Devouring public media daily to discover the best

Here are some of the top stories on the PM programs today:

The World: A horrifying new report is out today on the use of organized sexual violence by supporters of Robert Mugabe during 2008 elections there.  Jeb Sharp has the story.

Marketplace: AT&T mobile phone subscribers have been frustrated (or worse) with the carrier’s coverage of late, complaining of text messages that are delivered late or not at all, and of limited coverage.  Now AT&T is asking subscribers with iPhones and other smartphones to moderate their use of the phones for streaming video and other activities that use up a lot of bandwidth.

All Things Considered: ATC leads with coverage of President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech today.  Don Gonyea reports on the speech, then Robert Siegel talks with The Nation publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel and Council on Foreign Policy President Richard Haass about the address.

Recommended: The first hours on both Rehm and On Point look good; Tom Barry on Fresh Air, and TOTN on the Nobel Peace Prize.

Diane Rehm: The American Indian lawsuit settlement. Hour 2: Andy Williams on his career in show business.

On Point: Natural gas. Hour 2: LA’s Homeboy Industries.

Fresh Air: Journalist Tom Barry on his investigation of public-private prisons in remote areas along the southwest border where legal and illegal immigrants are held.

Talk of the Nation: President Obama’s Nobel speech. Hour 2: Reunions.

Tell Me More: Michel Martin speaks to author Anita Laughlin to find out how to cope with the Nobel spot light.

To the Point: The President’s Nobel Prize.

The Story: Dick Gordon will speak with two young men, students in Islamabad, about a recent bombing at their university.

Here are some of the top stories on the PM programs today:

The World: Three Irish women who traveled to Britain in order to get abortions are challenging their country’s restrictive abortion laws.  Their claim: the de facto ban on abortion in Ireland violates the European Convention on Human Rights.  Jane Little has the story.

Marketplace: Kai Ryssdal interviews Al Gore.  This is a timely conversation, and not for the reasons Gore’s publisher might think (the former Vice President’s latest book is now out).  Rather, with the global summit on climate change in Copenhagen this week it will be interesting to hear Gore weigh in on efforts to stem the global effects of climate change.

All Things Considered: Julie Rovner looks at the way forward for the health reform bill in the Senate after Democratic leaders reportedly reached a compromise among their members by “redefining” the public option in the bill.

Here are some of the top stories on the PM programs today:

The World: Afghanistan and Pakistan reports top the program today.  First, Katy Clark reports on the top US commander for the war in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal’s visit to the White House today.  Then Marco Werman speaks with Shuja Nawaz, Director of the South Asia Center at The Atlantic Council of the United States, about how the US and Pakistan might be able to work together in fighting Taliban forces along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

All Things Considered: The Justice Department has settled a 13-year old lawsuit brought by a group of American Indian Tribes.  The tribes were seeking compensation for land and oil royalties they felt they were owed.  The government will now pay them $13 billion in the settlement.  Ari Shapiro reports.  Correction: the settlement is for an estimated $3.4 billion.

Marketplace: The US Patent Office is trying to change its protocols so that it can fast-track patent approval for “green” technologies.  But Nancy Marshall-Genzer reports that the changes might have unintended consequences.

With the climate summit now underway in Copenhagen, we’ll offer a number of reports and perspectives over the next several days.

From WNET’s Worldfocus, here’s a preview of the summit with Robert Guest, Washington correspondent for The Economist.

Listen live at 12pm ET/9am PT

KUOW’s Weekday will host the Iraqi Ambassador to the United States today. Mr. Samir Sumaida’ie is the first person to hold that post in 16 years. Prior to his appointment, he was Minister of Interior in Baghdad.

Host Steve Scher will discuss the US policy toward Iraq, the government’s progress in assuming responsibility for military and other activities, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the conversation ranged more widely to include regional issues like Iran and Afghanistan.

Listen live or on-demand.

Douglas Coupland’s newest novel, Generation A, is the sequel to his book Generation X. And woven into the storyline are Coupland’s smart insights about pop and digital culture.

Here he is on CBC Radio One’s Q with Jian Ghomeshi.

Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen talked with Jim Lehrer on PBS Newshour last night, about President Obama’s plan to send an additional 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, and the timetable for US withdrawal.

Listen to the interview

Recommended: It’s book beat today, with Roger Kennedy on Diane Rehm, Robin Kelly on Fresh Air, and a look at some of the best books of the year on On Point.

Diane Rehm: EPA’s greenhouse gas decision. Hour 2: Roger Kennedy, author of When Art Worked.

On Point: Greg Mortenson on building peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan, from the ground-up. Hour 2: The best books of 2009.

Fresh Air: Robin D.G. Kelly talks about his new biography of jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk.

Talk of the Nation: Climate summit. Hour 2: Paul Mooney.

Tell Me More: Socially conscious food – how it could affect the environment, and your holiday budget.

To the Point: Will paving roads and building schools help to defeat the Taliban?

The Story: TBA

Iranian police fight demonstrators, reportedly firing bullets and tear gas into crowds that marked Students Day with a new round of protests; the EPA is declaring carbon dioxide a health hazard; and the country marks the 68th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombings.  Here are some of the other top stories on the PM programs today:

The World: India is often overlooked when it comes to global summits, but the world’s largest democracy will be a key player at the Copenhagen summit on climate change this week.  Miranda Kennedy has the story.

All Things Considered: With President Obama set to deliver a speech on his administration’s economic policies tomorrow, Scott Horsley looks at what he describes as growing impatience on Capitol Hill and among American citizens with the slow economic recovery and government action.

Marketplace: A conversation on self-control with Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely, who says the harder you try to resist temptation, the easier it becomes to give in.

Here are some of the top stories on the PM programs today:

The World: The BBC’s Mohammed Olad Hassan has the latest on the bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia today in which at least 18 people were killed, including two government ministers and two journalists.

All Things Considered: Melissa Block interviews Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who is currently the White House’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Also, David Folkenflik reports on Comcast’s purchase of NBC from GE and what it means for the network, and for viewers.

Marketplace: A look at charity organizations, and people’s willingness to donate when they know where the money is going.

Here are some of the top stories on the PM programs today:

The World: The toxic legacy of the Bhopal disaster. Twenty-five years after a gas leak at a Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India suffocated thousands of people, the area around the site remains deadly.

All Things Considered: No discussion of strategy in Afghanistan is complete without some serious deliberation on the role of Pakistan.  Julie McCarthy reports on the reaction of Pakistanis to President Obama’s address last night, and Melissa Block interview Adil Najam, international relations professor at Boston University and founding editor of the Pakistaniat blog.

Marketplace: A report on “a foreign aid organization that is using local manpower to get things done.”.

Listen live at 12pm ET/9am PT

If you want more perspective on Afghanistan, we have another choice that goes beyond the network talk shows: KUOW’s Weekday with Steve Scher. Today, Scher will talk about the shift in Afghan policy and its ramifications.

The guest list includes Todd Zwilich, The Takeaway’s Washington correspondent; Alex Their, director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the US Institute of Peace; and Larry Goodson, a South Asia specialist at the US Army War College.

Listen live or on-demand.

Here’s Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies on WNET’s Worldfocus. Cordesman discusses President Obama’s decision and what a shift in warfare tactics will look like. For one thing, he predicts more US casualties.

Listen live at 11am ET/8am PT

In addition to the network shows, we’re highlighting a few notable local talk shows that will focus on Afghanistan today. The first is MPR’s Midmorning with Kerri Miller.

Miller’s guest list for the discussion includes the Brookings Institution’s Michael O’Hanlon; and Christine Fair, Assistant professor in the security studies department at Georgetown University.

Listen live or on-demand.

As President Obama announced plans to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, some Afghans voiced their concern about the continuing troop presence; others fear what could happen once the US begins to withdraw.

Here’s a report from David Chater of Aljazeera English.

From The Newshour, here’s syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks with their 5 minute take on President Obama’s Afghanistan policy and his address.