To the Point

Tomorrow's Republican takeover of Congress will be heavy with symbols appealing to Tea Party stalwarts and other enemies of "Big Government." We hear about the strategy, the agenda and the prospects for Democrats to fight back. Also, the Governor of Pakistan's Punjab Province is assassinated, and an innocent man is exonerated after 30 years in a Texas prison.

In two years, President Obama's stimulus package has not produced the infrastructure projects many people expected. Is that what it was really designed to do? We hear from two state "stimulus watchdogs" and others. Also, Goldman Sachs friends Facebook, and cold weather and global warming.

This year's film about the founder of Facebook and the suicide of a student whose sexual orientation was revealed online have focused attention on Social Networking. We talk about what it is and how it's changing the real world as well as the virtual world.  Also, the BCS championship and college bowl games, and America as a "patchwork nation."

Guest host Sara Terry looks back at some of the biggest stories of 2010, including the economy and a shift to the right on the political front. How will those two stories play out in the year ahead? We also look at some simple and surprising ideas for how to make the world a better place, and we look at the years behind and ahead of us from a different perspective – the developing world. Also, Ivory Coast's UN ambassador warns of genocide, and tracking the flow of humanitarian dollars. How effective is aid money in reaching the people it's meant to help?

There will be several challenges ahead for President Obama as he deals with a new Congress and a House controlled by Republicans. How will the new political dynamic on Capitol Hill affect the White House? What new faces will Obama bring in to help shape his policies on the economy and Afghanistan? What can he accomplish with the 2012 election already on the horizon? Also, Denmark and Sweden arrest five in an "imminent" terror plot, and how a purchase of a box of negatives at a Chicago auction led to the discovery of the extraordinary photographic talents of a woman who worked as a nanny. Sara Terry guest hosts.

Today's topic is the Internet and the debate over net neutrality, the idea that Internet providers should treat all sources of data equally so that consumers can control what they view and use on the web. Do new federal regulations achieve that goal? In the twenty years since the internet first became a household term, has it accomplished what technology visionaries said it would? Also, the East Coast is digging out but airport delays persist, and how President Obama's appointees are changing the game at the Supreme Court. Sara Terry guest hosts.

One of the biggest costs of America's wars over religion is ignorance. Polls show that many Americans know little about the world's major religions, including their own. What role does the study of religion play in schools? Do the media have a responsibility to do more in-depth reporting on religion as a way to better understand the role that religious beliefs play in conflicts and foreign policy? Also, a Moscow tycoon is convicted of embezzlement, and pressures mount on the president of the Ivory Coast to step down. Sara Terry guest hosts.

The Roman Catholic Church hasn't survived for centuries without adapting to changing times. What's next in the US and Europe? Is the future in Africa, Asia and Latin America? Also, consumer confidence and the holiday shopping season, and the story of a New York Times reporter's escape from the Taliban -- and what his wife went through while he was gone.

Federal agencies are spending tens of billions of dollars on domestic intelligence, so much it's impossible for anyone to keep track. Is it making America safe from terrorism? Is it creating new threats to rights guaranteed by the Constitution? Also, Rome parcel bombs raise terror fears in Europe. On Reporter's Notebook, has the Christmas card gone out of style?

The New START treaty with Russia would reduce nuclear weapons and renew inspections of both sides. So why did Republicans become so divided over Senate ratification? We hear the pros and cons.  Also, 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' repeal caps a winning lame-duck session for Obama, and the University of Connecticut Huskies.