The Takeaway: Story of the Day

Click on the audio player above to hear this interview. We all know Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech—it's remembered nearly every January, when we celebrate the federal holiday dedicated to the civil rights activist. The speech, delivered at the 1963 March on Washington, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in August. It turns out August 1963 wasn't the first time that King delivered that speech. A few months earlier, on June 23, Dr. King led more than 100,000 people in a march through Detroit - known as the Freedom Walk - where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech for the first time. Journalist Tony Brown, host of the online show "Tony Brown's Journal," coordinated Dr. King's 1963 Freedom Walk in Detroit and witnessed the original "Dream" speech. He discusses the original speech and his realization that the words he heard that day would become part of American history. Click on the audio player above to hear about King's speech, and listen to the full version here.

HBO's "The Sopranos" changed television, it changed the entertainment industry and actor James Gandolfini himself changed the character of the Italian-American made guy. News broke late Wednesday that Gandolfini, who was in Italy for a film festival, died of a heart attack. He was 51. "We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family," a statement from HBO says. "[Gandolfini] was a special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth and his humility. Our hearts go out to his wife and children during this terrible time. He will be deeply missed by all of us." Today we take a look back at the impact of Gandolfini's break through role in "The Sopranos," and the cultural significance of the show in America. We hear from listeners and chat with Chris Carley, co-owner of Holsten's, the Bloomfield, New Jersey restaurant where "Sopranos" creators David Chase filmed the series' iconic final scene. Of the booth where the Soprano family enjoyed their final dinner onscreen, Carley says, "That booth is closed. When I found out that James had passed away, I put a 'reserved' sign on it and it's been closed since." Click here to see a photo of the booth, reserved for Gandolfini.

In the small Mexican town of Malinalco Takeaway host John Hockenberry met Hermelinda Medina Millan. In April, 1997 when she and her husband first decided to migrate north, cross the border, and enter the United States illegally. Her husband Anselmo Vazquez Landeros worked in the fields for a cotton grower. He drove tractors, plowed the fields laid out irrigation tubing. Life was hard, and it became even harder for Anselmo after Hermelinda decided to take Nancy back to Mexico to rejoin their two older daughters. Anselmo stayed in California, working to support the family. Six years later, he was stopped for a traffic violation, and found to have been drinking. After a year in jail, he was sent back to Mexico. Nancy, now 15 years old, is an American citizen. She was born on American soil while her parents were undocumented in the US. But she only got six years with her father. After his deportation, carrying too much hardship and humiliation on his shoulders, Anselmo took his own life. Today, Nancy lives in California. The rest of her family is in Mexico, including her mother and three sisters. But, she says she understands why her parents made the choices they did. The story of Hermelinda and Anselmo's migration to the United States, his subsequent deportation, and then death, is a story of a family's separation and sacrifices-- all to chase the American dream.   The story of Hermelinda Medina Millan is one of the dozens of cases that come to the desk of Ellen Calmus every month. Ellen Calmus is the director of the Corner Project, a community organization, based in Malinalco, Mexico, that helps the families of migrants to the United States. Ellen is an American, and her job puts her front and center to the human toll that is taken when a Mexican immigrant leaves everything-- and everyone-- behind, as well as the devastation, trauma and stress that results when they are forced to turn around back home.

Was the I.R.S. correct to flag certain organizations applying for tax-exempt status for additional review? New analysis from The New York Times finds that in many cases groups singled out by the IRS may, in fact have been involved in “improper campaign activities.” A California group called the CVFC, for example, spent thousands of dollars on radio ads supporting Republican Congressional candidate.  Another organization called the Ohio Liberty Coalition, which has complained about the scrutiny it received, in fact canvassed for Mitt Romney in the 2012 elections, handing out door hangers. And in Alabama, a group calling itself The Wetumpka Tea Party sponsored training for a get-out-the-vote initiative for the “defeat of President Barack Obama.” Was the scrutiny the I.R.S. applied to these groups truly inappropriate?  And how, under ordinary circumstances, does the I.R.S. go about trying to check-up on organizations that apply for tax-exempt status? As the former director of the I.R.S.'s exempt organizations division, Marcus Owens has a few ideas about how the organization is supposed to handle these kinds of cases.

Yet again the mayor of Oklahoma City has been tested and challenged by tragic circumstances. The latest giant tornado to strike the Oklahoma City area and its suburbs on Monday destroyed entire neighborhoods, leaving at least two dozen dead, and hundreds injured. Mick Cornett, the mayor of Oklahoma City, gives an update on how his city is faring now, and what work is at the top of his to-do list.

We've all found ourselves in bad situations, and chosen not to get out. On a personal level, those situations might be a bad jobs or unfulfilling relationships. On a bigger level, they might be international conflicts or government cover-ups. But regardless of scope, one question persists: Why is it that we so often stay, and for so long? To quote Kenny Rogers: Why don't we know when to walk away, or for that matter, know when to run? Turns out there's a reason, and that reason has a name. It's called “the sunk cost fallacy.” Daniel Molden is an associate professor of social psychology at Northwestern University who specializes in motivated judgment decision making, and he knows a lot about why we stay when it's not in our best interest. 

They vowed to go where no one has gone before. But can the crew of the Enterprise really go new places without paying tribute to the old? And what are those old places that brought us to where we are now? David Goodman is something of a “Star Trek” historian. He's the author of “Star Trek Federation: the First 150 Years.” He's even written for the Star Trek franchise, specifically for the TV series “Star Trek: Enterprise.” And he's also the man who penned the famous “Futurama” episode “Where No Fan Has Gone Before.” Nygard shares his knowledge of the history, characters, and adventures that make up the Star Trek universe, and weighs in on whether the newest film, "Star Trek Into Darkness," would make Gene Roddenberry proud.  In this week's look at new movies, Rafer and Kristen share their thoughts on one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer: J.J. Abrams's "Star Trek Into Darkness," starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana.

A recent Pentagon report demonstrates the severity of the problem: based on anonymous surveys, the Defense Department estimates that 26,000 members of the military were sexually assaulted in fiscal year 2012, up from 19,000 the year before. Of these 26,000 victims, only a small fraction, 3,374 in 2012, reported the crime. These grim statistics combined with recent sexual battery charges against the Air Force's sexual assault prevention chief and similar accusations against an Army coordinator at Fort Hood have Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) pushing for changes in the military's handling of sexual assault cases.  In the current system, these cases are reported and adjudicated within a victim's chain of command. Victims report to their commanding officer and, Senator Gillibrand says, "There is a fear that the commanding officer will not take them seriously, or punish them for reporting."  Gillibrand's proposed legislation would allow victims to "report these cases to the JAG attorneys, the prosecutors who will prosecute the case," removing the case from the chain of command so that commanding officers with potential conflicts of interest would no longer be in charge of deciding whether a case should go to trial.  While she commends JAG attorneys for their work, because of the charges against sexual assault prevention specialists and the growing number of victims, Gillibrand believes that the overall adjudication of these crimes and the dynamics within the military need to change.  "For one of the Air Force Chiefs of Staff to have testified...that part of the incident rate is because of the hook-up culture that's being held over from high school demonstrates how there is so little understanding," she says, referring to recent comments by Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh to the Senate Armed Services Committee.  "Sexual assault and rape is a crime of violence, it's a crime of aggression, it's a crime of dominance; it may not even be related to sex in any way. These are violent crimes that are often committed by recidivists, people who have done it over and over again, where they target their victim and are really predators."

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act is the responsibility of the Department of Health and Human Services, which largely writes the regulations; oversees notifying hospitals and providers about what is changing; provides insurers with fair warning of new regulations and requirements; and heads up the national campaign to inform the public. In a controversial move, the federal government has turned to private sources to help with the marketing and information campaign for the ACA. What is not in dispute, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is that the marketing and information campaign is an essential first step in getting the health care law up and running.

This Sunday marks a year since last Mother's Day, and while many of us say thanks in the form of a card, a text or a bunch of flowers, celebrated actress, model and environmental activist Isabella Rossellini says thanks through a short film series called “Mammas.” After writing and directing the Webby-award winning Sundance series “Green Porno” and “Green Porno Seduce Me," which celebrates the mating rituals and sex lives of animal. Rossellini turns her attention to exploring creatures' rites of passage into motherhood. 

Marijuana regulation has changed radically over the last few years. Voters in Washington State and Colorado legalized marijuana in the 2012 election, and, with a prescription, almost any Californian can walk into a dispensary and buy the substance. With changing policies come new challenges regarding the economics and culture of marijuana.  First, a regulatory angle. Six months ago, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. While legalization itself was a struggle for its proponents, the work for implementing the laws is perhaps more complicated. Washington State Representative Roger Goodman pointed out in a recent meeting that there are no clear answers for how to regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Creating a safe and legal market for pot, while navigating federal law, which expressly forbids the use of marijuana, is a daunting task, and something that's never been done before. Austin Jenkins, statehouse reporter for our partner KUOW, in Olympia Washington, explains the implementation of Washington state's legalization law. And then we look at the economic angle. Dealers who once made their money on the wrong side of the law are finding their way in a quickly-changing industry. Marianne McCune, reporter for Takeaway co-producer WNYC, caught up with one California dealer who decided to move east, to sell marijuana where it's still illegal, and therefore more expensive, in New York City. Finally, dealers like the on McCune interviews have found ready customers in New York City high schools. Two of Takeaway co-producer's WNYC's Radio Rookies, Temityao Fagbenle and Gemma Weiner, look at pot culture in two different high schools in the city: one public and one private. They compare the way teenagers buy and use marijuana, and the major differences in how schools deal with students who are caught with the substance.

All this week we're talking to women and mothers who have harnessed smarts, spirit, and self-awareness to break into male-dominated careers and rise to the top. Judy Woodruff has covered news and politics as a broadcast journalist for more than three decades for PBS, CNN, and NBC. She served as an anchor and senior corresponded at CNN for 12 years and was the White House Correspondent for NBC News from 1977 to 1982.  Woodruff is also a wife and mother of three, including a son with spina bifida. Her children are now grown but she hasn't forgotten the feelings of guilt and sacrifice that accompanied juggling a demanding career with a busy home life. "I had this crazy idea you could pursue your career with abandon, and you could get married and have a family and it would all work out happily ever after and there wouldn't be any complications when it came to juggling...that wasn't even a word in my vocabulary. I just had this naive idea that you could do it all."

This week a large team of “medical reinforcements” including Navy nurses, corpsmen, and specialists, were deployed to Guantanamo Bay as a response to the ongoing inmate hunger strike. With about 100 inmates refusing food in protest, the use of force-feeding tubes is now widespread, due to a military directive that aims to keep patients alive, regardless of if they want to be fed or not, or live or not. In a press conference Tuesday morning, President Obama responded to the force-feeding, and reaffirmed his stance that Gitmo should close, saying, “I don't want these individuals to die. Obviously the pentagon is trying to manage the situation as best they can, but I think all of us should reflect on why exactly are we doing this. Why are we doing this?" Carlos Warner is a federal public defender who represents 11 Guantanamo detainees, including Kuwaiti hunger striker Faiz al Kandari. He says that the lawyers representing the hunger strikers are divided on the force-feeding policy.

A lot of people are talking about NBA player Jason Collins right now. Yesterday, he came out, becoming the first openly gay player in major American team sports. There have been those who've spoken out in support of Jason Collins, including Bill Clinton and Kobe Bryant, who tweeted, “Proud of jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others.” Not everyone, however, has been supportive. On Monday, on the ESPN show “Outside the Lines,” sports analyst Chris Broussard said, "I'm a Christian. I don't agree with homosexuality. I think it's a sin, as I think all sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is." It's hard to know how Jason Collins is taking all the attention. And how he knew it was time to come out. But one person who might understand is Esera Tuaolo. Back in 2002, Tuaolo became the third former NFL player to come out. This was two years after he'd retired, and three years after he'd made it to the Super Bowl with the Atlanta Falcons. These days, he's an anti-bullying activist. Tuaolo's website is hateiswrong.com.

A new study from the Urban Institute offers strong evidence that the recession has exposed the United States as an economy without equality of opportunity.  The study shows a growing disparity in wealth between non-Hispanic white Americans and most minority groups-- and argues that major policy reforms are necessary to level the playing field for all Americans. Darrick Hamilton, associate professor of urban policy and economics at the New School in New York breaks down the Urban Institute's findings.

The notions of terror and terrorism have occupied the headlines recently, in many ways, terror has been a large part of the American conversation since September 11, 2001. But one side of the conversation we don't often see on film is that of the people living their lives in America, working alongside us, living alongside us as neighbors, only to be reframed as enemies or others because of how they look or worship. Mira Nair's new film, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” boldly goes there. Based on Mohsid Hamid's bestselling novel, it tells the story of Changez, a young man from Pakistan climbing the corporate ladder in the U.S., until world events change his life. The film stars Riz Ahmed, Liev Schreiber, Keifer Sutherland, and Kate Hudson. Mira Nair is also the award winning director of “Monsoon Wedding,” “Mississippi Masala,” “The Namesake,” and many other films.

After the bombings at the Boston Marathon last week, residents in the city have come together in a sign of resilience. On The Takeaway this week, we're talking about the importance of residents getting to know their neighbors, especially during times of crisis or tragedy.  For Hassan Malik, little did he know that the Boston bombers lived just 200 yards from his home. Malik, a PhD candidate in international history at Harvard University, never met either of the Tsarnaev brothers, but he walked by their house every day. Malik recently wrote a piece for The Daily Beast recounting his experience in Boston during the bombing and the subsequent city-wide lockdown, and reflects on his own identity as a young man of Pakistani origin. 

America has a love-hate relationship with marijuana. Millions of people use the drug but it remains mostly illegal. A journalist and self-professed marijuana enthusiast explores the country's dysfunctional relationship with cannabis and his own experience with the drug in a new book, "Marijuanamerica."   Part travelogue, part analysis, author Alfred Ryan Nerz goes inside a medical marijuana dispensary and finds himself entrenched with a major West Coast dealer as he looks at the drug's effects on everything from physical pain to memory. Nerz also examines the move towards legalizing the drug and asks if "marijuana is hurting or helping us?"

When the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, social media networks lit up with cell phone pictures and videos. Investigators requested that anyone with footage of the attacks share them with authorities. While that information may have been helpful, the key technology used to identify the bombing suspect was Closed Circuit Television footage. There have been huge advancements in this technology over the past decade. John Cutter, former Commanding Officer for the NYPD's Criminal Intelligence Section, discusses CCTV and cell phone tracking technology, and their legal implications.  

The tragic bombing of Boston's marathons leaves many unanswered questions. Who orchestrated it, and for what purposes?  Marathons are always equipped with security forces, but in this case, they were unable to stop this horrific attack. Here to talk about the security measures marathon organizers should pursue in the aftermath of this attack, and counterrorism around large events more generally is Nick Casale, New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority's first Deputy Director of Security for Counter Terrorism. The tragic bombing at the Boston marathon leaves many unanswered questions. Who orchestrated it, and for what purposes?  Marathons are always manned with security forces, but in this case, they were unable to stop this horrific attack. New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority's first Deputy Director of Security for Counter Terrorism, Nick Casale, discusses counterterrorism and security measures at mass gatherings.

Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., a case that will determine whether companies have the right to patent human genes.  The case centers on Myriad Genetics, a company that patented the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in 1994. For women, the presence of either BRCA gene indicates increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Myriad Genetics discovered the genes and developed the test to determine whether patients have them. Myriad claims that their patent corresponds to the effort their scientists expended to find the genes, rather than the genes themselves. The Association for Medical Pathology and its supporters, on the other hand, argue that the genes themselves are being patented and that, because the genes are naturally occurring, Myriad did not create a new product deserving of a patent. Tom Taylor, assistant managing editor at Bloomberg BNA and US Law Week, explains the legal issues at hand, along with Harriet Washington, who examines the potential medical and bioethics consequences of this case.

We're in Portland this week, and there's a lot to love in this town when it comes to food: food trucks, farmers markets, artisanal cheese, artisanal everything. It's hard to know where to begin. After all, who's a food snob, and who's a food lover? Enter Leo and Soren Westrey. They consider themselves anti-food snobs. And they also happen to be only nine years old. Leo and Soren are the young twins who write the food blog, KIDCHOWPDX, which includes everything from restaurant reviews to recipes.

The president went off to Newtown, Connecticut yesterday to try and get some momentum for some new gun legislation. Here's what he had to say: "Newtown, we want you to know that we're here with you. We will not walk away from the promises we've made. We are as determined as ever to do what must be done, in fact, I'm here to ask you to help me to show that we can get it done. We'r not forgetting." Senate passage is iffy, and there is still the House to consider, and yet lawmakers on both sides of the aisle apparently want to have it out on this legislation. Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, speaks about the legislation.  The other dreamy issue in Washington is immigration reform, and it has considerably more momentum right now than gun reform. Gregory Sendana is the executive director of the Asia Pacific American Labor Alliance. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, explains what movement Americans can expect to see on these issues. Follow Todd for the latest from Washington //

According to her spokesman, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died of a stroke this morning at 87. She served at the head of the Conservative party from 1979 to 1990. She was the first female prime minster.  Claire Berlinski is the author of "There is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters."

For hundreds of years, the Catholic Church's policy has been to ordain men — and never women — as priests. Some call it tradition, but as Father Roy Bourgeois sees it, it's plain and simple sexism. Father Bourgeois spoke out about his beliefs. And then, last November, after 40 years in the priesthood, the Roman Catholic church expelled him for his beliefs. Last month a new pope was installed in the Vatican. And Father Bourgeois hopes that Francis will consider changing the church's policy. Father Bourgeois is the author of “My Journey from Silence to Solidarity.”

Dark matter makes up more than 80 percent of the matter in the universe. But up until now, it's eluded scientists. Yesterday, however, NASA announced a possible breakthrough. A particle detector mounted on the International Space Station may have detected dark matter. The detector is called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and it measures cosmic ray particles in space. These measurements appear to have uncovered dark matter. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist and author of the New York Times bestseller “Physics of the Future.” “Every high school text book says the universe is made out of atoms,” says Kaku. “Every textbook could have to be re-written because we now realize that most of the matter in the universe is made out of dark matter, invisible matter. This illusive matter that holds the galaxy together.” Kaku notes that this substance is crucial to our existence: “If it wasn't for dark matter, by the way, we wouldn't be here. The earth would have been flung into deep space. The galaxy would have flown apart." This is because the Milky Way spins 10 times faster than one would expect. Kaku explains that this must mean that there is an invisible halo of dark matter surrounding the galaxy holding it together. "With the Hubble Space Telescope we now have maps of dark matter…by looking at the bending of starlight around the galaxies." “If it holds up, for the first time in human history, we have detected a new form of matter other than atoms,” says Kaku. “It could be worth a Nobel Prize, in fact a second Nobel Prize for Dr. Sam King.”

In the wake of the the devastating Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre three months ago, the Connecticut legislature announced an agreement on a package of what they consider to be the nation's strongest gun-legislation package. The package includes a provision mandating a new state-issued eligibility certificate for the purchase of rifles, shotguns or ammunition; expands the assault weapons ban; establishes universal background checks; and prohibits the sale of new high-capacity magazines. What do the people closest to the emotional center of the gun debate think of the proposed gun control regulations? You might be surprised. Dan and Marilynn are residents of Newtown, Connecticut and grandparents of a nine-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School survivor. They are also gun owners with differing opinions on the issues. Dan is skeptical that the legislation will help and believes that parts of it encroach on his freedom: "I just grew up with guns all my life. I was in the military and had to handle weapons in the military. I figure that's part of my freedom." On the other hand, Marilyn believes that something must be done to address the violence and she welcomes the proposed legislation: "I understand where my husband is coming from…but we don't need 30 round clips or the violence on TV and the games the kids play. It's just the whole world has become so violent that we have to do something." "There's laws out there already. How come those laws aren't being enforced?" asks Dan, questioning the need for these new regulations. "I thought you had to have checks. When I got a handgun permit, I had to be fingerprinted. I had to go through an evaluation. What happened to all that?" One aspect that they can agree on is the assault weapons ban provision. "I think that there's no real need for an assault weapon, not unless you're in the military,” says Dan. "I'm all for it," adds Marilyn.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently wrote a piece highlighting the spirit of innovation that future generations will need to "find" jobs. In fact, finding jobs, he says, will be obsolete. He says the jobs of the future will be self-created and directed. But what will these jobs look like? And how can an average person create these jobs for themselves? Two people who've already invented their own jobs share their stories. And as they see it, you can do the same. Sasha Laundy went from teaching physics and science to high school students to working in start-ups. She was the fourth employee of the educational tech start-up Code Academy, and is the founder of Women Who Code. Gabe Johnson grew up in a depressed timber town, and worked in finance and start-ups before launching his own community space and branding company called Horses Cut Shop. His company is currently collaborating with Nordstorms to reprint real t-shirts from iconic family owned businesses, and giving the families a part of the proceeds.

Last week, Congress and the president managed to avoid a government shutdown with a continuing resolution that funds the federal government for the next six months.  Unbeknownst to most lawmakers, a last-minute rider, nicknamed the "Monsanto Protection Act," found its way, anonymously, into the continuing resolution before President Obama signed it last Tuesday.  Senator Jon Tester, Democrat from Montana, was outraged. "These provisions are giveaways worth millions of dollars to a handful of the biggest corporations in this country and deserve no place in this bill," he said. As Tom Philpott, food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, explains, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has to approve genetically-modified crops before companies could sell the seeds to farmers. In 2008 and 2009, the Center for Food Safety, along with other environmental groups, sued the USDA in federal court, claiming that the USDA approved two genetically engineered crops without a detailed environmental impact statement.  The Center for Food Safety won the suit in both cases, but the rider on this year's continuing resolution would bar environmental groups from suing the USDA for these purposes.  The Monsanto Company declined The Takeaway's request for an interview, but they released the following statement: As a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), we were pleased to join major grower groups in supporting the Farmer Assurance Provision including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Cotton Council, and several others.   The point of the Farmer Assurance Provision is to strike a careful balance allowing farmers to continue to plant and cultivate their crops subject to appropriate environmental safeguards, while USDA conducts any necessary further environmental reviews.  The attached letter, submitted by the industry in June 2012, should provide you with additional information and context about what the provision is intended to accomplish.  A broad bipartisan group of legislators in both the House and Senate have supported the provision dating back to June 2012, and it passed with broad bipartisan support.  

Reporting on the ongoing conflict in Syria has been a challenge for traditional journalists for a number of reasons, including the difficulty of getting into the country and the safety concerns on the ground. Filmmaker Olly Lambert gained access to Syria last year and spent five weeks reporting on both sides of the war, from the perspective of both Syrian rebels and government soldiers. Eliot Higgins has never been to Syria, but he is considered something of an expert when it comes to the monitoring of weapons used in the war, even though he has no formal training in the arms trade. For almost a year, Higgins has been carefully watching and analyzing hundreds of videos posted online every day from the Syrian conflict. From the comfort of his home, Higgins, who is currently unemployed, shares his analysis of Syrian weapons in his Brown Moses blog which has been used by journalists, including Lambert, to help them with their reporting. Higgins has worked with Human Rights Watch to document the use of cluster bombs in Syria, and recently discovered that Syrian opposition fighters had been using weapons from Croatia, reported to have been covertly shipped into the country with the help of the CIA. Lambert's forthcoming Frontline documentary, "Syria Behind the Lines," produced by our partner WGBH, airs on PBS on Tuesday, April 9th. "What was shocking [about going to] these Alawite and pro-regime villages was just the amount of fear. And that's a fear that's been designed by the regime, I mean the regime is stronger the more fearful it's supporters are,” explains Lambert. “But the people in these villages are absolutely convinced that they are facing annihilation. They talk openly about genocide and feel that as a minority…there's a huge sense that they are going to get wiped out." Lambert notes that these feelings are becoming further entrenched with every passing day of the conflict, fueling and driving the civil war. Higgins says that this escalation can be seen in each side's weapons of choice. “There's been an escalation on both sides. So what we've seen is on the syrian military side, we've seen an increasing range of bombs being deployed, clearly from stockpiles. It almost seems sometimes like they're working through their warehouses to see what bomb they've got to use next.” “On the opposition side, as they become better equipped and take over military bases, they've captured more equipment...So there's been an escalation on both sides for the entire conflict.” Our Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, is filling in as host all this week. Follow Todd on Twitter for the latest from Capitol Hill. Follow Todd for the latest from Washington //

As the North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un continues to exercise his power, South Korea is pushing forward on another, business-related front. The country is home to the world's largest smartphone maker, and its influential economic leader, Lee Kun-Hee. Lee Kun Hee may not be a household name in the United States, at least in comparison to his former Apple contender Steve Jobs, however, his influence is felt at Apple, Sony and without a doubt, in the homes of many Americans. Over 75 years of business, Samsung is privy to the tactics needed to stay relevant while keeping competitors on their toes. For example, recent ads by the company mock Apple fans waiting in line to buy the iPhone, portraying them as old and outdated. Sam Grobart, senior writer at Bloomberg Businessweek, explores the rise of the business in his latest piece and weighs the effects of Samsung as a company, and looks at the corporate practices that keeps it a competent contender in the race of greatest electronics. Sam Grobart, senior writer at Bloomberg Businessweek (Alex Johnson/WNYC)

There was a moment last week when the scientific community was on the edge of its seat after news that NASA's Voyager 1 had left the solar system. Voyager 1 is one of two spacecraft sent into the far reaches of the cosmos in the late 1970s to tour the solar system and collect data. Last week, a new study alleged that Voyager 1 had burst through the heliosphere into interstellar space. NASA quickly shot down that explanation. "Voyager 1 is about 18 billion kilometers, or 11 billion miles, from the sun," said project scientist Edward Stone of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. "It's on the very edge of the bubble the sun creates around itself, called the heliosphere."  In other words, the craft remains well within the confines of the solar system, according to NASA. But the study has sparked a debate over how exactly we know where the solar system ends and interstellar space begins. It's also brought the Voyager mission back into the limelight. According to Stone, on August 25th, there was a major change in the environment surrounding Voyager, causing some to think it had moved outside of the bubble for the first time. "For 7 years, we'd seen a very intense field of radiation, which essentially disappeared on August 25th, suggesting that we might actually be outside the bubble for the first time. But it turns out that the magnetic field, once we measured it, was exactly the same as it had been…so we knew we were still inside the bubble but now connected to the outside for the first time." Stone describes this change as a nice achievement. "It's really almost a perfect vacuum as far as the spacecraft is concerned. Inside the bubble, we are surrounded by the magnetic field and the material that has come from the atmosphere of the sun. Outside, we will be embedded in the magnetic field of the galaxy and in material that has come from the explosion of supernova nearby, 5, 10, 15 million years ago." "We listen to Voyager 1 about 8-10 hours every day. It's sending back data on what is the magnet field, how many cosmic ray particles are out there…that's the kind of data we're sending back every day." Our Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, is filling in as host all this week. Follow Todd on Twitter for the latest from Capitol Hill. Follow Todd for the latest from Washington //

Today the Supreme Court hears the first of two cases on the constitutionality of gay marriage. The first case is Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved, state constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage back in 2008. On Wednesday, the nation's highest court will hear United States v. Windsor, the case that will determine the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (also known as DOMA), signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. Kenji Yoshino, professor of constitutional law at New York University School of Law, explains that there are a few potential outcomes if the Supreme Court decides to strike down Proposition 8. The Court could decide that all state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional but, Yoshino says, that seems unlikely. "I think that the Supreme Court will rule for the plaintiffs, but on…intermediate grounds," Yoshino says. In other words, Yoshino believes that the Court is more likely to rule one of three ways: That the defendants do not have standing to bring the case, which would kick the case back to the district level and allow the district ruling (in which Judge Vaughn Walker ruled for the California plaintiffs) to stand. That it was unconstitutional for California to grant a right (the state Supreme Court approved gay marriage in May 2008), then take it away (via the Proposition 8). That the nine states that allow same-sex domestic partnerships or civil unions must allow gay marriage (in addition the the nine states that already do allow gay marriage. Yoshino predicts the Supreme Court will strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. "The reason that [DOMA] is more vulnerable than Proposition 8," Yoshino says, "is because marriage has traditionally been an issue of state law, rather than federal law. So the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is really a usurpation of the traditional relationship between the federal and state governments on the side of the federal government." Yoshino points out that the Federal government under President Obama has taken a complicated approach to the Defense of Marriage Act: "They are enforcing [DOMA] but they are refusing to defend it. And I want to make clear, that this is very rare but it is not unprecedented." Because the federal government has refused to defend it, House Republicans led by John Boehner have stepped in to do just that. "Obama is not saying that the Supreme Court shouldn't decide this case, he's just saying that he wouldn't defend it. And in fact Chief Roberts himself declined to defend in an affirmative action case and so this is something that occurs on both sides of the aisle." Listen to audio from today's same-sex marriage hearings at the Supreme Court Our Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, is filling in as host all this week. Follow Todd on Twitter for the latest from Capitol Hill. Follow Todd for the latest from Washington //

This week, the Supreme Court will hear two cases on same-sex marriage: Hollingsworth v. Perry, the case will determine the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, and United States v. Windsor, the case that will decide the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, also known as DOMA. Over the last decade, in the midst of public legislative and court battles over same-sex marriage, many gay and lesbian couples have privately decided to start families. According to the 2010 census, the number of same-sex couples raising children more than doubled over the past ten years, from eight percent in 2000 to 19 percent in 2010. Sarah Gogin is a 24-year-old senior staff associate in San Francisco. Sarah's fathers adopted her in 1988, one of the first gay adoptions in California. As a trailblazer, Sarah recalls some hardship growing up with gay parents. "As I got into grammar school, I didn't understand why people would be treating us differently," she says. "You hear things on the playground," she continues, "they throw out these words...sometime without even knowing what it means." Sixteen-year-old Malina Simhard-Halm also experienced bullying when she moved with her fathers from Los Angeles to Santa Fe in the fourth grade. "I was just different," she says, "but it felt like I was the subject of a lot of bullying and my parents were also being discriminated against." "On a school level," she says, "yes, I was a different kid. I had two gay dads. But, on a political level, too, my parents were still…unable to do certain things and to obtain certain rights." Unlike Sarah and Malina, Kevin Gibson Weinberger, a 13-year-old who lives with his fathers in Los Angeles, has grown up as one of many kids with same-sex parents. "More kids in my school have two dads or two moms," Kevin says. "Families are more diverse nowadays, so I don't really feel left out." "I don't really get bullied at school at all; I don't recall being bullied at all," Kevin says. "But I feel like…the government is bullying my parents by not letting them have rights that they should have." Kevin continues. "I get all these rights — well, not as many as adults, but I get rights, and when I'm older, I get rights to marry, and I feel like they should have rights to marry also." Sarah is amazed by the school environment Kevin describes. "Times have changed," she says, "and it's incredible to hear." "It's crazy and great to see kids so young, starting so young, really standing up for their beliefs and standing up for their families." As for the cases before the court, Malina feels that her generation is part of a civil rights movement for LGBT rights. "I definitely want to be a part of the huge wave…that has picked up in the past few years." Malina and Sarah are members of Outspoken Generation, a group for children with LGBT parents, and Malina is proud that the organization wrote testimony for an amicus brief filed by the Family Equality Council.   If Proposition 8 and DOMA are upheld, Malina, Kevin and Sarah note that while they would be disappointed, they'd nevertheless remain confident in their families. "If we lose," Kevin says, "my family is no less of a family than we were before. If gay marriage is approved, and my parents do get married, we're no less of a family and no more of a family."

Due in large part to the release of Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg's new book "Lean In," for the first time in a long time there is a robust discussion about how to recruit and keep more women in leadership positions being had on a large scale. Underscoring these discussions is the issue of how children and work-life balance impede the advancement of women in the workplace. Mike Winerip writes and anchors the Booming blog for The New York Times. He says that his experiences have lead him to believe that this isn't a gender issue. He was on the fast track to becoming a top editor at The New York Times when he made the unconventional decision to lean out and anchor the home while his wife worked as the breadwinner. He continued to work as a journalist but did so from home and turned down advancements in his career to accommodate running a busy house, a sacrifice made more often by women than by men. Winerip's experiences have lead him to believe that the blessing of children is also a major career limitation, regardless of your gender, and rightfully so. He doesn't believe that family-friendly workplace changes will reduce the burden on parents or catapult women to high-powered positions because the nature of high-powered work is just not friendly. "Sometimes you think you have it, sometimes you think you're on top of it," says Winerip of his experiences balancing work life and home life. "You write a great story or a good story and you can still do the kids ball game you can coach and it all falls into place. And then there's an emergency the next day or a kid throws up and you're on the verge of falling apart." "Our generation — I'm a baby boomer — we're the first ones who've done this. Some of it is a luxury. It's very, very hard but it's about having had the educational opportunities, having an economy that was mostly expanding, having all kinds of professional opportunities. And more opportunities can bring more challenges." The Takeaway recently partnered with YouGov for a survey on work-life balance. Here are a few of the results: Do Americans care more about making money or raising a family? | Create infographics Whos treated better at your job? | Infographics All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2132 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 19th - 21st March 2013. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+). You can view the full results of the survey here.

Over the past week or so, we've been talking about the changing world of work in America — from older Americans who are working beyond traditional retirement age — to childcare workers who are trying to strike a work-life balance. Today, we continue with a look at educated, independent women who choose to leave the workforce to raise their children. Self-proclaimed feminist stay-at-home moms, these women face a whole new set of challenges — and judgments — as they make parenting their primary job. And that judgment often comes from other women. Becky Jacobsen of West Springfield, Massachusetts earned her bachelor's degree in costume design from Rutgers University, and worked outside the home until she and her husband had their three sons. Jacobsen says that her decision to stay at home was borne of frustration and feelings of inadequacy surrounding the work-home life balancing act. "Once you actually have kids and the prospect of the work-home balance…you are confronted with [the fact] that it's a totally different reality. And I worked for 18 months after my son was born…and for me it was an awful experience. I didn't love what I was doing and I just didn't feel like I was doing a good job in any facet of my life. I wasn't a good employee, I wasn't a good mother, I wasn't a good wife." Elizabeth Anderson of Enterprise, Florida holds a degree in education, and worked as a teacher until she and her husband had their two daughters. "I just said to my husband…I want to leave the workforce and raise my family. And quite honestly he was hesitant with that because there is such concern about women feeling like 'just a mom' and he was worried that I would soon regret that." But like Jacobsen, Anderson says she has never regretted that decision. Both women say that they aren't often confronted with judgement of their decision to stay at home but there are instances when it's hard to classify. "I think we're more confronted with that in general. It's hard to introduce yourself to people when you're in a crowd of people you don't know and it's, 'Oh, what do you do?' and my response is, 'Well, I stay home with the kids,' and I've always tried to avoid the phrase, 'just a mom' because that doesn't begin to cover it."

The blogger/journalist Yoani Sanchez, a leading dissident voice in Cuba and one of the most influential people in the world, according to Time Magazine, is on her first worldwide tour. Sanchez finally received her passport in January, after the Cuban government rejected her application 20 times. At the age of 37, Sanchez is the voice of a younger generation in Cuba. Her blog, Generación Y, receives millions of hits a day. Takeaway host John Hockenberry spoke with Sanchez (through a translator) about Cuban politics and her mission to scare the Castro regime while bringing the support of American policymakers into what she hopes will soon be the post-Castro era. Sanchez says her first exposure to freedom of speech in the United States has her hooked. "I find myself becoming very quickly addicted to that kind of freedom of expression." However, she has less admiration for other aspects of the United States, such as foreign policy posturing that she believes has exacerbated the situation in Cuba: "I think that policy coming from the U.S. the last 54 years has allowed for an environment of confrontation to take hold and the Cuban government has used that environment, that confrontation to justify all its acts…acts of oppression, acts of intimidation and to justify what it does." Amidst an environment rife with oppression and intimidation, Sanchez is most scared of living in fear: "There's fear at all levels of society and within the Cuban people. That comes from Raúl Castro. That comes from Fidel Castro. And so when you break that mold, when you are able to leave, you break down fear. And so they had to let people out because pressures were coming from within and now you see that fear subsiding.” Sanchez confronts her people's situation through her blog, a critical and often humorous expose of life in Cuba and the Cuban government. "Cubans from the diaspora in all corners of the world that follow me and read me, but there are also my countrymen within the island who are able to follow me and read me and keep abreast of what I say through alternative means although no internet Cubans have come up with alternative ways to communicate and through there they read me."

What goes into the average work day? A walk to lunch, a walk to the bathroom, a few clicks through your favorite blog, a conversation by the coffee maker. These behaviors are natural aspects of office culture in the United States and they are increasingly being monitored by employers. More companies are turning to tracking devices to learn about employee behavioral patterns in the hopes of boosting productivity. This kind of data collection is just one of many new attempts to predict our behavior by monitoring how we live, work, and make purchases. Ben Waber is the president and CEO of Sociometric Solutions, a social sensing technology company that monitors employee interaction. Kenneth Cukier is co-author, along with Victor Mayer-Schonberger, of "Big Data: A Revolution that Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think." Waber explains that his company collects gigabytes of data on each person being monitored each day. They analyze email data, online chat data, and phone call data with the consent of the employees. "The idea," Waber says, "is to really understand: How are people collaborating? How are different teams collaborating with each other and how does that relate to the strategy of the organization? And really understanding: What are the things that make people happy and productive at work?" For the first time we are able to "datafy" how employees interact and what we are learning is revealing. For instance, Culkier says, "What we found when we looked at IBM, in their famous Rüschlikon lab outside of Zurich, is that…this was the lab that was responsible for many of their Noble Prizes in the 20th century…and one of the reasons why it was so successful is that they built in, almost inadvertently, ways for employees to collaborate with each other." Waber explains that this workplace data is not just beneficial to employers: "One of the reasons why over that last year we've gotten over 90 percent participation at every company we've gone to is because people understand that these things are what make them happy and effective. But right now they have no way to show to management, 'Hey, you know what, I shouldn't eat lunch at my desk, I should be able to go out to lunch with my colleagues because actually those interactions are where I get a better understanding of what people are doing, we get new ideas, and we just kind of form a more supportive community.'" Ben Waber, president and CEO of Sociometric Solutions

The use of the nuclear bomb in World War II fundamentally altered the nature of modern warfare. For the United States, it forever changed the role of the presidency, giving the executive branch the power to unilaterally detonate a stunningly destructive bomb. Today, drones have, arguably, become the modern version of the nuclear bomb, controlled from a computer, with the potential for no loss of American life, no boots on the ground, and a relatively small price tag.  The use and deployment of drones rests comfortably in the hands of the president. He alone can order the killing of another human being abroad, including an American citizen. To date, three Americans have been killed in Yemen in drone strikes, include Anwar al-Awlaki, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. It's a presidential power that Attorney General Eric Holder has reaffirmed in the face of imminent danger.  David Cole, professor of constitutional law, national security, and criminal justice at Georgetown University Law Center, says that the administration legally justifies the drone program with two legal documents: First, they can engage in targeted killing on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Pakistan because it's a war. And second, the targeted killings in Yemen and Lebanon — thousands of miles away from any battlefield — are justified because those individuals they are targeting are an imminent threat. According to Cole, "They have redefined imminence to say that if somebody is involved in one of these groups that's associated with Al Qaeda and they're an operational leader, then by definition they constantly pose an imminent threat to us." "In this program, a judge doesn't decide anything," he says, "because the administration has taken this authority on for itself and asserts that it doesn't have to get any approval from any other branch, whether it be Congress or the judiciary, to kill even an American citizen."

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq. Abdulrazzaq Al-Saiedi, who covered the war as a correspondent for The New York Times, has mixed feelings about the consequences of the occupation of his native  country. Like many Iraqis, Al-Saiedi initially welcomed the war that brought an end to Saddam Hussein's brutal dictatorship. Especially since his brother had been executed in Abu Ghraib prison by Hussein's security forces. However, Al-Saiedi was not prepared for the ramifications of the war and the sectarian violence and chaos that would tear his country apart. "We gained our freedom, but we lost the state, the country…and our national identity," he says. "I don't think Iraq will ever be the same." Abdulrazzaq Al-Saiedi is currently a senior researcher with Physicians for Human Rights in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Al-Saiedi says that after the U.S. invasion his optimism for his country was dashed as the situation in Iraq deteriorated quickly.  "I lived most of my life in a war zone, since the Iraqi-Iranian war started in 1980," he says. "We thought, this is the end. Unfortunately, it was the start of different oppression. The start of a different brutal era." Al-Saiedi was working as a journalist for The New York Times in March of 2004 when he reported on a particularly gruesome and savage attack on American contractors in Fallujah. Upon learning of the deaths of the Americans, he joined a mob of mostly children and teenagers headed for the bridge where it was believed the bodies hung. "When I arrived to the bridge, I saw two bodies hanging on the bridge and two on the ground," he explains, "and the kids were there and kind of celebrating…that just broke my heart and made me so scared because I just imagine…I could be the fifth one. I will be the fifth one if any one of them know I work for The New York Times.” Al-Saiedi describes the scene at the bridge in Fallujah as the most brutal thing he has seen in his life so far: "A child, I think he's 10 or 11 years old, he was kicking one of the bodies. There was smoke coming from the flack jacket and he was shouting 'pacha.'" Pacha, Al-Saiedi explains, is a very famous meal in Iraq consisting of the head of a sheep.  "I was thinking: What's the game? What's the goal? I don't understand…where are we going?" Abdulrazzaq Al-Saiedi (Alex Johnson/WGBH)

On Monday, North Korea declared the 1953 Korean War armistice nullified. On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper emphasized the danger posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs, calling them, for the first time, "a serious threat to the United States." "The rhetoric, while it is propaganda-laced, is also an indicator of their attitude and perhaps their intent," Clapper said. Is it time to start to take North Korea more seriously? Karin Lee, executive director of the National Committee on North Korea, weighs in.

Author Taiye Selasi describes herself as an "Afropolitan," a member of a distinctly 21st century generation of African origin. The characters in her new novel, "Ghana Must Go," reflect this sentiment as well. Selasi's first book follows the Sai family: father Kweku from Ghana and mother Fola from Nigeria who meet as college students in Pennsylvania in the 1970s and raise their children in Brookline, Massachusetts. "Ghana Must Go" is, in part, a story of immigration. The Sai parents leave Ghana and Nigeria because, Selasi says, they "were born smart, capable and ambitious in countries that, at that time, could not accommodate such young people."  Yet Selasi explains that while she believes literature plays a role in making sense of historical conflict, of immigration and colonialism, she focuses her fiction on the rich, emotional lives of her characters first and foremost. Fola may have been orphaned during Nigeria's Biafran War, but, Selasi says, "Her primary scars are not political and they're not historical...they're not generic. They belong to her." Similarly, Selasi distinguishes between her fiction that features characters of African origin and her non-fiction documentary work. "I write literature because I love literature," she says. "The consequences that extend beyond the world of the novel…are wonderful, but they are not primary."  "The Afropolitan experience," she continues, "is hugely important to me, as are representations of Africa, but I think of myself as taking that challenge on in a space other than my fiction."

As America and the people of Iraq are challenged to make sense of the decade that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, tens of thousands of people who witnessed the violence and the cauldron of change that accompanied the fall of Saddam Hussein are not here to testify. In their eyes is a story of sacrifice, of lives wasted of children never permitted to grow up. Imagine telling the story of the war in Iraq from the perspective of one young Iraqi who cared deeply about his country and who also worked on the front lines as an Arabic interpreter. He was forced to consider danger at the edge of the conflict and the vulnerable Iraqis — his friends and neighbors — that he wanted to protect. It's a story of the war through one young man named Muhammad, and nicknamed Roy to protect his identity and that of his family. Blake Hall is a former Army captain. He led a reconnaissance platoon in Iraq from July 2006 to September 2007. Ibrahim is a former interpreter for the U.S. Army and Mohammed's cousin. 

It may not surprise you to learn that American students dread math.  Or that that they feel that dread physically through stomachaches, headaches, fluttering heartbeats and sweaty palms. Many Takeaway listeners have been sharing their own tales of math-induced terror: Listener Aman writes, "I have failed every single math class I have ever taken. I am humiliated by this fact and it led to years of low self-esteem, but the only thing that kept me going is the fact that I am a bright, intelligent woman who has chosen a career path that will never ever involve math in it."Lots of people, it turns, out retain math anxiety through adulthood.   But it might surprise you to learn just how young students are when math anxiety kicks in. New research from New York University suggests students start fearing math as early as first grade.  Dr. Rose Vukovic is a professor of teaching and learning at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development where she's studying this problem. For a little perspective on how to remedy math anxiety, The Takeaway visited the National Museum of Mathematics in Manhattan.

Now here's something the United States, Russia, and Iran can all agree on: Wrestling should stay in the Olympics. After the International Olympic Committee announced last month that the sport will likely be dropped after 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad both pledged to fight to keep wrestling in the Olympics. That cause is one Americans are sympathetic to as well — even on Wall Street. Mike Novogratz, president of Fortress Investment Group, wrestled for Princeton as an undergraduate. Now he's leading the campaign to save the sport's place in the Olympics.

Wendell Pierce is best-known for his role as Bunk in the HBO series "The Wire," and he currently plays a struggling trombonist in the series "Treme." But he's taking on a much different job these days in his hometown of New Orleans, where he is in the process of opening a chain of grocery stores meant to revitalize the city he loves. Inspired by first lady Michelle Obama's healthful food financing initiative in 2011, Pierce and his partners created Sterling Farms, a grocery chain dedicated to eradicating food deserts in New Orleans.  The chain was created to meet a demand that other retailers weren't willing to gamble on supplying. According to Pierce, there are many neighborhoods in New Orleans that lack access to basic grocery store staples such as fresh produce and food staples. "There are so many communities that are undeserved…where people have to make a huge effort to just get to a grocery store. And I saw that happening all over New Orleans after Katrina. And here we are seven and a half years later…and there are still areas like the lower 9th Ward and New Orleans East that still don't have access to a decent grocery store." Pierce believes that these grocery stores will help the restore the communities in which they're located. "It is the heart and soul of a community when you have access to fresh foods. It is the sustenance of life and the heartbeat of the community," he says."It's no longer acceptable to stand on the sidelines. If not now, when? If not me, who?" asks Pierce.

Even if you're relatively secure about your health and waistline, it'd be impossible to completely miss the buzz around the major diet trends of recent years. We want to know what to eat and when to eat it, and we sometimes take it to extremes. In Japan, a fad called the "Morning Banana Diet" even set off a banana shortage — spiking banana prices by 20 percent in 2008. But as we careen from one diet to the next, we've been making substantive changes in our eating habits, too. Over the past 30 years, Americans' per capita consumption of red meat fell by more than 20 lb. per year. We drink less than a third of the amount of whole milk we did in 1980 and almost twice the amount of skim milk. We eat less margarine, less lard, less shortening, and less sugar. And we keep getting new advice. This week The New York Times reported on another new kind of diet: The Mediterranean Diet. It's designed to be rich in in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even red wine, and the diet is said to extend the lifespan of its adherents.But is all this nutrition advice actually making us healthier? Michael Moss, author of "Salt Sugar Fat" is an investigative journalist whose new book focuses on the corporate side of what we eat. According to Moss, one reason we seem to be losing the health battle amidst so much advice and information on the issue is economic disadvantage. Moss quotes Bob Drain, the inventor of Lunchables, in his book as saying "The people who make the processed food don't eat the processed food. And therein lies the class issue that really goes with the food industry in America."  Moss says of the executives in the processed food industry: "They know better, because salt, sugar and fat are the three pillars, the holy grail, of the processed food industry. The scientists are driving as hard as they can to reach those perfect amounts that will send us over the moon."

The budget wars seem never ending in Washington D.C., with the sequester just one day away and no agreement between the White House and Republican leadership in sight. After sequestration goes into effect, lawmakers on Capitol Hill will have months of budget negotiations ahead of them.  In the weeks ahead, both parties will have to find a way to strike sort of compromise on spending levels, or face a government shut down come March 27 when the current authorization for spending runs out. The public, of course, has an interesting relationship with the idea of sequestration. David Leonhardt, the Washington bureau chief for The New York Times, says, "Whatever people say about their feelings toward the deficit, most people want their taxes to be low and their benefits to be good… That's a recipe for a deficit." Also in March, Republican Representative Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, says he will introduce his plan to balance the budget over the next 10 years, proposing the steepest spending cuts yet. President Obama too will unveil his budget for the next year. But it doesn't end in March either. Come July, Congress and the White House will likely return to the question of raising the debt ceiling.

Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in Shelby County v. Holder, the case that will determine the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, the Voting Rights Act represented a significant achievement for the young activists of the Civil Rights Movement. Section 5 forces states and select counties with a history of racial discrimination to get Justice Department or federal court approval before changing their voting laws. When enacted, Congress intended Section 5 to be a temporary measure.  Congress extended Section 5 for 25 more years in 2006, and, in 2009, the in the case of NAMUDNO v. Holder, the Supreme Court strongly hinted that it may be time for Congress to revisit Section 5, that states and counties no longer required pre-clearance because the racism that had once prevented African-Americans from voting in those areas had waned. Judy Richardson fought for voting rights on the front lines, as a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama throughout the early 1960s. Today, Richardson is a filmmaker and author, a co-producer of the civil rights documentary "Eyes on the Prize" and an editor of "Hands on the Freedom Plow." She says that "you can't predict the future," but in 2013 Section 5 is clearly necessary. Many state legislatures, Judy explains, "have eliminated access to the vote…through voter ID, through no early voting, through no Sunday votes, all of it meant to cut back on black and Latino voters." Her former SNCC colleague, Charles Cobb, agrees. Cobb moved to Mississippi to work as a field secretary for SNCC in 1962, and he says that, "if you're asking me if we'll need a Voting Rights Act 200 years from now, I can't say." But, Cobb continues, "if you're talking about now, the 21st century, I say yes… There's clearly a campaign underway to disenfranchise, I would argue, both blacks and Hispanics." Today Cobb is a journalist and author, most recently, of "On The Road to Freedom, a Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail." He recalls his SNCC days vividly. Back then, he explains, "People needed to know that trying to register to vote was a legitimate thing. Remember, we were up against a hundred years of people being told that they were inferior, and really that they weren't qualified." Richardson remembers joining the sit-in movement in Maryland and eventually traveling south to help register African-American voters. She grew up in Tarrytown, New York, and recalls her shock upon realizing that, as a black woman activist in the South in the early 1960s, "It's not only that the state governments want you dead...but also the federal government whom I assumed would protect us — they are taking notes and not doing diddly." Both Richardson and Cobb emphasized the trails blazed by earlier black activists and local African-American leaders. Cobb helped Mississippi activist Fannie Lou Hamer register to vote, and remembered a story that his friend and fellow activist, Charles MacLauren, told him. MacLauren "brought the first three black people to try and register to vote in Sunflower County [Mississippi] in the 20th century," Cobb says. "Three little women, who he called 'my little old ladies.' And Mac was telling me, when I asked him how it went, he said there was a whole mob at the county courthouse waiting for them. And one of the little ladies grabbed him by the hand and said, 'Son, are we going on in now?' And they walked and Mac told me, 'That's the day I became a man.'"

One year ago on the evening of February 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin walked out of a 7-Eleven in Sanford, Florida. A resident named George Zimmerman was sitting in his car at the time, and said that Martin looked suspicious, "looking at all the houses" as he walked "leisurely" into a gated community. He called 911 to report the suspicious behavior and then began following Martin on foot. Moments later, the two scuffled and Zimmerman shot Martin once in the chest, killing him.  Days later, the story was propelled into the national spotlight, and raised questions about Florida's "stand your ground" laws and the racial politics involved in the shooting.  Since then, Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder and is currently out on $1 million bond. A judge announced earlier this month that jury selection in the trial will begin on June 10, 2013.  Despite the national outrage at the time, little has changed in the Florida legislature regarding the state's so-called "stand your ground" laws. However, the recent shooting massacre in Newtown, Connecticut has given new momentum to possible dialogue on the larger issue of gun safety in the state. WLRN reporter Phil Latzman explains where the trial of George Zimmerman currently stands and the legislative decisions by Florida lawmakers since the shooting. Valerie Houston is a pastor at the Allen Chapel AME Church in Sanford, Florida about how the community has moved forward in the year since.