Our book club continues today with Celeste Headlee's second pick of the summer. S.J. Bolton is one of the most successful mystery authors writing today. Her third novel "Blood Harvest" is everything Celeste thinks a summer book should be: intriguing, suspenseful, fun — and, of course, well-written. The book centers on the mysterious disappearance and death of several young girls in a town in the British Moors.

Until recently, few medical schools taught what most of us call "bedside manner," the ability to empathize and compassionately care for patients. Even fewer schools considered prospective candidates on their ability to communicate with patients. But now a growing number of medical schools are evaluating students through the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) in addition to M-CAT scores and grade point average. The MMI tests for ethical reasoning and communication ability. 

Author Barry Estabrook decided to write about tomatoes because they almost killed him. He was driving in Naples, Fla. when a few tomatoes bounced off the cargo truck in front of him, narrowly missing his windshield. At the next stoplight, he was amazed to see that the tomatoes littering the street were unscathed after falling off a truck that was traveling at 60 miles per hour. How did the tomato— once summer’s tastiest treat — become the bland specimens available in most grocery stores now? And how can we fix it?

Major League Baseball's All-Star Game will take place in Phoenix, Arizona this year. The state has been the focus of national controversy over a recent law concerning unauthorized migrants, and 30 percent of league players are Latino — which means politics may overshadow the game. Groups on both sides of the debate are planning to make statements to spectators. George Vecsey, sports columnist for The New York Times, talks about the dynamic of the game.

In 2002, a Harvard University sophomore found evidence in the university's archives of a court that sough out and punished gay students. This scandal is the backdrop for "Unnatural Acts," a new play at the Classic Stage Company in New York. 

The eighth season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" premieres this Sunday on HBO. The show hinges on star Larry David’s inability — or refusal — to follow social cues. Most of the characters respond to David's antics with passive aggression. But there is one character who consistently faces Larry head on: Susie Greene. Known for her filthy mouth and tendency to scream at other characters, Susie is one of the long-running comedy series' most beloved characters.

Our summer book club continues today with Celeste's first pick for July. Tea Obreht burst onto the literary scene this year with her first novel, "The Tiger’s Wife." The book explores one woman’s family history through historical myths and realities in the Balkans region.

At the age of 25, Obreht has already done what many authors hope to achieve a lifetime. In addition to critical acclaim for "The Tiger’s Wife," she also won the Orange Prize this year, making her the youngest person ever to do so.

Montanans living along the Yellowstone River say they are worried and angry, following the rupture of an ExxonMobile pipeline which sent up to 1,000 barrels of oil gushing into the river. The pipeline had been shut down once before, in May, after residents of the town of Laurel raised concerns over rising river levels. 

The number of immigrants living in the United States and Western Europe continues to grow. As the foreign-born population increases, so does anxiety about our identity. What does it mean to be American or British or Italian today? How does our identity—our ethnicity, gender, and/or race—change how we vote and contribute to civic life?

Months ahead of the 2012 primary elections, wars of words are heating up between political rivals, some of whom aren’t even running for office. Right now, Michele Bachmann landed herself in some legal hot water when she chose to use Tom Petty's song "American Girl," without the artist's permission. This isn’t the first time artists have taken offense with the political appropriation of their work. 

The coming-of-age story is a summer book standard. So many of us remember spending our lazy summer days with Francie from "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," the March sisters of "Little Women" or Holden Caulfield of "Catcher in the Rye." The next pick for our Summer Book Club furthers this tradition through a uniquely accurate adolescent voice. Jo Ann Beard's "In Zanesville" follows a teenage narrator and her best friend through high school life in 1970s small-town Illinois. The novel is so transfixing, Celeste claimed she couldn't put it down. John finished it and immediately passed it along to his daughters.

One month ago today, President Obama visited the town of Joplin, Missouri, where a tornado killed 156 people and caused millions of dollars in damage. Today we’re going back to the scene of the devastation to see how Joplin residents are recovering one month after President Obama told Joplin, "There’s no doubt in my mind that Joplin will rebuild. And as President, I can promise you your country will be there with you every single step of the way...The cameras may leave. The spotlight may shift. But we will be with you every step of the way until Joplin is restored and this community is back on its feet. We’re not going anywhere."

Randy Newman captured a moment of national anger in "Burn On," a song about the polluted Cuyahoga River catching fire in 1969. That environmental disaster pushed Congress and the Nixon administration to create the Environmental Protection Agency and pass laws like the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. But today's guest warns that these laws are woefully outdated, and that clean water is becoming increasingly scarce. Access to freshwater, he argues, is the most urgent problem we face in the twenty-first century.

One in eight people over age 65 suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Most patients develop late-onset Alzheimer's. Scientists have found a predisposing genetic risk factor for this type of the disease, and while they have yet to discover a direct genetic link, researchers have isolated the early-onset Alzheimer’s gene. Early-onset Alzheimer's is rare, affecting only five percent of Alzheimer’s patients. But it can strike as early as 30, with devastating consequences for the patient and their families. Many families are unprepared for the difficult decisions caregivers face when their loved ones are diagnosed with early- or late-onset Alzheimer's. 

Father's Day is coming up on Sunday. We've talked a lot about dads this week, about the best fictional fathers and about single dads who are raising their kids on their own. Today we'll hear about an inspirational father, a man who encouraged not only his son, but many of us across the nation. Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy decided not to seek reelection last year. He has focused his life after politics on a new organization called One Mind for Research, a brain research organization inspired by his father, the late Senator Ted Kennedy.

The American auto industry traveled a bumpy road in recent years. The big three auto makers watched their profits fall throughout the Great Recession. The Troubled Asset Relief Program saved Chrysler and General Motors from total ruin, but the American car industry was suffering long before the recession began. Bob Lutz was the vice chairman of General Motors from 2001 to 2010. His new book is "Car Guys vs. Bean Counters." He analyzes the auto industry and the culture of business.

All summer long we’re celebrating the season of relaxing and reading with our book club here at The Takeaway. Some of the novels we'll talk about this summer are escapist in a fantastical way. They’re easy to read and enjoy. Other books are escapist because they are deeply engrossing. They draw us in to a difficult story, making it impossible to look away from the problems the book brings to the surface. Today's book club pick does just that. It’s called "Oil On Water" by Helon Habila. "Oil On Water" tells the story of two journalists who are in pursuit of a scoop in the oil-rich, poverty-stricken Niger Delta.

Forty years ago, E.B. White – the author of "Charlotte’s Web," "Stuart Little", and many other beloved children’s books – wrote a letter to the children of Troy, Michigan, at the request of a librarian in Troy’s new public library. "A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered." White was just one of the famous authors and public figures who responded to librarian Marguerite Hart’s request for letters to urge the children of Troy to read.

The National Archives and Records Administration releases the Pentagon Papers in full for the first time today. When the papers were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971, Americans learned the truth behind the U.S.’s involvement in Vietnam for the first time. Exactly 40 years ago, on June 13, 1971, The New York Times published the first in a series of articles based on the Pentagon Papers. The Times' decision to publish the classified documents led to a series of legal battles with the Nixon Administration. The Supreme Court finally decided the case, ruling that under the First Amendment, the Times could freely publish the Pentagon Papers.

Celeste Headlee is broadcasting from the studios of our partner, WGBH, today. She's in Boston to speak at the National Race Amity Conference this weekend. Tonight, a new play called "Xernona and the Grand Dragon X" premieres at the conference. The play tells the story of the friendship between Xernona Clayton, an African-American civil rights leader, and Calvin Craig, a Grand Dragon in the Ku Klux Klan. It was his friendship with Xernona that convinced Calvin to publicly renounce the KKK in 1968.