Joe Hernandez

How do you compare the wealth of nations? An economics professor at Princeton University thinks such a big question has a bite-sized answer: buy a Big Mac. Orley Ashenfelter is the au...

This week, the fate of Joss Whedon's 'The Avengers' hangs in the balance. Who will come to the rescue this awesome, hulking green monster of a film? And who will come down on the movie like a giant hammer? Listen to find out where Kristen and Rafer stand on this superhero saga.

Richard Grenell was Mitt Romney's foreign policy spokesman until Tuesday, when he resigned from position in the campaign. Dorian Davis is a journalism professor at Marymount Manhattan...

U.S. Rep. John Dingell has served in Congress for nearly 60 years, but he may be facing his toughest challenger yet. Dan Marcin, a University of Michigan Ph.D. student, will take on Dingell in this year's election. Marcin spoke last month on The Takeaway. Today, Rep. Dingell responds.

He's got to be strong. He's got to be able to build a barn and get along with children. Being able to play a sultry, sexy musical instrument also helps. In case it wasn't apparent already, this week we're talking about Kristen's fantasy man. And also some movie called "The Lucky One," starring Zac Efron. Let Kristen and Rafer's sultry voices and razor-sharp smarts woo you in this week's podcast.

Public broadcasting doesn't have commercials. It has underwriting announcements — and few of them at that. But that's about to change, now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ...

The Titanic sank 100 years ago this month. To mark the anniversary, James Cameron is re-releasing his mega-blockbuster "Titanic" in 3D, prompting some critics to say its strictly a marketing ploy while others cheer the innovation.

Will "Titanic 3D" burn a hole in your wallet, or will it blow your mind? This week, Rafer and Kristen put that question to Daniel Engber, senior editor at Slate. Listen to find out what he's got to say.

Yesterday Attorney General Eric Holder issued a memo, assuring the Supreme Court that President Obama respects the authority of the court to overturn federal laws they find unconstitutional. This memo came after Republican challengers to the Affordable Care Act accused the President of pressuring the Court during deliberations. We discuss the controversy with Jeffrey Rosen, Professor of Law at George Washington University, and Todd Zwillich, Takeaway Washington correspondent.

This week, Kristen and Rafer watched "Bully," the new documentary from the Weinstein Company that takes on the controversial topic of grade school ridicule. "Bully" was in the news this week for hitting theaters unrated after the MPAA promised an R rating. The hype has certainly drummed up support for the movie, but does "Bully" do its subject justice? Or is "The Hunger Games" actually a better tool for teaching kids about violence?

Tag Challenge is a worldwide social media manhunt taking place on March 31. Real people will act as the five thieves, and teams must use social media to track them down using nothing ...

After a comprehensive inspection by the Fair Labor Association, Chinese factory Foxconn has agreed to cut worker's hours and increase their wages. Apple, whose products are manufactur...

Documentary filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus followed Bill Clinton's campaign staff during his 1992 Presidential campaign. The resulting film "The War Room," was a quick c...

The long-awaited 'The Hunger Games' is finally here! If you wanted to like the Twilight movies but thought Bella was kind of a wimp, this movie is for you. Protagonist Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) leads a cast of young adults through a fictional reality TV show in which children battle to the death. It's an awesome take on the teen movie genre, but is this sci-fi flick about homicidal adolescents a good date movie?

Listen to this week's podcast to find out what Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday, and Kristen Meinzer, culture producer for the Takeaway, think about this long-awaited and super-hyped blockbuster.

This week and last we asked you about your job and you responded with a flurry of calls. Takeaway listeners told us stories about loving and hating their jobs, having to relocate to find work, taking second and third jobs, and having to cut their own pay as small business owners. The economy may be improving, but many Americans are still struggling to make ends meet.

This week, Movie Date is heading back to high school. And so are Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as a couple of young-looking rookie cops in "21 Jump Street," a remake of the 80s TV show. Listen to find out what grade Kristen and Rafer give this revisited classic.

There are thousands of national landmarks in the United States. But less than 3 percent of them are dedicated to members of minority groups, such as Latinos and women. Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior and former senator from Colorado, believes more monuments should be created to honor the nation's diversity of heroes. Ken Salazar explains what the department does and how it can be instrumental in being the custodian of America's history.

In 2010, 66 children died of gunfire in Chicago, and hundreds more were injured. Staggering statistics like this show that gang violence in the Windy City has grown out of control. CeaseFire, a community organization with a public-health approach, tries to lead Chicago's youth away from a life of crime. To do that, the group employs "interrupters," former gang members who actually go to the scene of a conflict and try to resolve it in a non-violent way. And it's all chronicled in a recent documentary film called "The Interrupters."