2011 March | Here & Now

A recent report is challenging conventional wisdom about how big government affects business activity. According to the research group Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Norway, high taxes and all, has more entrepreneurs per capita than the U.S.

International forces have launched new airstrikes in Libya as witnesses report that Moammar Gadhafi’s forces continue to push into opposition-held areas.

Authorities in Japan are warning people not to give tap water to infants in Tokyo, because of elevated levels of radioactive iodine. The government says the water is safe for adults, but some people are already starting to hoard bottled water.

What does it take to get into a good college? One author and mom spent thousands of dollars for extra help to make sure her children got into the colleges of their choice, but was it worth it, and is it fair?

Tens of thousands of people in Northern Japan are still homeless, and the humanitarian relief operation continues. We touch down in Takada in the north, where two thousand residents are estimated to have died in the disaster.

Four New York Times journalists are now free after being captured by government forces while reporting in Libya. Their colleague, correspondent Michael Kamber, joins us to talk about the dangers of working in a war zone and his own reporting from Afghanistan.

Ambassadors are meeting in Brussels today after failing to agree on a role for NATO in the military campaign in Libya, as the U.S. seeks to step back from its commanding role.

Jamie Rosenberg joins us after visiting the town of Shichigahama, Japan. Rosenberg lived and worked there for several years and traveled to Plymouth, Massachusetts, with representatives and students from Shichigahama.

From the Lickets to the Talking Heads and more.

In the play “Good People,” playwright David Lindsay-Abaire depicts a class and culture clash when a South Boston single mom reunites with an ex-boyfriend who has become a successful doctor living in a wealthy suburb. We speak with David Lindsay-Abaire about his own upbringing in the so-called Southie neighborhood.

The president’s decision to commit American forces in the no fly zone over Libya is being criticized on all sides of the political spectrum. Some say he waited too long, others that the U.S shouldn’t be involved at all. We take a look at the political fall-out from the decision and the powers at play within the White House.

We’ve been reaching out to people in Japan affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami. Read emails from an American who has been unloading food and water from trucks in Kamaishi in northern Japan.

From Ahmad Jamal, Freddie Hubbard and more.

Michelle Bachmann made headlines for not realizing what state she was in, Newt Gingrich dropped by for St. Patrick’s Day and overall, potential presidential candidates have made about 50 visits to New Hampshire. We touch down in the Granite state.

A top adviser to French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the military intervention in Libya would probably last “a while yet.” We take a look at the progress and goals of the international mission.

The new IMAX film “Tornado Alley” follows those who attempt to photograph tornadoes up close, and the researchers who study the phenomena. We speak to researcher Josh Wurman, who invented the Doppler on Wheels, and has logged over 100,000 miles following tornadoes.

Workers at the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant were evacuated after reports of smoke coming from two of the troubled nuclear reactors. And Japanese government officials said today that more vegetables and water supplies, including Tokyo’s, may be contaminated by trace levels of radioactive iodine. We get an update on Japan’s nuclear crisis.

Can economic concepts like “loss aversion” help you argue less with your spouse? Could “comparative advantage” ease tensions over household chores? “Spousonomics” co-author Paula Szuchman says yes and explains why.

Yesterday Energy Secretary Stephen Chu said that because of Japan, it’s now less likely that new nuclear reactors will be built near large American cities. But even before Japan, nuclear power in the U.S. faced obstacles like high costs, stagnant demand and skittish investors.

Three million Americans live within ten miles of a nuclear power plant. Are you one of them? And has watching Japan’s nuclear crisis raised concerns? Post your questions.