WAMU-FM: WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show Podcast

According to journalist Steven Brill, the Affordable Care Act changes some of the rules about who pays for what in health care, but a basic problem remains: the cost. In a lengthy cover story for Time Magazine, he explains why labs, drug companies, hospital administrators and the purveyors of medical equipment make so much money. He also explores why doctors who don't game the system are getting squeezed and why patients, especially those under 65, are left holding the bag. Join us to talk with Steven Brill about why we pay so much for health care in the U.S. and what we can do about it.

Tom Daschle, former U.S. senator from South Dakota, was one of the longest serving Senate Democratic leaders in history and the only one to serve twice as both majority and minority leader. His new book, "The U.S. Senate," is a guide to how the institution works. Sen. Daschle joins Diane for the hour.

The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution made it illegal for states to deny voting rights based on race or color. But Southern states enacted poll taxes and literacy tests to keep blacks from voting. Then in 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. Section 5 of the Act identified nine states for their history of discrimination. The new law required these states to get "pre-clearance" from the government before changing their voting laws. Critics of Section 5 say the formula is outdated and violates states' rights. But supporters argue voting rights are still at risk in these areas of the country and need special protection. Diane and guests discuss the future of the Voting Rights Act at the Supreme Court.

Thomas Edison is widely remembered as the man who invented the light bulb. As with many singular events, there's much more to the story, and a new book places the invention in the context of the time. In the mid-19th century the U.S. was in a period of intense technological creativity. Edison and a team of high-level assistants at his New Jersey laboratory benefited from a vibrant exchange of ideas among scientists in the U.S. and across the Atlantic. When Edison finally unveiled the incandescent light bulb in 1879, Americans witnessed the birth of a new age. Diane and her guest discuss how an invention we take for granted today transformed American life.

The U.S. is bracing for steep, across-the-board cuts in the federal budget. If implemented, they could mean furloughs at the Pentagon, longer airport security lines and delays in food inspection. Diane and her guests discuss the potential impact of sequestration.

Fifty years ago, Betty Friedan published her groundbreaking book "The Feminine Mystique." Diane considers its relevance today and the ongoing debate over gender equality at work and at home.

A deadly bombing in Syria targets the ruling party. Civilian deaths fall sharply in Afghanistan. And Secretary of State John Kerry delivers his first major foreign policy speech. Guest host Steve Roberts and a panel of journalists discuss the week's top international news stories.

Sparring over spending and taxes intensifies one week before sequestration. Details of immigration proposals emerge. And Florida's governor reverses course on Medicaid. Guest host Steve Roberts and a panel of journalists discuss the week's top national stories.

Lives built on lies and secrets rarely have happy endings. A new novel by Amity Gaige explores the nature of truth and identity. Her main character comes to the U.S. from East Germany while he was just a boy. He lies about his identity to win a scholarship to a New England summer camp. The lies seem harmless at first, and they help liberate him from his immigrant past and the pain of leaving his mother behind. But one lie leads to another and soon we have a man who is trapped in a fictional identity. When he kidnaps his beloved 6-year-old daughter during a custody fight, his lies lead to tragic consequences. Amity Gaige discusses "Schroder," a novel about truth, love and obsession.

Many say it's only a matter of time before unmanned aircraft, otherwise known as drones, are used routinely for such tasks as traffic monitoring, battling forest fires, and looking for lost children. The government already uses surveillance drones to monitor our border with Mexico. Some police departments and a few universities have permits to use them as well. The FAA has been charged with coming up with a plan for widespread commercial use by 2015, but many say safety and privacy issues need to be addressed. Please join us for debate over the rules for domestic drones.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. rounded up hundreds of suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and around the world. Many ended up at a special military detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they would face what officials called "rough justice." Instead of trials in military, federal or state courts, enemy aliens would be prosecuted by military commissions subject to the president's command. Wall Street Journal correspondent Jess Bravin and Lt. Col. Stuart Couch, former senior prosecutor in the Office of Military Commissions, describe the complex ethical and legal challenges dogging the Guantanamo Commissions.

Fifty years ago, Betty Friedan published her groundbreaking book "The Feminine Mystique." Diane considers its relevance today and the ongoing debate over gender equality at work and at home.

Just 30 years ago, China was a poor, isolated nation of rural farmers. The vast majority of its citizens struggled to afford food and clothes. But a series of free market reforms in the 1980s and '90s transformed China, propelling it to the No. 2 spot in the global economy. China is now the world's largest manufacturer and has the second biggest military. But a leading China expert says the rise of the Middle Kingdom has been greatly exaggerated. He says China's influence is limited by isolationism and a focus on low-end manufacturing. Diane and author David Shambaugh discuss the myth of China's global power.

In 2010, more than 30,000 Americans died from gunshot wounds, and about two-thirds were self-inflicted. More people used a firearm to take their own lives than every other method combined. For most, if not all victims, suicide reflects a treatment failure — someone in distress who didn't get the right kind of help when they most needed it. People determined to take their own lives can find a way, but research shows that having easy access to a gun boosts the likelihood that an attempt will be successful. Diane and guests discuss who is at risk for suicide, and what can be done to reduce that risk.

Today's 20-somethings are politically progressive, at ease with technology and more ethnically diverse than previous generations. How millennials are re-defining traditional ideas of what it means to be an adult.