Erica Schwiegershausen

In this video, The Takeaway’s co-host John Hockenberry reflects on the controversial essay by Nicholas Schmidle that appeared in this week’s New Yorker, entitled “Getting Bin Laden: What Happened that Night in Abbottabad.” We had Schmidle on The Takeaway earlier this week, and he discussed the symbolic as well as practical significance of the success of the bin Laden raid for the U.S. Military. Here, Hockenberry reacts to these sentiments, assessing the implications of our national preoccupation with security in a post-9/11 world.

After this morning's show, The Takeaway's co-host Celeste Headlee reacts to the Congressional deadlock over the Federal Aviation Authority authorization bill that has left the agency partially shutdown and about 4,000 FAA workers indefinitely furloughed. She discusses a recent Pew Research Center study which reveals that a growing number of Americans are disgusted with both Democrats and Republicans, and, as a result, are choosing to affiliate with neither party. Celeste reminds us that there is only one solution to political dysfunction: educate yourself and show up at the polls to vote.

After today's show, host Celeste Headlee reflects on the similarities between Anders Breivik's personal manifesto and the anti-Islam and anti-immigration platforms of many European right-wing parties. She remarks that it is troubling to see many of Europe's right-wing parties attempting to distance themselves from their previous platforms and rhetoric in the wake of the tragedy in Oslo, and urges us not to forget that words matter. Celeste emphasizes that language is important in all contexts, and suggests that everyone should think carefully before making statements that they aren't willing to stand behind in times of tragedy and conflict.

After The Takeaway this morning, Host Celeste Headlee looks beyond current politics in Washington to bring our attention to another important story: the assassination of Ghulam Haidar Hameedi, the mayor of Kandahar. The death of Hameedi, who was killed by a suicide bomber with a bomb hidden in his turban, marks the third high-profile assassination in Kandahar in less than a month. Celeste reflects on the nature of public service and Hameedi's choice to leave the United States, where he worked as an accountant for 30 years, to return to Afghanistan to serve his country.

The landing of the space shuttle Atlantis at Cape Canaveral this morning marked the bittersweet end of NASA's 30-year-old shuttle program. In this video, host Celeste Headlee reflects on the legacy of the space shuttle program, remarking that today is a day to honor all those responsible for the success of the program as well as a time to look to the future. Celeste says she's optimistic that we may one day send shuttles to Mars and make visits to asteroids, and suggests that perhaps the contributions of America's very rich will make these dreams a reality.

After today’s show, The Takeaway’s co-host John Hockenberry reacts to the larger implications of the News Corp. phone hacking scandal. In this video, Hockenberry speaks to the question of government control of the press, and what Rupert Murdoch’s legacy may mean for the future of American journalism. He acknowledges that watching the “Shakespearian” fall of Murdoch and his empire has been entertaining, but urges us not to overlook the severity of the larger situation, suggesting that this story might prove to be bad news for reporters around the globe. 

On today’s show, we discussed an article published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association that says the state should intervene in cases of morbidly obese children.  After the show, host Celeste Headlee commented that this discussion resonated with her because she believes the obesity epidemic is a serious problem, and that it’s a problem people don’t want to talk about. She thinks the article’s proposal to take obese children out of their homes is too extreme, but agrees that we do need to take some form of action. Celeste asks us to consider: when a child is being raised as morbidly obese, how should we, as a community, deal with it? What’s your take?

Here are a few thoughts from host Celeste Headlee, who gives her own takeaway from this morning's show. In this video, she reacts to the announcement that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has dropped its bid to acquire BSkyB, Britain's largest satellite TV broadcaster, due to public and political pressure over the cell phone hacking scandal. Celeste discusses the importance of public trust in journalism and responds to a question that a number of listeners have been asking her: what does she have against Rupert Murdoch?