What is your dream for a better America? WNYC is honoring Dr. King's dream for a better America by asking you to imagine what dreams King might still have today. And what dream you still have, 50 years after the original "I Have a Dream" speech.

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John Liu, New York City Comptroller, appears on The Brian Lehrer Show to discuss his recent State of the City address and new proposals for the coming year.

When a "member of the opposition" said that he had read Ted Sorensen's new book, Kennedy, and that he didn't like it very much, Sorenson replied that he was surprised, because "I didn't know you could read." Thus the sharp-tongued attorney and political advisor begins his talk before a 1965 Book and Authors Luncheon.

Historically, candidates have used the publicity afforded by the national conventions as an opportunity to define, or to redefine, their campaign to the American public. The Takeaway takes a look back at notable speeches of conventions past.

President Obama is scheduled to give a speech at 11:20 a.m. about shrinking the size of the federal government.

Scientists have found that babies can become fluent in foreign languages at an extremely fast rate; one that begins to slow down by their first birthday. What is it about the make-up of their brains as newborns that gives them this ability? Could adults train their brains to be more like the brains of babies?

President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner presented dueling debt speeches this week in which each accused the opposing party of causing the debt ceiling impasse. Much of the press covered the speeches as political point and counterpoint and didn't spend much time fact checking what was said. Brooke spoke with FactCheck.org managing editor Lori Robertson who investigated the accuracy of speeches.

President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner both addressed the nation last night, explaining where each of their parties stand on the current debate over the debt ceiling. What impact did the speeches have?

President Obama stood before the nation and pleaded with Congress to come to an agreement as soon as possible, in a prime-time speech to the American public last night. "We can't allow the American people to become collateral damage to Washington's political warfare," he said. House Speaker John Boehner immediately followed Obama's speech with his response, agreeing that the debate needs to be resolved, but urging Obama to sign on to the Republican proposal to raise the debt limit.

Yesterday, President Obama held the first ever White House Twitter Town Hall meeting. The president fielded questions from Twitter users (asked in the site's standard 140 characters or less). But the president's answers were anything but concise. In fact, he responded to participants' questions with the same long-winded, professorial rhetoric he's been criticized for throughout his presidency. Obama's ability to address his base and stimulate audiences was perhaps his greatest strength as a candidate in 2008. This begs the question: Why has President Obama failed to properly get his messages across to the American people since then?

Bestselling author Sarah Vowell, This American Life host Ira Glass, and actor, writer, comedian, and Daily Show correspondent John Oliver round up some "Great Speeches & Other Outbursts" to benefit the education nonprofit 826NYC.

Listeners: what do you think is one of the greatest speeches or public outbursts… of all time? Call in or comment here!

Michael Agger, Slate senior editor, discusses the Ohio-based company Achievement Metrics and their use of speech analysis on NFL draft prospects. They use speech analysis to look for specific traits and compare similar players by correlating certain traits with future performance. Achievement Metrics grew out of a company called Social Science Automation, which does most of its work for the United States government.

President Obama first made his case for immigration reform on the national stage during the 2008 campaign. Many advocates say they have yet to see that fight play out, but on Tuesday, the president will give a speech to college students and faculty from the University of Texas in El Paso to talk about reform, once again.

President Obama is set to deliver a much anticipated speech 1:30 p.m. at George Washington University in Washington. The speech will detail his long-term plans for reducing the nation's deficit. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent says that the president will have to prepare the public for tough decisions as he faces the debt.

President Barack Obama stood before the nation yesterday and explained our role in the allied forces air assault on Libya and its embattled leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi. While he recognized Americans' hesitation for more involvement in the Middle East, the President said that Libya represented a unique situation and a challenge to American ideas about freedom and human decency. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, has reactions from Washington to the speech. Dirk Vandewalle, professor of government at Dartmouth and the author of, "A History of Modern Libya," looks at how President Obama's speech will impact the current situation in Libya. 

President Obama has faced criticism from the left and the right regarding his decision to join coalition forces in enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya. The President addressed those critics last night in a speech to the nation, saying he was committed to keeping American troops off the ground. He also appealed to our morality by saying, “I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.” David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times, dissects Obama's speech in terms of policy and how it might play in the capital.

From English teachers to grammar grouches, people have been complaining for generations that the English language is going down the drain. As they see it, our vocabularies are shrinking, our grammar is abysmal, and we’ve all but forgotten about how to punctuate (?!). Carol Shaffer is one of those grammar grouches. A former teacher, she’s also the founder of the website Grammarpolice.com, which has been pointing out language usage errors for fifteen years. Robert Lane Greene has a different perspective. The author of the new book, “You Are What You Speak,” he thinks what some people see as errors are in fact evolution.

"Make yourself feel at home," President Obama said as he began his speech to the National Governor's Association on Monday, "but for those of you interested in the next election, I don't mean that literally."

After a laugh (from the president and governors alike), Obama launched into his speech, discussing states' flexibility in the controversial health care act; federal spending on infrastructure, research and innovation; the state and federal budget crises; and, of course, the public work force. In the wake of the budget protests in Wisconsin and with an audience of state leaders, the President gave a veiled jab at the state's ongoing battle.

Obama spoke to the delegation of Governors at the White House. Vice President Biden, Dr. Jill Biden and the First Lady also spoke at the gathering on Monday.

Some three million Americans stutter, and as the Oscar-nominated film "The King's Speech" shows, it affects kings and commoners alike. Dr. Barry Guitar, Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, as well as Psychology, University of Vermont, and Chamonix Olsen Sikora, speech therapist and executive director of the American Institute for Stuttering, explain what stuttering is, and discuss its causes and treatments.