WAMU-FM: WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show Podcast

Three Republicans joined ten Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass broad immigration reform legislation. Next it goes to full Senate. The bill would bring the biggest changes in US immigration policy in years:There's a thirteen year path to citizenship for immigrants here illegally, plus more border security and new rules for both high and low skilled workers seeking jobs in this country. Critics of the bill say it gives illegal immigrants an unfair advantage over those who have played by the rules. They also say the changes will mean fewer jobs for American citizens. Please join us to discuss prospects for immigration reform.

Charles Moore, the author of Margaret Thatcher's authorized biography, joins us to discuss his new book.

Following the devastating tornado in Oklahoma, the federal government is stepping in. A look at disaster assistance and the politics of relief.

For the last few years, Congress's approval ratings have been dismal. A Gallup poll last month showed only 15 percent of Americans approve of how Congress is doing its job. Seventy-nine percent disapprove. Olympia Snowe is fed up with Congress, too. After 18 years in the U.S. Senate, the Maine Republican called it quits. When she announced she would not seek re-election in 2012, she cited increasingly partisan politics as a major factor. In her new political memoir, she tells how she went from being an orphan at age 9 to a GOP lawmaker known for reaching across the aisle. Her take on what's wrong with Congress and how to fix it.

In recent years, federal funding for public broadcasting has fallen to record lows. Many broadcasters have turned to wealthy donors to fill the gap. In 2006, billionaire industrialist David Koch joined the board of WNET, New York's PBS affiliate. Last fall, the station aired a documentary titled, "Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream," which contrasted ultra-rich residents of the Upper East Side with their Bronx counterparts. In an article for The New Yorker magazine out this week, investigative journalist Jane Mayer chronicles the fate of that movie and another documentary produced for PBS. Diane talks with Mayer about the questions her article raises about the influence of big money on public media outlets.

The rescue of an American aid worker kidnapped in Somalia. The story of her ordeal and why she intends to return to Africa.

Lifetime alimony payments may soon be a relic of the past. A growing number of states are considering laws that would generally end permanent spousal support. Instead, they would create formulas to determine the amount and duration of awards. Some proponents of alimony-law reform are seeking to make the elimination of permanent alimony retroactive. The proposals have triggered heated debate: payers who criticize what they call unjust and outdated awards are pitted against family law attorneys who say the measures are punitive to women. One twist: an increasing number of those seeking reform are women who out-earn their ex-husbands. Diane and her guests discuss the future of alimony.

The U.S. economy has been showing some positive signs: the stock market is up. House prices in many places are higher than they've been for seven years. The number of new workers seeking unemployment benefits has declined, and the deficit is smaller this year compared to last. But there are still more than 12 million Americans looking for work. Current deficit numbers may delay the next political showdown over the raising the debt limit, but that battle is still coming, and there is no sign that the White House and Congress will be able to agree on plan that supports long term growth. Please join us to discuss what's ahead for the U.S. economy.

The U.N. passes a resolution for a transitional government in Syria. Russia expels a suspected U.S. spy. And Nawaz Sharif is elected prime minister of Pakistan again. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.

The acting chief of the Internal Revenue Service is forced to resign. President Barack Obama goes on the offensive over political scandals. And the federal budget deficit is shrinking. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

An estimated 2 million Americans have had an arm or leg amputated from injury or illness. Many chose to wear prosthetic limbs. Ten years ago, most artificial arms and legs were clunky and fragile. But prosthetic technology has advanced significantly since then. A vast body of research gained from treating American soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan has led to robotic knees and ankles that adjust to terrain and activity. Leg amputees now run marathons, climb mountains and even skydive. And a new bionic arm powered by the thoughts of the person wearing it can mimic almost all the movements of a real hand.

The Obama administration is under fire. Addressing one of several controversies, the president asked for the resignation of the head of the Internal Revenue Service. The tax agency is accused of targeting some conservative groups for extra scrutiny. In another political scandal, the Justice Department disclosed it seized phone records of the Associated Press without first informing the news agency. The seizure is said to be part of an investigation into a leak about a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen. Media and First Amendment groups reacted strongly, calling it an abuse of power. Diane and guests discuss the Justice Department's actions, press freedom and national security.

A memoir of growing up in Afghanistan. From civil war to Taliban rule, the journey one family takes across Afghanistan as they attempt to flee decades of violence and turmoil in their homeland.

The Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into reports that the Internal Revenue Service gave special and unwarranted scrutiny to tax exempt applications made by conservative groups. According to a Treasury Inspector General report the practice began in early 2010. The groups in question had applied for tax exempt status as 501C-4s. These types of organizations can be set up to pursue primarily social welfare objectives but are allowed to engage in some political activity. The agency has apologized for the incidents and says it's taken corrective action, but more changes will probably be required. Please join us to talk about tax exempt status at the IRS.

There are no laboratory tests for psychiatry, no bright lines to say who is sick and who is well. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, has come to be regarded as the bible of psychiatric diagnosis. First published in 1952 and revised several times since then, it improved the reliability of subjective diagnoses. But Dr. Allen Frances says it's also had harmful unintended consequences. He was once dubbed "the most powerful psychiatrist in America" by The New York Times. Now he says the DSM has contributed to psychiatric fads, diagnostic inflation and over-medication. He believes the latest version threatens to turn everyday living into psychiatric disease. He joins Diane to discuss his new book, "Saving Normal," and how to rein in psychiatry and drug companies.