Soldiers Cross, honoring those who lost their lives in last week's shooting, is seen near the podium where President Barack Obama will speak at the memorial service, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, at Fort Hood, Texas. (AP)

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A solemn week on the war front, at home and abroad.

Taps and empty boots at Fort Hood, Texas and troubling questions about the alleged killer, Nidal Hasan.

A Veterans Day with much to ponder on costs already born and still to be born. An Afghanistan debate in Washington and Kabul that grows deeper with time.

On health care, abortion lands in the middle of reform efforts — and could be the poison pill.

From Guantanamo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 9/11 mastermind, will stand trial in a civilian court in New York City.

This hour, On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us in our studio is Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning and nationally syndicated columnist for The Boston Globe.

Also in our studio we’re joined by David Gergen, director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He served as an advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton.

And from Hanover, N.H., we’re joined by Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

Spc. Ryan Howard of Niles, Mich., right, and Spc. David Straub of Ardmore, Okla., wait for news of fellow soldiers while waiting at the gate of the Fort Hood, Texas, Army base on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009. (AP)

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A shock out of Texas at the end of this week, and a day of horror.

Thirteen killed, thirty wounded at Fort Hood in a shooting rampage in the heart of an American military base. Apparently by a uniformed Army major, Nidal Malik Hasan.

It’s a tragedy and horror the country is still taking on board — overshadowing the economy, where unemployment has hit 10.2 percent. Overshadowing state elections and their fallout. An imminent health care vote. Hard news in Afghan and Palestinian politics.

This hour, On Point: The killings at Fort Hood, and the news of the week in review.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from Dallas, Texas, is Bill McKenzie, editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News.

Joining us from New York is Hendrick Hertzberg, staff writer for The New Yorker. His new book is “Obamanos!: The Birth of a New Political Era.”

And from Hanover, N.H., is Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

Image from the website of FOX's "More to Love" (fox.com/moretolove).

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Americans are bigger than ever, by a long shot. Heavier. Fatter.

And maybe more culturally torn than ever over fat. A broad swath of the country has just accepted a heavier profile as the way it is. The way we are. In TV’s “More to Love” and plus-size model Glamour shots, heavy is fine.

But the backlash is fierce, too. Jessica Simpson pummeled for a few extra pounds. Fat disdain aplenty. And the health care debate highlighting the cost of obesity in health care budgets out of control.

This hour, On Point: Overweight America — accepted or rejected — and the cost of our pounds.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from New York is Kate Dailey, health and lifestyles editor for Newsweek and writer of Newsweek’s blog The Human Condition, where she’s been following the debate over American weight. She edited and wrote for Newsweek’s recent series “The Fat Wars.”

In our studio we’re joined by Lesley Kinzel. She runs the blog Fatshionista, “a heady mixture of social justice, fat-girl memoir, and popular culture.”  She has been engaging in fat activism and social justice politics for over a decade. When not blogging, she works in higher education in the Boston area.

And from Washington we’re joined by Kenneth E. Thorpe, executive director of Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, executive director of the Emory Institute for Advanced Policy Solutions, and chairman of the department of health policy and management at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. His Sept. 10 Newsweek commentary, “We Have the Power to Change Our Weight,” argues that obesity is a health and an economic crisis.

President Barack Obama listens during a meeting about the current situation in Pakistan on Oct. 7, 2009 in the Situation Room of the White House. (White House Photo/Pete Souza)

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A stunner from Oslo.  Eight and a half months into his presidency, President Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize.  For creating, said the committee, “a new international climate.” 

The news tops a week in which the White House was hunkered down in war council over whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. 

A week of bombings in Kabul and Peshawar.  A swooning US dollar.  A green light on the cost of health care reform. Letterman in shame.  And NASA blasting the moon. 

This hour, On Point:  Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Chrystia Freeland, U.S. managing editor of The Financial Times.

Jonathan Martin, senior political writer for Politico.

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, left, and former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, right. Both are doctors. Both have strong views on health care reform. (Photos: AP)

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Republican Bill Frist, former Senate majority leader, is a heart surgeon, lung surgeon, and heir to the biggest hospital company in the world.

On Friday, Bill Frist said what not a single Republican now sitting in Congress has said — that he would vote for emerging health care reform.

Today we’ll ask him why.

Democrat and doctor Howard Dean is an internist and champion of the “public option” missing from the latest Senate bill. We’ll ask where his support goes now.

This hour, On Point: Bill Frist, Howard Dean, and the showdown ahead on health care reform.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Julie Rovner, health policy correspondent for NPR.

Bill Frist, former Republican Senate majority leader from Tennessee, served for 12 years in the U.S. Senate. A renowned surgeon, he practiced medicine for twenty years. His new book is “A Heart to Serve: The Passion to Bring Health, Hope, and Healing.”

Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and 2004 presidential candidate. He is also a medical doctor and a prominent voice in the health care debate. His most recent book is “Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform.”

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, left, is seen with Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili, right, at the opening of the Geneva talks between Iran, the U.S., and five world powers in Geneva, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. (AP)

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Earthquake and tsunami in Sumatra and Samoa this week. Elsewhere, battling on.

In Geneva, no earthquake, but the big powers — the U.S. included — did sit down with Iran for nuclear talks, and made some progress.

In Copenhagen, it was all Olympics. At the White House, real debate over whether to boost troops in Afghanistan. In the Senate, no public option.

Saturn, the great motor hope, will die. The Dow wobbles. And September unemployment, up not down: 9.8 percent.

This hour, On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from Washington is Jill Dougherty, foreign affairs correspondent for CNN.

Also from Washington we’re joined by Margaret Talev, White House correspondent for McClatchy.

And from Hanover, N.H., is Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, gestures during his news conference on health care legislation, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009. (AP)

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Healthcare moves and missile-shield news this week.

In the Senate, Max Baucus finally delivers his proposal on healthcare reform. Questions now: Will he get a single Republican vote? Will enough Democrats sign on to pass or change the bill? Was it worth trying to compromise?

Poland and the Czech Republic will not have American missiles aimed over Russia at Iran. There are better ways to defend, says President Obama — and George W. Bush’s defense secretary, Robert Gates.

We’ve got trade war talk. Carter on race. This hour, On Point: our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Michael Gerson, columnist for The Washington Post, contributor to Newsweek, and senior research fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement.

Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation. You can read her latest writings on politics at her “Editor’s Cut” blog.

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

President Barack Obama speaks with members of Congress after delivering a primetime speech on healthcare to a joint session on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009. (AP)

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It’s September 11, 2009. Eight years after the shocking morning that instantly consumed American hearts and minds.

U.S. troops are still in Afghanistan. New reports say Al Qaeda is sputtering, yet still dangerous.

But at home, this week was a marker of how much else has crowded onto the national stage. The president, front and center in an epic debate over health care. The Supreme Court, in an epic case over corporate money and political speech. We’ve got flu vaccine, deep space photos, and a new liver for Steve Jobs.

This hour, On Point: our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

From Washington, we’re joined by Doyle McManus, former Washington bureau chief and now columnist for The Los Angeles Times.

Also joining us from Washington is Jay Newton-Small, Congressional correspondent for Time magazine and contributor to Time.com’s Swampland blog.

And from Hanover, N.H., is Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

More links:

One of our favorite stories this week was the release of new deep space photos from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. This one in particular has a mysterious beauty:

NASA’s caption: Butterfly Emerges from Stellar Demise in Planetary Nebula NGC 6302.

President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009. At back are Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (AP)

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Wherever you stand on health care reform, it was clear where Barack Obama stood last night.

Not in a quiet Oval Office or on a cloud of inaugural adulation, but right down in the arena. In the ring. A president toe-to-toe with critics, even when they shouted back at the head of state.

He said the time for games is over. He chided those who would run up debt for war and the rich but turn their back on health. He told insured Americans they’d be safe, and all Americans they face a test of character.

Will it work? This hour, On Point: The president’s big speech on health care reform — and whether he can now get it done.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Gerald Seib, executive Washington editor and “Capital Journal” columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He’s co-author of “Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power.”

Noam Levey, health policy reporter for the Los Angeles Times. His analysis piece in today’s paper is headlined “Obama avoids the details on divisive issues to keep his healthcare goals on track.”

Drew Westen, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Emory University and author of “The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation.”  In a recent piece for the Huffington Post he analyzed President Obama’s communication strategy on health care.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York. He has been a strong supporter of the public option.

Rep. Adam Schiff, Democrat of California. He is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.

President Barack Obama walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday, Sept. 7, 2009. (AP)

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And so, all the chips are on the table tonight for Barack Obama. Except they’re not chips. They’re lives.

American health care is in trouble. Even Republican leaders say the status quo is not acceptable. The last month has been a melee over what to do.

Tonight, President Obama makes a rare address to a joint session of Congress and the American public to make his case for reform. The hour is late. Stakes are over the moon.

This hour, On Point: We’ll talk with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and more, about the president’s challenge and health care reform.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from Washington is Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was governor of Kansas from 2003 until earlier this year.

Also from Washington we’re joined by Ceci Connolly, national health care correspondent for The Washington Post.

And from Washington we’re also joined by Gail Wilensky, economist and senior fellow at Project HOPE, an international health education foundation. She was an adviser to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and a contributor to the McCain health care plan. She was administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration under President George H.W. Bush, directing the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

And from Ann Arbor, Mich., we’re joined by Jonathan Cohn, senior editor at The New Republic, where he writes the widely-cited health care blog, The Treatment. He’s also a senior fellow at the non-partisan public policy think tank Demos and author of the 2007 book “Sick: The Untold Story of America’s Health Care Crisis – and the People Who Pay the Price.” 

An Afghan woman voter walks past male voters lining up to cast their ballots, as she heads towards the women's side of a mosque made into a polling station in Kabul on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009. (AP)

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Rocket attacks didn’t stop the vote in Afghanistan this week. And town hall fireworks haven’t stopped the health care push at home.

In Kabul and beyond, Afghans braved Taliban threats and went to the polls, though in smaller numbers than five years ago. It’s been a long war.

At home, Democrats pushed back on health care, but pushed each other, too, in debate over the “public option.”

We’ve got Blackwater back in the news, a new human speed record, and Cash for Clunkers’ last hurrah.

This hour, our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from Washington is Tom Braithwaite, business and politics correspondent for The Financial Times.

Joining us from Philadelphia is Trudy Rubin, foreign affairs columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

And from Hanover, N.H., we’re joined by Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

President Barack Obama talks about health care during a town hall meeting in Grand Junction, Colo., on Aug. 15, 2009. (AP)

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For months in the health care reform debate, the country heard Barack Obama describe a “public option” for government-run insurance as key to overhauling American health care.

On Saturday, in Colorado, the president said the public option was “just a sliver” of reform. On Sunday, his health chief Kathleen Sebelius said it was not essential. By Monday, headlines had it on the chopping block.

Conservatives rail against it. Progressives say it’s a must. This hour, we’ll talk with Democrat Howard Dean and more about the fate of health care reform and the public option.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from Burlington, Vermont, is Howard Dean, former presidential contender, former governor of Vermont, and until January of this year chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He’s founder and senior advisor of Democracy for America, a progressive political action committee. He’s also a physician, a big voice in the health care debate, and a big supporter of the public option. His new book is “Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform.”

Joining us from Washington is Len Nichols, director of the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation. He was senior advisor for health policy at the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton administration’s health care reform efforts of 1993-94.

Also from Washington, we’re joined by Gail Wilensky, economist and senior fellow at Project HOPE, an international health education foundation, and recently served on the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. She directed Medicare and Medicaid from 1990-1992.  She was an adviser to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and a contributor to the McCain health care plan.

Sonia Sotomayor waves as she leaves Manhattan Federal Court in New York on Thursday. Sotomayor won confirmation Thursday as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. (AP)

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A lot of emotions this week: political tempers, economic hopes, and a joyous homecoming.

A former president goes to North Korea and comes back with two freed American journalists. The current president stumps for health care reform and economic stimulus, while Congressional town meetings turn ugly.

The Senate, on its way out the door, confirms Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, and extends “cash for clunkers.”

Hillary Clinton tours Africa. And a surprising new jobs report has unemployment … falling.

This hour, On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Jane Clayson, guest host

Tom Ashbrook is on vacation.

Guests:

Joining us from Washington is Ron Brownstein, political director for Atlantic Media, columnist for National Journal, and author of “The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America.”

From New York, we’re joined by Betsy Stark, business correspondent for ABC news and an Emmy Award-winner for her investigative reporting.

And from Hanover, N.H., we’re joined by Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

President Barack Obama, right, and Vice President Joe Biden, left, have a beer with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., second from left, and Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley in the Rose Garden of the White House on Thursday, July 30, 2009.(AP)

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Stories brewing up all over this week, from Washington to Tehran.

A much-hyped round of beers at the White House. More news from the world of steroid baseball. And bankers at the trough — 33 billion dollars in bonuses paid by bailed-out Wall St. firms.

Health care hurdles in Washington. A passel of U.S. diplomats in Israel. The secretary of defense shows up in Iraq. In Afghanistan, U.S. deaths are the highest since 2001. And in Iran, the opposition grows more restless, despite crackdowns.

This hour, On Point: What’s your take? Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Jacki Lyden, guest host

Tom Ashbrook is on vacation.

Guests:

Joining us from Philadelphia is Trudy Rubin, foreign affairs columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

From Washington, we’re joined by Ezra Klein, blogger and reporter for The Washington Post.

And from Hanover, N.H., we’re joined by Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor for The Atlantic.

In this July 13, 2003 file photo, Luis Alberto Jimenez rests in the Orthopedic General Hospital in Guatemala City following his deportation from Florida to Guatemala. Martin Memorial Medical Center in Florida chartered a private plane and sent Jimenez back to the Central American country without alerting his U.S. relatives, even as his guardian frantically sought to stop the move. (AP)

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This week, in a benchmark legal case that has riveted health care providers and advocates for immigrants, a jury ruled that a South Florida hospital acted reasonably when it deported Luis Alberto Jimenez, an undocumented worker with a severe brain injury, back to his native Guatemala — against the wishes of his guardian — and was not liable for damages.

The hospital cared for the brain-damaged man for nearly three years. The federal government helps hospitals cover emergency care for uninsured patients — but not long-term care for undocumented workers.

Some have called these kinds of cases “medical rendition.” Hospitals say they are justified in taking back beds for Americans who need them.

This hour, On Point: uninsured immigrants, hospitals strapped for cash, and a far-reaching deportation case in Florida.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Jacki Lyden, guest host

Tom Ashbrook is on vacation.

Guests:

Joining us from New York is Deborah Sontag. She’s a reporter for The New York Times and has been covering the deportation of immigrants from U.S. hospitals for more than a year. “Jury Rules for Hospital That Deported Patient,” “Immigrants Facing Deportation by U.S. Hospitals,” and “Deported in a Coma, Saved Back in U.S.”

Also from New York we’re joined by Adam Gurvitch, a consultant to the National Immigration Law Center and former director of health advocacy at the New York Immigration Coalition.

Joining us from San Francisco is Robert Margolin, a physician at the California Pacific Medical Association. He brought the subject of forced deportations before the California Medical Association, which went on to denounce them. As a result of his efforts, the American Medical Association has commissioned a study on the issue, which is due out in November.

Clockwise, from top left: President Barack Obama responds to questions during a news conference at the White House on Wednesday (AP); U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a news conference in southern Thailand (AP);A booking photo released by the Cambridge, Mass., Police Dept., showing Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (AP); a British patrol clears compounds in Afghanistan's Helmand province (AP).

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It was a bad week for busted corrupt mayors, assemblymen and rabbis in New Jersey. Mixed news everywhere else.

The Dow, over 9000 for the first time since January — and investors cheered.

Health care reform, despite a prime-time push from the president, is off the August fast track and looking at a tough slog into the fall.

F-22 fighters and concealed weapons were pushed back in Congress.

And a white police officer’s arrest of a high-profile black scholar makes waves all over — including in the Obama White House.

This hour, On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from Washington is Helene Cooper, White House correspondent for The New York Times. She’s author of the memoir “The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood,” which is now out in paperback. You can listen back to her On Point interview last year.

Also from Washington, we’re joined by Liz Halloran, Washington correspondent for NPR.org.

And from Hanover, N.H., is Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

President Barack Obama responds to questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (AP)

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The president wanted health care reform, and he wanted it fast. By the August recess, he told Congress. So momentum doesn’t fade.

Now that August deadline seems to be moving back to September. But the president is still pushing hard for an American health care overhaul.

Last night in a prime-time news conference, he pounded on the need for change — for individual American families and for the health of the U.S. economy.

This hour, On Point: The great debate in Washington on health care reform. Is it too much, too little — or the best chance right now to take on an epic challenge?

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from Washington is Ceci Connolly, reporter for The Washington Post covering the national health care issue.

Also from Washington, we’re joined by Rep. Michael Burgess, Republican congressman from the 26th District of Texas, which  includes parts of Dallas and Cooke Counties. An obstetrician, he joined Congress in 2003, is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and is founder and chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus.

Joining us from New York is Jonathan Oberlander, associate professor of social medicine and health policy & management at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York, and author of “The Political Life of Medicare” (2003).

And with us in our studio is Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler. She’s a practicing physician, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard, and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford wipes his tears as he admitted to having an affair during a news conference in Columbia, S.C., on Wednesday, June 24, 2009. He said he is resigning as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. "I spent the last five days crying in Argentina," Sanford said. (AP)

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Is it just me, or has it been a long, long week?

A week that began with the world riveted by the brutal suppression of Iranian protestors draws to a close with the untimely death of Michael Jackson at age 50.

In Washington, the Obama administration faces big questions on health care from Democrats as well as Republicans.

And speaking of Republicans — another confession, as Mark Sanford admits to his Argentine affair, and another setback for the party.

Up next, On Point: What moved you in the world this week? Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Jacki Lyden, guest host

Guests:

Joining us from London is Roula Khalaf, Middle East editor for The Financial Times. She’s just returned from Tehran, where she was covering the post-election unrest.

From Providence, Rhode Island, we’re joined by Froma Harrop, nationally syndicated columnist and editorial board member at The Providence Journal. She also blogs at RealClearPolitics.com.

And from Hanover, N.H., we’re joined by Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic.

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., right, the acting chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, June 23, 2009, during the committee's markup on health care legislation. (AP)

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If there was a brief era of good feelings on health care reform, it’s sure history now.

President Obama came out swinging in a White House press conference yesterday and made his case for urgent action. And on Capitol Hill, the sausage-making is well underway — lawmakers sparring over down-and-dirty details of public vs. private plans, mind-boggling cost estimates, and the government’s ultimate role.

The president says the time to act is now or never. Will Washington pull it together?

This hour, On Point: Inside the sausage factory as health care reform gets serious.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Jane Clayson, guest host

Guests:

Joining us from Ann Arbor, Michigan, is Jonathan Cohn, a senior editor at The New Republic and author of the magazine’s health care blog, The Treatment. He’s also a senior fellow at the think tank Demos and author of the 2007 book “Sick: The Untold Story of America’s Health Care Crisis – and the People Who Pay the Price.” 

And from Washington, we’re joined by Gail Wilensky, economist and senior fellow at Project HOPE, an international health education foundation, and recently served on the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. She was an adviser to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and a contributor to the McCain health care plan.

In this image made available from Mousavi's election campaign media operation Ghalam News shows Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi waving to supporters at a demonstration in Tehran on Thursday June, 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Ghalam News)

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Dramatic events this week with historic stakes here and abroad.

Iran sees protests and unrest. Talk of revolution, reform and a stolen election are swirling.

In Washington, health care reform takes center stage, with plenty of pushback. President Obama pushes big new regulations for Wall Street and the banking sector.

A new poll says Americans are worried about the runaway deficits. There are new benefits for partners of gay federal employees. Plus, scandal for a top GOP leader, Senator John Ensign and more.

This Hour, On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Jane Clayson, guest host

Guests:

Trudy Rubin, foreign affairs columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer

Bill McKenzie, editorial columnist for The Dallas Morning News

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor for The Atlantic Monthly