Iran. Although the coup seemed successful at first, its “haunting and terrible legacy” is now becoming clear.
Operation Ajax, as the plot was code-named, reshaped the history of Iran, the Middle East and the world. It restored Mohammad [...]

The economy rushes toward recovery, President Bush says. Low interest rates and tax cuts spark spending. Strong demand spurs job growth. But some economists argue that the recovery is still far away, and Bush is in part to blame. The policy debate can be confusing. For the person who’s lost [...]