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Need To Know

Financial literacy

Christine Todd Whitman on shrinking state budgets

Need to Know host Scott Simon talks to former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman about the difficult choices states are facing in this tough economic climate.

Jennifer Granholm on creating a green economy

Jennifer Granholm discusses rebuilding state economies.

In Perspective: Tricia Rose

Tricia Rose on inequality and wealth distribution.

Is the Texas school board rewriting history?

Need to Know examines controversial changes to Texas school textbooks.

Healthfully Ever After

Need to Know presents the latest research on the health benefits of a good marriage.

Crisis Mapping

Alison Stewart reports on technology that uses cell phones to locate disaster victims.

Paul Goldberger on the 9/11 memorial

Paul Goldberger discusses the 9/11 memorial.

Neither a borrower, nor a lender

A family allegedly taken in by a predatory lender.

Searching for answers

In this extended interview, 19-year-old Gladys Dominguez shares her emotional journey to find information about her father, Alfonso Martinez Sanchez, who was lost crossing Arizona state’s border desert while trying to re-enter the United States.

End-of-Life Counseling and Health Care Reform

As the Health Care Reform Act is attacked in courts and Congress, Need to Know discusses the quiet removal of one controversial provision, funding for End-of-Life Counseling (so-called "Death Panels").

Japan's Nuclear Crisis

Michael Levi, a nuclear expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the nuclear crisis in Japan and what it means for nuclear energy in the United States.

Climate Change at the Doorstep

Sea level rise in Norfolk, Virginia.

In Youngstown, OH, It Takes a Village to Shrink a City

In Youngstown, OH, it takes a village to shrink a city. Even with the city's ever-diminishing population, hundreds of residents have volunteered to assist in the city's revitalization plan.

New Yorker Cartoonist Roz Chast

Famed New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast gives us her unique take on the fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper in an animated cartoon.

Trailer: VII Magazine, Child soldiers

Lieutenant Joseph Omony tells his story of being recruited as a child soldier along with his friends in this slideshow of VII photographer Marcus Bleasdale's sobering portraits.

Grand Isle, One Year After the Spill

On the one year anniversary of the BP gulf spill, we'll return to the community of Grand Isle, Louisiana to visit with the families and business owners who m we profiled during the spill. At the time, their businesses were practically shuttered by the spill, and they were

How to Fix American Education

Part of Need to Know's "Fixing America" series.

In Youngstown, OH, Saying Goodbye to an Abandoned House

When houses are torn down in Youngstown, OH, few are sorry to see them go.

Home Sick: Living With Chinese Drywall

Alleged ill effects from Chinese drywall.

Simon Johnson on Europe's debt crisis

How debt will shape our future.

Louise Story: Wall Street Execs Escape Prosecution

The participants in the financial crisis.

Charmaine Yoest on Abortion

Charmaine Yoest, head of Americans United for Life, talks about how the strategy of the anti-abortion rights movement has changed in recent years, and what the movement has achieved by focusing on changing law at the state level.

No Silver Bullet

The effort to combat IEDs in war.

The war at home

Need to Know profiles three military families to see how they cope with loved ones in war.

Phil Kidd: In Defense of Youngstown

The lessons Youngstown, OH, has learned and how the city can survive.

Carrot Mobs: The Anti-Boycott

Getting companies to do good.

Restoring the Rockaways

An urban garden destroyed by Superstorm Sandy gets a second chance.

Certifiably employable

The National STEM Consortium improves scientific, technical and mathematical skills.

Poll Positioning: Voter I.D. Laws

With nearly a dozen states rewriting their voting laws, Need to Know examines the potential impact on voter turnout in Ohio.

Frank Wisner on the State of American Diplomacy

Does talking really get results? With the death of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, United States Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and this week's review of the Afghanistan war, Need to Know takes a look at the state of President Obama's foreign policy strategy with former diplomat

All Over the Map

While the media and political junkies are following the candidates every move and statement, the real action is happening out of the public eye, where congressional districts are being redrawn, and some of the most familiar members of Congress risk losing their seats before a vote is cast. But the

Detainee abuse

In a joint investigation with The Nation Institute Investigative Fund and reporter Joshua Phillips, Need to Know reveals a little-known U.S. military task force charged with investigating abuse of detainees in Iraq.