WAMU-FM: WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show Podcast

Connecticut passes strict new gun laws. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel tells the Pentagon to brace for spending cuts. And the latest unemployment numbers are released. A panel of journalists joins guest host Susan Page for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

In his new book, "The Lawyer Bubble", former 30-year litigator Steven Harper says there are too many lawyers, too few jobs and too much emphasis on profits. He joins guest host Susan Page.

Mandatory minimum sentencing has been part of the government's war on drugs, but critics say it's not working. A panel joins guest host Susan Page to discuss new efforts to give judges more discretion.

David Stockman, the former budget director under President Ronald Reagan, says the economy will not improve until the United States rethinks its habits of borrowing, spending and money printing. His new book, "The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America," argues that Washington has enabled Wall Street to fuel financial bubbles and alter the markets, all while crushing middle class families.

President Barack Obama announced a new multi-year research initiative to map the human brain. He compared its potential to that of the Human Genome Project. Scientists hope the brain project will eventually lead to solutions to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and better treatments for a range of mental illnesses. The National Institutes of Health will coordinate the project. The president wants Congress to approve $100 million in initial funding. Some critics argue the money could be better spent on smaller grants to a number of brain research projects with specific goals. But many scientists are enthusiastic. Join Diane and NIH Director Francis Collins for a discussion on mapping the human brain.

Before the mid-20th century, the most exciting thing to happen in Toms River, N.J., was the American Revolution. Before the war, the coastal village's inlet was a popular haven for small-time pirates. But the arrival of the chemical industry ushered in a decades-long drama, culminating in one of the largest legal settlements in the history of toxic dumping. Toms River became home to a cluster of childhood cancers linked to local air and water pollution. Journalist Dan Fagin spent five years uncovering an account of rampant pollution and inadequate oversight. He says the town's story is a cautionary tale for fast-growing industrial towns from South Jersey to China. For this month's environmental outlook, Diane and Fagin discuss the story of Toms River.

The oil industry and labor unions are pushing the Obama administration to approve the Canada-to-Mexico Keystone pipeline: The ongoing debate over the future of U.S. energy policy.

Elizabeth Strout's novel in stories, "Olive Kitteridge," won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009. Her new novel took more than seven years to research and write. "The Burgess Boys" centers on three middle-aged siblings haunted by their father's accidental death. The guilt of one brother has defined his life, as well as that of his sister, brother, their spouses and children. The brothers fled small town Maine for New York City. But when their sister calls them home, buried family tensions erupt. Her teenaged son is involved in an incident that threatens the peace between the newly arrived Somali community and the locals.

Three months have passed since the killing of 20 schoolchildren and six adults in Newtown, Conn. And already the sense of urgency for new gun control legislation is waning. President Barack Obama's top agenda item, a ban on assault-style weapons, isn't likely to survive in the Senate. A proposal to expand background checks also appears doubtful. And news that the Newtown shooter massacred two dozen people in five minutes may not be enough to save an amendment banning high-capacity magazines. But while it seems not much has changed, there may be long-term hope for gun control advocates: since December, real money is beginning to flow to counter the gun lobby. Diane and her guests discuss the latest on gun control laws.

The crisis in Cyprus sheds a light on how investors shelter their wealth. A panel joins Diane to explain how tax havens work and their effect on economies around the world.

President Barack Obama urges lawmakers to pass gun control legislation as Republicans threaten a Senate filibuster. In Connecticut, unsealed search warrants for the Newtown shooter reveal a large stash of weapons and ammunition. The Supreme Court hears arguments in two cases involving same-sex marriage. Questioning by the Justices suggests the Court might strike down DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act. The so-called "Gang of Eight" senators visits the U.S.-Mexico border. Housing prices reach the highest levels in six years but consumer confidence drops. And North Dakota passes the nation's strictest abortion laws. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

Cyprus banks reopen under tight controls. The Arab League recognizes the Syrian opposition. And a new government crackdown in Egypt. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.

As Congress continues to hammer out the details of immigration reform, many are demanding measures to regain control of the nation's borders. But a new book argues that politicians suffer from historical amnesia and America's borders have never been secure. In fact, smuggling and porous borders have played a key role in America's birth and economic development, according to a book by Peter Andreas, "Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America." Far from being a new danger to the country, the illicit underside of globalization is actually an American tradition.

The future of the CIA and challenges facing the new director: Questions on drones, interrogation techniques and other clandestine operations.

When the first novel of Edna O'Brien's "Country Girl" trilogy was published in 1960, it was banned — and burned — in her native Ireland. The author's own mother went through the book, blackening all the offending words. Today it's hard to imagine that a series about two Irish girls coming of age could stir up so much moral outrage. The story of Kate and Baba traced their lives from youthful friendship through sexual awakening to marriage. In the trilogy's second book, the pair have moved from the countryside of their childhood to what they hope is a new life in Dublin. But their principles and friendship are tested when Kate falls in love with a married man. Join Diane and her guests for a Readers' Review of Edna O'Brien's "The Lonely Girl."