WAMU-FM: WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show Podcast

Nelson Mandela has died at age 95. Former Ukraine presidents back ongoing protests over a rejected E.U. trade pact. And heavy violence rocks the Central African Republic. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.

Healthcare.gov sees an enrollment jump after repairs are made to the troubled website. Fast food workers across the country protest the federal minimum wage. And the Labor Department releases the November jobs report. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

Over the last decade, 23 states have enacted laws that aim to keep juveniles out of adult prisons and court systems. The shift is a reversal of the tough-on-crime legislation of the 1980s and 1990s. The new laws stem from concerns about teenage suicides in adult jails and new research showing that young people held in adult courts are more likely to be repeat offenders than juveniles not held in adult jails. But some state attorneys are against the change. They say the legislation adds unnecessary delays to prosecution and are an insult to victims. Join Diane and a panel of guests for a discussion on these new laws that aim to keep youths out of adult prisons and courts.

There's widespread agreement that our government is not working well. Legal scholars debate the causes of dysfunction in Washington and how the U.S. Constitution plays a role.

In recent years, money from special interest groups has flooded Washington. Many say it's the root of our political dysfunction. But maybe conventional wisdom is wrong. Perhaps the problem lies not with the buyers of influence, but with the sellers. Author Peter Schweizer charges lawmakers' hunt for cash influences everything from how they write laws to when they vote on a bill. He says Washington politicians use leadership PACs to bankroll lavish lifestyles, and rely on a secret loophole to make loans to themselves. Diane and Schweizer discuss new revelations about the old link between money and politics.

The ACLU is suing U.S. Catholic bishops over anti-abortion policies that it claims endanger women's lives. Diane and her guest discuss the legal rights of pregnant women at Roman Catholic hospitals.

A decade ago plant-based fuels held tremendous promise in the U.S. The hope was that they would reduce reliance on foreign oil and cut greenhouse gases caused by burning fossil fuels. Ethanol made from corn took off, helped by a government mandate requiring billions of gallons of corn ethanol to be added to gasoline and diesel. But last month the Obama administration signaled it is rethinking the biofuel mandate. This has corn growers and developers of advanced biofuels up in arms. On the other side is the oil industry and environmental groups. For this month's Environmental Outlook: the battle over ethanol policy and the future of biofuels.

Spending on digital advertising will total more than $40 billion this year in the U.S. Advertisers are relying less on banner ads at the top of websites to attract consumers and sell products. More and more, they're placing ads that consumers cannot always tell are ads. Often they look like news articles. The Federal Trade Commission has expressed concern that consumers are being misled. Tomorrow the FTC is bringing together advertisers, publishers and legal experts to discuss the growing use of sponsored content. Diane and her guests talk about transparency in online advertising and ongoing concerns about privacy.

Martin Cruz Smith does not receive a warm welcome at the airport when he visits Russia. His Arkady Renko series features a fictional Russian police investigator who has slipped from favor because he refused to join what Smith calls, "the conspiracy of duplicity." The American author of "Gorky Park" has just written his eighth novel in the series. It's based on the mysterious death of a real-life reporter who pursued stories on political corruption in Vladimir Putin's government. Smith believes she was killed for doing so. Smith speaks with Diane about his latest novel, "Tatiana," and why he worried it wouldn't get written at all.

Yesterday the Obama administration reported that it had met its goal of getting the federal website for health insurance running smoothly but added there was more to be done. After the initial rolloutof HealthCare.gov on October 1 proved disastrous, the administration launched what it called a tech surge and vowed to up system capacity and reduce wait times by Saturday, November 30th.. Please join us for an update on the scramble to turn the Obama administration's most important legislative achievement into a working system and risks for both parties related to the affordable care act.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri is known for her stories about the immigrant experience. But her latest novel is firmly shaped by the history and politics of post-colonial India. It's an intimate story of two brothers with opposing personalities: one joins a radical, Maoist group fighting for the rights of the poor, while the other emigrates to America, leaving his family behind. When tragedy strikes, it sets in motion events that unfold over time and place and across generations. A new novel from Jhumpa Lahiri about love and sacrifice, and the true story that inspired the book.

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.

Nearly a quarter of Americans attend religious services of more than one faith or denomination. More than one-third are now married to a person of a different religion. As American society becomes more open and tolerant of diversity, a growing number of interfaith couples are raising children in both religions. They say this encourages open-mindedness and gives extended family equal weight. But others caution that these mixed-marriages can be strained by conflict over religious practices and are more prone to divorce. As the holiday season approaches, a look at the growing trend of interfaith marriage and what it means for family life.

This week many Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends. But for millions of others, the holiday will mark another day of worrying how they'll feed themselves and their children. On Nov. 1, a temporary boost in the federal food stamp program came to an end. Anti-hunger advocates across the country said they saw an almost immediate rise in the number of people at food pantries and soup kitchens. Congress is seeking billions of dollars in additional cuts over the next decade to the food assistance program, now known as SNAP. Diane talks with representatives of anti-hunger organizations across the country about why so many Americans are not getting enough to eat.

Americans have access to more news sources than ever, but that doesn't mean we are better informed. A Harvard media expert on how journalists could do a better job educating the public.