WAMU-FM: WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show Podcast

U.S. drone strikes have killed several high-level al-Qaida operatives, but critics argue the civilian toll is too high and there is too little transparency. The changing way we fight war.

Born in rural Alabama 100 years ago, Rosa Parks grew up picking cotton from sunrise to sunset. Raised by a devoted single mother, she attended segregated schools and faced daily oppression in the Jim Crow south. But contrary to popular myth, Parks had a long history of fighting back, even before she refused to give up her seat on that Montgomery bus: a young Parks once tossed a brick at a white boy who teased her brother. Later, Parks joined her NAACP branch and worked to register black voters and end housing discrimination. And her activism continued even after she left Alabama for Detroit. A new biography on the life of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is currently the only Republican in President Barack Obama's cabinet. In the past four years, he has overseen the most significant public works program since the New Deal, including more than 15,000 transportation projects. He has championed bike and walking paths, high-speed and intercity passenger rail and streetcars. He helped set new automobile fuel efficiency standards and instituted tough new rules to protect airline passengers. He also launched an aggressive campaign against distracted driving. Recently, he announced his retirement as soon as a successor is confirmed. As he leaves, an investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's battery failures remains. Diane interviews Secretary LaHood.

For this month's Environmental Outlook: environmental, economic and political implications of the State Department's upcoming decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Access to the Internet has grown from just 10 million people in the early '90s to more than 2.5 billion today. But a third of households in the U.S. still don't have high speed internet access because they can't afford it. To address the growing "digital divide," the federal government is proposing the creation of a free, public wireless network nationwide. But the plan faces opposition from telecom companies who say valuable spectrum should be sold at auction and not given away for free. And they warn that unlicensed airwaves could interfere with existing broadcasts. Diane and a panel of experts discuss the pros and cons of free Wi-Fi.

Richard Schiff won an Emmy Award for his role as White House communications director Toby Ziegler on "The West Wing." Schiff talks about his latest theater work and why he never planned to be an actor.

A 2005 law protects gun companies from liability suits, making it difficult for victims of gun violence to challenge the industry. Diane and her guests explore how gun makers got special protection, and new attempts to change the federal law.

Ever since Sonia Sotomayor was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009, people have been as curious about her personal story as her views on the law and the courts. Children with diabetes want to know about her experiences living with the disease. Others ask how she coped with losing her father at a young age. Minority students wonder whether she has experienced discrimination and how she stays connected to her community. In a new memoir titled "My Beloved World," Sotomayor describes how adversity has spurred her on instead of knocking her down. Diane talks with Justice Sotomayor about the sources of her hope and optimism, and the value of holding on to far-fetched dreams.

Syria claims Israel bombs military targets near Damascus. Egypt declares emergency rule in three cities. And French forces take a key airport in Mali. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.

The U.S. economy shrinks slightly in the fourth quarter. A bipartisan group of senators and the White House propose immigration reform. And a Senate committee holds hearings on gun violence. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

Al Gore believes we are at the dawn of a new future. The former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee claims we're living in a time of revolutionary change unmatched in history. In a new book, he says we're racing toward a future that is both complicated and different from anything we've seen before. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has identified what he believes are six forces remaking the world, from economic globalization to the digital revolution to — no surprise here — climate change. The self-identified "recovering politician" joins Diane to talk about the changes facing our world and his vision for the future.

Confirmation hearings for former Sen. Chuck Hagel begin today. If approved as Secretary of Defense, he'll take office in the middle of a possible sequester fight. A panel joins Diane to discuss what possible spending cuts could mean for national security.

Junot Diaz's first novel, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," established him as one the most important voices in contemporary fiction. A New York Times review described his style as "Mario Vargas Llosa meets Star Trek meets David Foster Wallace meets Kanye West." It's the story of Oscar, a second-generation American obsessed with science fiction and finding love. Diaz takes us from Oscar's home in New Jersey to his ancestral home in the Dominican Republic. Along the way, Oscar learns of the "curse" that haunted his family in the "old world," and may still be in the U.S. For this month's Readers' Review, Diane and her guests discuss the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Ever since Sonia Sotomayor was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009, people have been as curious about her personal story as her views on the law and the courts. Children with diabetes want to know about her experiences living with the disease. Others ask how she coped with losing her father at a young age. Minority students wonder whether she has experienced discrimination and how she stays connected to her community. In a new memoir titled "My Beloved World," Sotomayor describes how adversity has spurred her on instead of knocking her down. Diane talks with Justice Sotomayor about the sources of her hope and optimism, and the value of holding on to far-fetched dreams.

Audio books have come full circle. Once just for the blind, books on cassette and then CD first became available to the general public three decades ago, mostly in libraries or by subscription. Soon they popped up in bookstores, taking up a shelf or two. By the late '90s, big box stores featured whole walls of audio books. Now, in the age of digital downloads, book shelves are sparse once more. But the industry is thriving — it's currently estimated to be worth $1.2 billion. Many love the convenience of audio books and enjoy being read to. Critics argue listening to a narrated book is not the same as reading. Diane and her guests discuss the future of audio books.