WAMU-FM: WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show Podcast

President Barack Obama lays out proposals to combat gun violence. The Federal Aviation Administration grounds Boeing's Dreamliner. And new home construction rises to its highest level in four years. A panel of journalists joins guest host Susan Page for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

The legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and race in America today.

Americans at an oil facility in Algeria were among a number of people taken hostage yesterday. An Islamic militant group has claimed responsibility. An update on the crisis.

Born the son and grandson of Army officers, there was little doubt that Stanley McChrystal would become a soldier. The West Point graduate rose through the ranks to command a special forces team in Iraq, which captured Saddam Hussein and killed top al-Qaida terrorists. In 2009, Gen. McChrystal took command of NATO operations in Afghanistan. But a controversial profile in Rolling Stone magazine the next year suggested he was at odds with the White House, and he resigned. In a new memoir, Gen. McChrystal writes about his military life, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and why Rolling Stone got it wrong.

Later this morning President Obama is scheduled to announce his proposals reduce gun violence in this country. He's expected to highlight the need for better background checks, limits on the sale of high capacity magazines and a new ban on assault weapons. His push comes a month after the mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. New York is the first state to take action in the aftermath of that tragedy. A new law signed yesterday by Governor Andrew Cuomo imposes new restrictions on gun ownership and it strengthens rules to prevent mentally ill people from gaining access to guns. Please join us for an update on federal and state efforts to reduce gun violence

More Americans have been forced to rent instead of buy a home in recent years, but prices are rising as demand outstrips supply. Diane and her guests discuss the pros and cons of renting in today's economy.

Most of the world's oceans are in serious decline. But the corals and marine life in the waters around The Phoenix Islands are thriving. How this previously little-known, remote wilderness in the Pacific became one of the highest profile international conservation priorities.

As snowstorms hit the Middle East, life for 600,000 Syrian refugees grows more precarious. The human face of Syria's civil war.

Diane Rehm and Jane Holmes Dixon first met more than 30 years ago, when they were both homemakers active in their church. Diane went on to become a nationally syndicated talk radio host and Jane became a Bishop in the Episcopal Church. Jane passed away this past December on Christmas Day. For this Sunday rebroadcast, we listen to a 2002 conversation with Diane and Jane. The two women talk about how their friendship sustained them through the ups and downs of career and family demands, and about how their relationship to each other changed over the decades.

Afghan President Karzai is in Washington for talks on the future U.S. role. Syria agrees to a major prisoner swap. And Venezuela postpones the inauguration of ailing President Chavez. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.

President Obama announces his choices for key second-term positions. Vice President Biden meets with gun control advocates and the NRA. And new mortgage rules target risky lending. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

The U.S. has long been a world leader in technology innovation. Finding ways to profit from the Internet has been no exception. Think Amazon, Facebook and Google. But the next Google will not come from the U.S. Or so argues the author of a new book on the communications industry. She says we've allowed a handful of cable companies to become monopolies that stifle competition and innovation. Their monopoly status is also why Americans pay more money for worse Internet service than consumers in most other developed nations. Diane speaks with a communications policy expert about who controls Americans' access to the Internet and why.

The influenza virus is spreading quickly across the U.S. More than half the states are reporting widespread outbreak of the disease. The Centers for Disease Control report the season started earlier and cases are more severe than last year. Just yesterday, Boston declared a public health emergency. And flu triage tents are being set up outside hospital emergency rooms to contain the outbreak. The main flu strain being reported appears to be a good match to flu strains in this year's vaccine. But many who got vaccinated are still coming down with the flu. And many more weren't vaccinated at all. Diane and her guests discuss this year's battle against the flu.

A new report shows overall cancer rates are on the decline. Diane discusses the latest on cancer in America and the challenges of funding breakthrough research with Dr. Harold Varmus, director of the NIH's National Cancer Institute.

Several high profile rape cases have spurred new calls to address violence against women. Efforts to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.