Author and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof says regular folks like us can change the world. He explains how. Plus: we remember the late, great Washington Post editor, Ben Bradlee.

We’ll go to Liberia, and hear from a pastor and a physician at the epicenter of the Ebola crisis.

The future of the car: from the fuels they’ll run on, to the materials they’ll be made of, to the computers that may drive them.

Two weeks to go till Midterm Election Day. We’ll look at how the biggest issues are playing out around the country.

Afraid of snakes? Heights? Ebola? We’ll unpack the science of fear.

Greatness and the American Presidency. Aaron David Miller says aim for good. Really good.

Regina Carter turns her jazz violin down home with her new album “Southern Comfort.”

The CDC in the hot seat on Ebola. Markets reeling. Mid-term fireworks. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

The Catholic Church signals a new openness towards gays, the divorced, and more. We’ll ask American Catholics what they think.

A second Dallas nurse infected with Ebola. At least 76 in her hospital, exposed. We’ll look at the American medical system racing for Ebola readiness.

The wild, funny, blithely offensive comedian Russell Brand takes on the world’s woes with us. He says he’s got the answer.

The US embargo against Cuba is 54 years old next week and there are new calls –and maybe new reasons – to end it. We’ll hear the fresh debate.

Goya. Francisco Goya. The Spanish painter of war and upheaval. He’s relevant right now, again. We’ll go to Goya.

The new blue collar jobs. We’ll look at where they are and what it will take to get one.

Country singer Doug Seegers was homeless for years in New York and Nashville. He’s out with a new album and will break your heart.

A young American, arrested at O’Hare airport, allegedly on his way to join ISIS. Who is drawn to this? And why?

The Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Salsa, jazz and a lot of great energy. We’ll hear their sound.

America’s first Ebola death. Leon Panetta blasts the President. US teens and ISIS. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

Joan Biskupic on the Supreme Court’s first Latina justice, Sonia Sotomayor, and the high court’s agenda now.

Despite the Middle East crisis and Russian tensions, world oil prices are plummeting. We’ll look at why and what it means for rising clean energy.

We talk with mayors from across the country on going local to find the future. Plus: Jack Beatty on Boston’s own Mayor Menino.

Are we ready for Ebola? The CDC says it will stop Ebola in its tracks in the US. We’ll hear what it’s really going to take.

Former New York Times columnist Bob Herbert has been in the road in the USA. He says America has lost its way. He joins us.

We go to the deep red state of Kansas, where Republicans from the Senator to the Governor may lose their seats in the midterm election.

A long time ago in a galaxy called George Lucas, “Star Wars” was born. We look at how “Star Wars” conquered the cultural universe.

War powers, the White House and the Islamic State. Some see Presidential overreach in the US military push right now. We’ll take it up.

Musical icon Prince is back. With two new albums. We look at the life and music of the Purple One.

Secret Service director, out. Ebola, in America. Hong Kong protesters versus China. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

What makes a good place to live in America today? We’ll talk with the people who size up our cities and towns.

ISIS and the battle for control of the Syrian town of Kobani. The Kurds have it. ISIS wants it. The US is bombing. We’ll look at the lessons of the battle for Kobani.

Latino America. It is very large and growing very fast. How will it move the country?

China, democracy and Hong Kong. They’re in the streets in Hong Kong with their “Umbrella Revolution.” What now?

Nicholas Carr says automation, all over, is turning us into zombies. Out of touch with the world. He’s with us.

Police shootings, cop culture, body cameras. And the big debate over how to protect the public and the police.

How Aristotle invented science. The great ancient Greek, and life on Earth.

Silicon Valley’s Peter Thiel; the entrepreneur, investor and the PayPal co-founder’s call for deep invention.

All about hard cider. It’s all over these days. And sweet, fresh apple cider, too. We’ll look at the history and comeback.

Syria airstrikes. Obama at the UN. Climate protests. And Derek Jeter says goodbye. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

Great American playwright Tennessee Williams’ battle for art and sanity – a big new biography brings his story alive.

The news is full of beheadings, but ISIS fighters are now infamous for a campaign of sexual violence. We’ll look at the Islamic State’s war on women.

A loud complaint that some top American colleges are turning out “excellent sheep.” A sharp critique of the Ivy League.

After cash. More and more, people are just waving their phone to pay. Now comes Apple Pay. We’ll look at where this goes.

A young grandmaster just did the impossible at a top chess tournament. No one paid attention. Does chess still matter?

A bipartisan report says medical care at the end of life needs a big overhaul. One bioethicist says, “After 75, no major interventions. Let me go.”

Big climate protests in New York before a big UN summit. Activist and author Naomi Klein says change the economy or die. She’s with us.

A tough, critical examination of US plans to take on ISIS. Strategy in the hot seat.

Author of “Netherland,” novelist Joseph O’Neill is back, with “The Dog,” on globalization, capitalism, and self-discovery in Dubai.

ISIS and arming Syrian fighters. Scotland rejects independence. NFL turmoil. US troops and Ebola. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

Billionaires. We’ll look at the super super rich, and their global shaping of our world.

After a summer of deadly clashes between Gaza and Israel, we talk to Jews on the left and right about the future of liberal Zionism. Some say it’s over.

A new take on the life and music of Bob Dylan, from way inside the Dylan story. “Another Side of Bob Dylan.”

The NFL’s Adrian Peterson and the emotional debate underway about how far is too far to go when it comes to disciplining children.

“Rich Hill,” a new documentary on growing up poor, now, in rural America. The dreams and the desperation.

More parents are “red-shirting” their children in kindergarten—holding them back for a year, hoping they’ll have an edge. Does it work? We look.

Uproar over development plans for the Grand Canyon. We go to the Navajo Nation and the Canyon floor to see what’s at stake.

President Obama says he will build a coalition of partners in the Middle East to combat ISIS. We’ll do a reality check on who’s really stepping up for what.

#WhyIStayed. We’re looking at women in and out of relationships of domestic violence.

The President’s ISIS strategy. The Ray Rice video. Congress is back. Apple’s new watch. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

The President lays out his strategy to take on ISIS. Will it work? We’ll look at the key factors in America’s new military commitment.

Martine Rothblatt is the highest paid female executive in America. Founder of Sirius Radio. She was once a man. Now she’s pushing digital mind clones for us all.