WAMU-FM: WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show Podcast

By the late 1920s, poet T.S. Eliot was regarded as one of the great literary figures of the day. His "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and "The Waste Land" were widely read and admired. But Eliot's personal life was in turmoil. His marriage to a depressed woman was unraveling and he began a spiritual journey that led to religious conversion. As Europe moved toward war, Eliot wrote the first poem of what would later become "Four Quartets." Inspired by Beethoven, every poem contained imagery of four seasons and four elements. Each was a complex meditation on time, redemption and eternity. For this month's Readers' Review: Diane and guests discuss T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets."

Federal Aviation Administration furloughs of air traffic controllers are causing flight delays across the country. Diane and her guests discuss how the fight over budget cuts is affecting air travel.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Rohde spent eight years covering Afghanistan and Pakistan. For seven months of that time he was held captive by the Taliban. In a new book, he argues our experience in Iraq and Afghanistan clearly underscores the limits of military power. What's needed, he says, is not military force but support for economic growth, the kind of support we used to regularly deliver through USAID and other civilian institutions. Veteran foreign affairs columnist David Rohde on the urgent need for traditional American diplomacy, how the Islamic world is changing and what these shifts mean for U.S. strategy.

The fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, raises questions about the safety of similar facilities around the country. Concerns over how fertilizer plants are regulated and risks to the public.

Few people who show early talent go on to achieve stellar success. But their lives can be rich and wonderful nonetheless. That's one of the messages of a new novel that spans four decades. It all begins when six teenagers become friends at an artsy summer camp in New England's Berkshire Mountains. It's the summer that President Richard Nixon resigns and the teens declare themselves special. The future awaits them with all the promises and pitfalls a fully lived life has to offer. From the '70s to the present, the zeitgeist of each decade is woven into the story. A novel about love, luck, tragedy and talent.

A panel of experts joins Diane for an update on the Boston Marathon bombers and what the deadly incident could mean for keeping Americans safe.

David Corn has been an investigative journalist for more than 20 years. During the recent presidential election, Corn published the now-infamous "47 percent" video of Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Now, Corn has another secret tape: this one of Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. He's heard talking about using damaging personal information against would-be candidate Ashley Judd. McConnell has called the tape an invasion of privacy, but Corn insists it was obtained legally and he won't reveal his source. Diane talks with Mother Jones' Washington Bureau Chief David Corn about the Romney and McConnell tapes and investigative reporting in the digital age.

North Korea sets preconditions for talks. Results of Venezuela's presidential election are disputed. And former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf flees after an order for his arrest.

The Senate rejects gun control measures. A fertilizer plant in Texas explodes. And an update on the Boston marathon bombing.

Any day now, cicadas in the northeastern United States will again emerge from their 17-year cycle. The deafening sound upon their arrival is familiar to many people — and often a nostalgic reminder of sweltering summer evenings. Musician and professor David Rothenberg can't wait for the cicadas. He has spent the last few years studying and playing duets with cicadas, crickets and beetles. In his other books he explored why birds sing and whale songs. Now he examines the rhythm and noise of insects and their influence on human music. His new book and CD are called "Bug Music."

The nation has experienced its share of tragedy this week. The Boston Marathon bombings that killed three people and injured scores. A scare from suspicious letters that reminded people of the anthrax poisonings shortly after 9/11. And last night a fire and massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in the town of West, Texas. More than a dozen people are believed to have died and 160 injured. Authorities are treating the plant as a crime scene until more is known. No connection has been found among the explosions in Boston and Texas and the suspicious letters. Diane and her guests discuss the latest on the tragedies and investigations.

The decision to be part of a clinical trial isn't an easy one, but it's an especially hard decision for parents. Thousands of families agreed to allow their premature babies to take part in a government-funded study. Now, a federal agency has found that a number of major universities failed to tell them that the study of oxygen levels for their very premature babies could cause blindness or death. The study's designers say that the risk of blindness should have been more clearly explained, but that the infants were within the standard of care. Others say the lack of disclosure was unethical. Diane and guests discuss balancing the risks and benefits of clinical trials.

Profound sadness and unanswered questions mark reactions to Monday's deadly explosions near the finish of the Boston Marathon. Three people died and dozens more were critically wounded. The FBI and Boston police are appealing to the public to share any and all images and recollections which could be helpful in the investigation. Some clues have emerged, but experts warn breakthroughs in the case may be hard to come by. Meanwhile security procedures in public places around the country are being reviewed. Please join us for an update on the investigation and a discussion on assessing risk and summoning resilience in the face of trauma.

From 2009 to 2012, Cass Sunstein was administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, known as OIRA. As President Obama's "regulatory czar," he oversaw nearly 2,000 new rules, from fuel efficiency standards and the redesign of the food pyramid to health care and Wall Street reform. In a new book, he says efforts to simplify and scale back regulation in the president's first term resulted in net benefits of $91.3 billion dollars in net benefits for the American public. He joins Diane to explain why simplification is the key to the future of government.

The FBI is leading the investigation into explosions that killed three and injured about 140 people near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. A number of blocks in downtown Boston are being searched for clues. At the time of the blasts, the area was crowded with spectators and runners in what has traditionally been a day of celebration and pride in the city. In remarks last night, President Barack Obama pledged to put the full resources of the federal government behind the investigation. But many also warn not to rush to judgment. Diane and her guests discuss questions on the day after the deadly explosions in Boston.