In our regular series The Value, Takeaway correspondent Farai Chideya brings us the story of a woman in Miami who found the value of home in an unlikely place.

In our regular series, "The Value: What Matters to Us Most," correspondent Farai Chideya interviews a father of three in Newark, NJ, who is a repeat felon trying to stay straight.

The Takeaway's Farai Chideya interviews Mason Scherzer for "The Value."

The Takeaway's correspondent Farai Chideya joins us with the next installment in her series, The Value, which focuses on how priorities change in an uncertain economy. This time, Farai talks to "ordinary adventurer" Mason Scherzer, who values adventure travel over saving or common comforts like a daily latte. Instead of sticking his money under his mattress, he's going on a trip to Antarctica.

The Takeaway's Farai Chideya speaks to Anna Deavere Smith about "The Value."

Today we present the first installment in a new multimedia series called “The Value,” hosted by our correspondent Farai Chideya. The series explores what we — as individuals and as a society — place value on.

Farai sat down with Anna Deavere Smith, who is an award-winning playwright, actress and professor famous for her “documentary theatre.” Her newest, play, “Let Me Down Easy,” focuses on the issue of our nation’s health care and is now playing at New York's Second Stage Theater.

The Takeaway talks to two movie critics about the anti-blockbuster movies of the summer, particularly foreign films. We talk about the British film "In the Loop," described as a combination of the West Wing and The Office, and "A Woman in Berlin," about a rape victim during the Red Army occupation. The two film critics joining The Takeaway this morning are A. O. Scott, film critic for The New York Times, and Wesley Morris, film critic for the Boston Globe.

Watch the trailer for In the Loop below.



And here's the trailer for A Woman in Berlin.

A 10-year federal probe uncovered an international conspiracy involving money laundering, corruption of local and state governments and synagogues in New Jersey. Three mayors ended the day in handcuffs; five rabbis are accused of funneling $3 million through religious non-profit organizations, and 44 people are heading to court. Is this just business as usual in the Garden State? Joining The Takeaway is Bob Ingle: he's the Trenton bureau chief for Gannet news service and co-author of the book, "The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption."

Last Thursday Henry Louis Gates Jr, one of the nation's pre-eminent African American scholars, was arrested for breaking into his own home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Charges were dropped but the debate goes on. To find out how this story is playing locally, The Takeaway turns to Joe Sciacca, the Deputy Managing Editor of the Boston Herald. Also joining the discussion is Boston-based TV and radio commentator Callie Crossley.

The Federal “Cash for Clunkers” program officially kicks off today. It allows Americans to trade in cars with bad gas mileage and receive up to $4,500 towards fuel efficient vehicles. Some dealerships already began offering it and The Takeaway talks to Mary Dubois from Oklahoma City who traded in her clunker for a new, more fuel efficient vehicle. And we talk with Dan Neil, auto critic for the Los Angeles Times about the clunkers program and why Hyundai is doing so well right now. Also joining the show is Rick Halstead, a Hyundai factory worker. He's going to be talking to us from the factory in Alabama before starting his shift working on 4-cylinder engines.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin officially hands over power to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell on Sunday. What’s next for her and what is her legacy as Alaska's former governor? (One thing we do know: her autobiography is scheduled to come out next spring from Harper Collins.) Joining The Takeaway is Libby Casey, reporter for the Alaska Public Radio Network, to talk about Palin's legacy in Alaska, and Bernadette Malone, former editor at Sentinal, an imprint of Penguin Publishers, to talk about the autobiography.

This weekend, Cooperstown holds its induction ceremony for the Baseball Hall of Fame—days after White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Takeaway talks with Dave Zirin, who writes about sports for The Nation and is author of "A People's History of Sports in the United States."

Watch the final out in Mark Buehrle's perfect game below.

The Dow posted its highest closing since last November, topping the 9000 mark for the first time since January. And the minimum wage goes up today from $6.25 to $7.25. But some say this will create more joblessness, pushing the nation’s unemployment-insurance system into a severe and long-term test. To talk about all of this is Peter Morici, economist and business Professor at the University of Maryland, and Jason DeParle, a reporter for The New York Times.

Montreal, Canada, hosts the annual "Just For Laughs" festival this weekend. A swarm of comedians from around the world descends on the city for hundreds of shows. Joining The Takeaway from Montreal to talk about the festival is Steve Heisler, a contributor to The Onion's A/V club, and Andy Kindler, a writer and comedian and a veteran of the festival.

Watch a clip of Andy Kindler performing below.

The Takeaway is taking a look at the news scorecard for the week including Obama selling his embattled health care plan, Secretary of State Clinton taking aim at North Korea, and a Harvard professor facing down police from inside his own home. Here to help tally who's up and who’s down is friend of The Takeaway Marcus Mabry, the international business editor at The New York Times, and Reihan Salam, fellow at the New America Foundation and co-author of "Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream."

The car industry is starting to release its second quarter profit reports. The Ford Motor Company is posting a surprise $2.8 billion profit, but it continues to have operating losses. Since its two biggest competitors, GM and Chrysler, have just emerged from bankruptcy, the report is definitely creating a mixed picture of the company's health. Globally, Hyundai has managed to post a huge profit, while luxury car brand Porsche has big changes in the works. For more we turn to Nick Bunkley, The New York Times auto industry reporter, and Russell Padmore, a BBC business correspondent.

At the end of his press conference last night, President Barack Obama discussed the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. The president said the cops "acted stupidly" in their decision to arrest the nation's preeminent African American studies scholar when he was questioned about a possible break-in at his own home. Law enforcement officers receive sensitivity training in dealing with racial profiling. So why do these incidents continue to happen? Joining The Takeaway to discuss the issue is Phillip Atiba Goff, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Executive Director of Research for the Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity, and Rick Weger, a lieutenant in charge of training at the San Jose Police Department.

For more, listen to The Takeaway's story, America, Still Not 'Post-Racial' and read Takeaway Contributor David Wall Rice's essay, Professor Gates Arrested? No Surprise.

North Korea and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have launched a war of words. In a speech in Thailand, where she is attending a regional summit, Secretary Clinton urged North Korea to renounce nuclear weapons; North Korea's official media responded by calling Clinton "an unintelligent funny lady." North Korea also announced that the six-party talks on disarmament were dead. Jill McGivering, the BBC's Asia correspondent, joins The Takeaway to explain what's at stake.

Here is more on Secretary Clinton's trip to the ASEAN summit and her call for changes in Myanmar and North Korea:

After weeks of budget battles and threatened cuts, the California state budget is finally up for a vote today. Or maybe tomorrow. Possibly next week. The Takeaway talks to Dan Walters, a political columnist for the Sacramento Bee, about California's continuing budget crisis.

A very tired looking Gov. Schwarzeneggar thanks people for their budget-solving suggestions in this video:

The U.S. government is seeking thousands of volunteers, from babies to the elderly, to roll up their sleeves for the first clinical trials of an H1N1 flu vaccine. The race is on to test whether a new vaccine really will protect against this virus before its expected rebound in the fall. Will the vaccines work? Will there be enough vaccines for everyone? What are the dangers of the vaccine itself? The Takeaway talks to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which will oversee the trials.

President Obama is heading to Ohio today on a campaign swing—not for the presidency but for his health care plan. Dan Bobkoff, reporter for WCPN in Cleveland, Ohio, is getting ready to join the crowds filling the Shaker Heights High School gymnasium this afternoon. He joins The Takeaway with his take.

Last night in a primetime press conference, President Obama pitched his plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system. For a performance review, The Takeaway talks to T.R. Reid. He is a veteran reporter and the author of the forthcoming book: The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care.

Here the president addresses possible sacrifices for health care reform: