BhTV (video)

Has Iran turned a corner? ... Rouhani's limited window for reform ... How Obama can encourage Iranian reform ... Could Iran help resolve the Syrian conflict? ... Majid's insights from growing up in Syria and Iran ... The tension between Arab and Persian cultures ...

On The Posner Show, Anthea explains why she thinks Pope Francis is a great diplomat. She and Sarah discuss the growing doctrinal gulf between the Vatican and many bishops. Anthea predicts that the church would permit non-celibate priests before it would ordain women. Why does Jon Stewart love the Pope, but American bishops don't seem to be showing the love?

On Critic Proof, Alyssa and Scott dissect the shocking Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias" (contains spoilers). Why are some viewers still rooting for Walter White? They compare Skyler with Carmella Soprano, and Breaking Bad and The Sopranos more generally. What will the show's ending say about Breaking Bad's moral universe? Moving on to the new TV season, Alyssa and Scott eviscerate Dads but are optimistic about Brooklyn Nine-Nine. They discuss whether Masters of Sex represents an evolution of the prestige drama, and close by offering some recommendations for other new shows to watch.

On The DMZ: Matt says it's time for the GOP to engage in some creative self-destruction. Are House Republicans crazy to threaten a government shutdown to defund Obamacare? Matt says many Republicans have embraced a revolutionary mindset, and he expects to see the party follow a doomed mission. Bill and Matt debate whether Obama botched his response to the Navy Yard mass shooting. Is the president's second term shaping up to be a failure? Plus: Evaluating Peter Beinart's argument that Millennials are poised to move the country sharply to the left.

Iran's new president wishes Jews a Happy New Year ... Do Israelis want a US strike against Syria? ... The precedent a Syrian intervention could set for Iran ... Israel's best-case scenario for Syria ... Should the US work with Iran to solve the Syrian conflict? ... Rouhani vs. the hardliners ...

How humanism differs from atheism ... Chris's unusual path to becoming a humanist ... The importance of humanist communities ... Chris responds to his atheist critics ... In defense of humanist chaplains ... What atheists can learn from the gay rights movement ...

Why the House of Commons voted against war with Syria ... Does Obama actually want Congressional approval? ... War for symbolism's sake ... The UN's no-win situation ... A new weariness/modesty/fatalism in foreign policy ... The future of British foreign relations ...

On The DMZ, Matt explains why he opposes bombing Syria, while Bill makes the case for military intervention. Matt hears uncomfortable echoes of the run up to the Iraq war. By taking his case to Congress, is Obama being calculating or capricious? Reviewing the political ramifications of the Syria vote, they discuss Rand Paul vs. Marco Rubio, the Arkansas Senate race, and why no 2016 Democratic contenders are opposing the president. Finally, Matt challenges Bill on whether he supports intervention just because he likes Obama.

On Foreign Entanglements, Rob and Zack consider the arguments over intervention in Syria. They start by discussing the minimal case for a set of punishing strikes against the Assad regime designed to enforce the chemical weapons taboo. Would such a narrow intervention work as a meaningful deterrent? Rob and Zack then talk about the long-term prospects of the Assad regime, and how arguments for intervention might look in a decade. Finally, they work out their frustrations regarding the worst arguments currently made about the potential intervention.

Why Bill de Blasio now leads the NYC mayoral race ... Harry rips de Blasio's signature pre-K plan ... Surveying the GOP field (pro- and anti-kitten) ... Are ethnic politics over? ... Why the race has been so uninspired ... What the next mayor will have to deal with ...

Do Egyptians support US intervention in Syria? ... Why Rasha still rejects the term "coup" ... Rasha: The Muslim Brotherhood is being treated fairly ... How Morsi is like Nixon ... Has the military regime gone too far? ... Mohamed ElBaradei and liberal disenchantment ...

How Syria could retaliate for an American strike ... Why did Assad use chemical weapons? ... Joshua: "There is no Syrian nation left" ... Obama's incoherent Syria policy ... The logic of partition… ... …and why it won't happen any time soon ...

On The DMZ: On Syria, is Obama emulating George Bush or Woodrow Wilson? Is the media beating the war drums? What happens if limited military strikes don't work? Is Obama taking a page from Reagan's foreign policy playbook? Plus, the real issue: Does the backlash to Miley Cyrus's VMAs performance indicate that American culture is turning against vulgarity? And how should parents handle the rawness of popular culture?

On The Glenn Show, Glenn and John discuss John's Wall Street Journal column on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Glenn describes the extent to which he agrees and disagrees with John's premise that African-Americans should feel less constrained by white racism. They recall a conservative strain in black culture that seems to have collapsed in the past generation. Glenn bemoans "black exceptionalism," by which he means the belief that black people are uniquely constrained by their history, but also questions American exceptionalism. John responds that America is ahead of most of the world when it comes to race relations. Finally, Glenn suggests that President Obama is not Martin Luther King's true heir.

On The Glenn Show, Glenn talks to Ryan about his work at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. Ryan explains why he doesn't want a post-racial society, but a post-racist one. They debate the recent Supreme Court decision invalidating a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Ryan argues that the decision failed to take America's ugly racial history into account. How well did the legal regime established by the VRA serve the political interests of blacks? What should we make of the extreme racial polarization seen in voting in the South? Finally, fifty years after the March on Washington, what would a new civil rights movement look like?