Bill Cosby's May 17th comments taking black youth to task provoked a storm of controversy--not to mention a blistering riposte from New York Times guest columnist, author Barbara Ehrenreich, who said on today's show that "if (Cosby) wants to do something to increase positive attitudes toward education ...

The USDA's food pyramid has confounded eaters since 1992, when it replaced the "four food groups". Can anyone really be expected to eat six to eleven servings of grains and starches a day? Where do Cheez Doodles® fit in? Eighty percent of Americans recognize it, but they have ...

Should the Presidential election be postponed in the event of a terrorist attack? Today's Newsweek story that Tom Ridge sought guidance from the Justice Department brought a flood of diverging opinions. Some smelled a conspiracy, while others were angry at the media for bring the issue up at all.

In our ongoing bid to publish listener feedback, here's a selection of your comments. Please email us your thoughts (and let us know where you're listening).

Part of the today's show devoted time to the press conference held by Sens. Pat Roberts and John D. Rockefeller IVrepresenting the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Neither senator was shy about taking the CIA to task on grossly misrepresenting the Iraq threat.

Check out the news conference, ...

Inspired by the footage of the former Enron chief being led away in handcuffs, many listeners called wondering where Kenneth Lay, if convicted, would serve his time - as one put it "in a hardcore prison or a federal Marriott?" (apologies to the hotel chain). One caller ...

We waited for the two Johns to step on stage this morning, hoping to hear them tell us about their happy union. It did not happen in time, and we turned to our trusted listeners to tell us who they thought were the best political speakers. The greatest ...

At long last we know who will be John Kerry's Sundance to his Butch Cassidy. This morning in a flutter of excitement Kerry announced that John Edwards would be his Vice Presidential candidate (will they storm out of a building in the Southwest guns blazing?). Was anyone ...

Today's discussion on the rhetorical value of Fahrenheit 9/11 drew a flood of calls and emails. So much so, we will devote more time to the film on Monday's show. In the meantime, here are some emails we didn't get to read on the program. Be sure and email us your own opinion too.

Why doesn't the USA have a broad working-class movement, akin to European social democratic parties? It's been a vexing riddle for American lefties for decades. At a recent conference at SUNY-Stony Brook's Center for Study of Working Class Life, professors, activists, and members of the working class got ...

Today’s show took us out to Long Island. We talked with WNYC’s own Andrea Bernstein, as well as Bruce Lambert, Long Island correspondent of The New York Times, discussing Governor Pataki’s formal request to President Bush to re-allocate several billion dollars in

Development within our city limits is always contemptuous. In the last year the fate of the Far West Side, Downtown Brooklyn and the Atlantic Yards has ruffled a lot of feathers. But talk about development of Governors Island has been lost in the crowd of sports ...

Callers to the show today felt that Republicans visiting here for the convention will need to get out and about in New York City. Although, one thought it highly unlikely that conventioneers from outside of the Northeast region would feel safe enough to explore "Sodom and Gomorrah." It's ...

Whether to rebroadcast an old program is often a tough call. Is the program still topical? If people have heard it before, will they want to listen again?

In the case of our "Culture Storm" taping from last May, we knew the discussion on "life and politics in the election ...

Daniel Libeskind defended himself from New York Time's writer Robin Pogrebin's article "The Incredible Shrinking Daniel Libeskind." Mr. Libeskind's design for the World Trade Center has whittled down as has his influence since Larry Silverstein flexed his muscles and hired David Childs from Skidmore, ...

Today we discussed the treatment of detainees in both Iraq and Afghanistan with Julian Barnes and Chitra Ragavan from US News and World Report. The conversation about detainees continued with Seymour Hersh from The New Yorker. Both conversations referred to the President Bush's order which can be read here.

Text of order signed by President Bush on Feb. 7, 2002, outlining treatment of al-Qaeda and Taliban detainees:

Joe Klein had some choice words for New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani. Kakutani wrote a rather scathing review of Bill Clinton’s memoir My Life(Knopf2004). The review appeared in Sunday’s Times on the front cover and has become news in itself. Klein’s feeling ...

Opponents of the mayor’s plans to build a football stadium for the Jets on the far west side of Manhattan include the owners of Madison Square Garden and Cablevision, James and Charles Dolan. They are among the elected officials, business leaders and civic groups who make ...

Should protesters at the August GOP convention in New York be allowed to gather on the Sheep Meadow in Central Park?

The question has been fodder for some shrill tabloid headlines, but on the show today United for Peace & Justice's Leslie Cagan struck a more conciliatory note, ...

Staff Report No. 17, issued today by the 9/11 Commission provides the most complete timeline to date on the airline hijackings of September 11, 2001, and the federal government's response.

Among its findings:

>there were serious communications deficiencies between government officials on the morning of 9/11, and at ...