Carrie Budoff Brown, staff writer for Politico, discusses the potential role of Medicare and Social Security cuts in the debt ceiling negotiations.

→ Listen, Read a Recap and Join the Conversation at It's A Free Country

Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and former Obama administration green jobs advisor Van Jones talks about his new project "Rebuild the Dream."

→ Listen, Read a Recap and Join the Conversation at It's A Free Country

With only one misdemeanor conviction in the deaths of two firefighters in the Deutsche Bank fire, WNYC senior reporter Bob Hennelly looks at who the jury blamed, and who they didn't.

Sarah Ellison, Vanity Fair contributing editor and author of War at the Wall Street Journal, weighs in on the telephone hacking scandal that led to the UK newspaper's folding.

Mike Pesca, NPR sports correspondent, previews former Yankee Roger Clemens' perjury trial, which is due to start next week.

Adam Feldman, theater critic at Time Out New York, discusses regional summer Shakepeare productions. Check out the list below for links to local Shakespeare fun and feel free to add a comment if we missed your company!

Adirondack Shakespeare Company | Boomerang Theater Company | Brave New World Repertory Theater  | Classical Theater of Harlem | Curious Frog Theater | Hip to Hip Theater Company | Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival | Hudson Warehouse | Inwood Shakespeare Festival|Manhattan Shakespeare Project | New York Classical Theater | Pulse Ensemble Theater | Resonance Ensemble  | Royal Shakespeare Company | Shakespeare in Central Park | Shakespeare in the Parking Lot | Shakespeare on the Sound | Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey | Theater 2020