Noel King

Yesterday the Obama administration called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. It was the administration's strongest statement since the Syrian uprising began. "For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for [Assad] to step aside and leave this transition to Syrians themselves," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. The U.S. is united with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and a host of European nations in pushing Assad to step down, and that international coalition may prove strong enough in the long term to force the Syrian leader out. How loudly will the American government's words echo, as Assad struggles to hold on to power?

Stocks plummeted yesterday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 400 points and Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index closing down 53.24 points, at 1,140.65. The day was just the latest in a series of wild swings in financial markets in recent weeks. What's causing the severe fluctuations? We're taking a look at how "robot traders" — computers that are programmed to automatically buy or sell stocks based on a set of criteria — affect the markets. Could market woes be tied not to human worry, but to machine worry?

In India, a 74-year-old activist is on a hunger strike to protest government corruption. The activist, Anna Hazare, has drawn comparisons to Mohandas Ghandi. He is currently in jail, but may be leaving later today after more than 10,000 people marched peacefully through New Delhi yesterday, rallying on his behalf. Could this be the start of an Arab Spring in India?

The twelve-member joint Congressional "super committee" that has been tasked with creating a deficit reduction plan that both Republicans and Democrats can stomach — by Thanksgiving, no less — has a tough path ahead. It's a goal that seemed impossible for President Obama and Congressional leaders to achieve, just last month. Can the committee succeed where others failed?

With a state motto like "Live Free or Die," you might expect that New Hampshire has a fair number of independent voters. That’s what prompted Anna Sale — reporter for It’s a Free Country, the politics website of our co-producer WNYC — to report from there. Sale has been on the road speaking to independent voters across the country, in an attempt to gauge which direction this large and crucial demographic is leaning as we approach the 2012 presidential election. She’s spent the last few days in New Hampshire, focusing on how Republicans and Democrats are attempting to capture the independent vote there.

When the bombing and shooting first broke out in Norway last Friday, no one knew the source of the attacks, but a small group of anti-Islamic bloggers in the U.S. were quick to blame Muslim extremists. In the end, a manifesto that Anders Behring Breivik — the man accused of carrying out the killing spree — posted online confirmed that he was not Muslim, but the opposite: an anti-Muslim extremist.

Late last month, President Obama gave a speech laying out his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan. "Even as there are dark days ahead in Afghanistan, the light of a secure peace can be seen in the distance. These long wars will come to a responsible end," Obama said. 

We've been asking listeners to tell us: What does the phrase 'My America' means to you? Mary Joe Mercer from the Osage Nation Reservation in Oklahoma, told us about the Native Americans that have called this country home for thousands of years. On the Fourth of July, Mercer joins us to give us another perspective on what 'America' means.

Robert Gates will step down as Secretary of Defense this week, with Leon Panetta taking over. Panetta will have a lot on his plate, starting with the start of U.S. troops withdrawing from Afghanistan later this week. Noel King, managing producer for The Takeaway, looks at what obstacles are in store for Panetta as he begins his reign as Defense Secretary. 

President Obama will meet with Congressional leaders to try and come to an agreement on raising the debt ceiling, or face going into default. Charlie Herman, business and economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, looks at the economic effects this on-going debate could have if a conclusion is not reached soon. 

Egypt is changing. And so are its street names, signs of buildings, schools, hospitals and other institutions. What was once the Hosni Mubarak Library is now the Revolution Library. The Hosni Mubarak Experimental School is now just the Experimental School. And the Suzanne Mubarak Specialized Hospital is now the Red Crescent Specialized Hospital. This comes after a Cairo court ordered for all the images and signs with the name of Hosni Mubarak and his wife, Suzanne, be removed from public places and buildings. Egypt will most certainly have to go through a transitional period to move from the 40-year rule of Hosni Mubarak into a democracy. But does a country need to forget the past in order to build a future?

The Great Depression produced some of the greatest novelists in United States history: John Steinbeck, John Dos Passos, Zora Neale Hurston, Nathanael West. In 2011, as the U.S. recovers from the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, our next guest wonders why the Great Recession hasn't yet generated a book like "The Grapes of Wrath." Michael Goldfarb is a freelance reporter. His article, "Where Are Today's Steinbecks?" appeared on the BBC.

While Washington continues tp debate the debt ceiling, the United States is expected to reach the limit on its debt today. This means the government will no longer be able to borrow money. Charlie Herman, business and economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC Radio, says it's just a mystery what will happen, because we're not seeing any deals on the table yet. There are questions about the future of the International Monetary Fund after its managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York for allegedly sexually assaulting a Manhattan hotel maid.

The recent killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden ended the reign of the most wanted criminal on the planet. However, it hasn't put an end his importance as an historical figure. Due to his long list of crimes and efforts to spread a radical ideology and message of global jihad, bin Laden seems destined to become one of history's most notorious criminals. But how will history books write the bin Laden chapters?

In the wake of the September 11th attacks, America's relationship to Muslims at home and abroad changed. A new climate of fear and suspicion was born, though in some cases so were attempts at greater understanding between members of different faiths. For a look at how the death of Osama Bin Laden might affect the relationship between Muslims and members of other faiths in the US, we turn to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of the Cordoba Initiative, a multi-faith organization which works to build trust among people of different faiths and cultures.

Syria's cabinet passed a draft law on Tuesday lifting the country's 48-year emergency rule, the unfairness of which has been a rallying cry for those in the country who want reform. The cabinet was under pressure to ease the emergency rule, but immediately after the supposed concession, the body passed a law that requires Syrians to seek permission to protest from the Interior ministry. The political upheaval sweeping across North Africa and the Mideast has been compared to a contagious virus, but Syria just may be the most contagious country of all. Syria is centrally located, bordering Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon.

Over the past few months, throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa, there have been countless testimonies about the human rights abuses committed by dictators clinging to power. Protesters in Egypt and Libya have struggled to draw international attention to abuses of power in their countries by leaders Hosni Mubarak and Moammar Gadhafi. In Ivory Coast, human rights observers warned of a possible genocide as hundreds were killed during Laurent Gbagbo's final weeks in power. But what happens to the leaders after they're ousted? And what's the role today of the International Criminal Court in pursuing these cases? 

Wednesday is the one-year anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. All week long on The Takeaway, we'll be speaking to residents of the Gulf region whose lives, businesses and communities were profoundly impacted by the oil gusher that followed the explosion.

In 2005, at the age of 27, Malalai Joya became the youngest person ever elected to Afghanistan's National Assembly. In 2007, she was booted from the Parliament after publicly criticizing Afghan warlords. Now, Joya is an activist for women and democracy, and she remains a fierce critic of both Hamid Karzai's government and the presence of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Joya shares her story and explains why she has been called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan." 

On Tuesday, to mark the 150-year anniversary of the start of the Civil War, we aired a segment featuring two African-American men whose ancestors fought with the confederate army. Nelson Winbush and Stan Armstrong said they are proud of their relatives' military service. But to some of our listeners the segment smacked of misinformation. Did African-Americans fight in the Confederate Army in the Civil War? And if so, did they do so out of free will or as enslaved people?

International humanitarian agencies are sounding the alarm in Libya, where fighting has cut off access to vulnerable populations. Aid officials say the eastern city of Misurata is facing water and electricity shortages as hospitals struggle to care for those who have been wounded by fighting. There are warnings that food is in short supply in many parts of Libya. "The situation of civilians in and around Ajdabiya, Misurata and other locations where active fighting continues remains of great concern," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement. "The presence of assistance actors inside Libya remains very limited due to prevailing security conditions."