Search results for

One of the few new ideas in health care this year is a piece of John Kerry's health plan that would have the federal government take over the costs of patients with "catastrophic" illnesses. Kerry and some analysts say it would reduce premiums and help shore up the employer insurance system. Critics say it would just get the government even more involved in health care. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Steve Inskeep talks to Gerald Steinberg, professor of political studies at Bar Ilan University, about the future of Israeli politics as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon lies ill after a stroke in Jerusalem. Steinberg says Sharon was a major political figure, and there are no other national names to take his place.

In Episode #24, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeffrey Rosen discusses creating a Conviction Integrity Unit to investigate past cases with alleged…

President Clinton has signed a treaty creating the first permanent international court to try people for genocide, war crimes and other crimes against humanity. But the treaty faces opposition from Congressional Republicans who worry that American troops might face frivolous or politically motivated prosecution. Noah talks with Benjamin Ferencz, a Nuremberg Trials prosecutor who supports the treaty.

What is the source of the dysfunction in the FEMA trailer parks, and what can possibly be done to help? In the second part of the Scenic Trails story, reporter Alix Spiegel talks to government officials, mental health counselors, church volunteers and others.

Mychal Threets, the host of the revival of the beloved children's program "Reading Rainbow" discusses challenges to libraries, including a rise in book bans.

Alan Cheuse reviews Criminals by Scottish writer Margot Livesey. (LIV-see). It's a dark comedy about moral ambiguity in the life of a English business man. (Publisher:Knopf)

Lawyers for al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui question a psychologist about the confessed terrorist's mental state. Moussaoui's defense team is trying to repair damage done by their client last week, when he told the jury weighing the death penalty that he would attack America if he could.

When journalist Pete Earley's son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it sent him on an effort not only to get his son properly diagnosed and treated, but to understand the nation's mental health system. Earley's book about the experience is Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness.

NPR's Scott Simon talks to Alan Eyre, former U.S. diplomat and fellow at the Middle East Institute, about the status of talks to end the war in Iran.

In Episode #16, Susan Manheimer, San Mateo Police Chief and California Police Chiefs Association President, discusses why she became a police officer,…

An NPR investigation last December found that supervisors at Colorado's Fort Carson punished soldiers who suffered mental anguish. Leaders at the base now attend mandatory training on spotting troubled soldiers, but mental health experts say it may be doing as much harm as good.