CIA
Interrogation Tapes The Central Intelligence Agency destroyed
at least two videotapes documenting the interrogation of Al Qaeda
operatives in the agency's custody. The New York Times reports
the tapes were destroyed in 2005 in the midst of Congressional and
legal scrutiny about the CIA's secret detention program. We speak
with Mark Mazzetti, the reporter who broke the story today.
Ho
Ho Hanukkah Tonight will mark the fourth night
of Hanukkah. In the Jewish faith, this was traditionally a minor
holiday with children receiving small gifts on each night of
the eight day celebration. But now some parents are giving their
children extravagant gifts each night, as they try to compete
with Christmas. We talk to two people of faith to delve into
ways to brace against the commercialization of the season and
get back to the real meaning of the holidays. Our guests are
Rabbi Joshua Elkin, Executive Director of the Partnership for
Excellence in Jewish Education, and Pastor Mary Luti of the
First Church in Cambridge, United Church of Christ.
U.S.-Iran
Relations A former CIA officer and Iran expert
says Iran is one of the most complicated political systems in
the world, and he gives us his reading of the new National Intelligence
Estimate on Iran. Our guest is Kenneth Pollack, director of
research at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution, former
military analyst for the CIA, and author of "The
Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America."
Medal
of Honor Essay and Letters Here & Now's Alex Ashlock comments
on the recent deaths of Jefferson DeBlanc and Silvestre Herrera,
two Medal of Honor recipients from World War II. We also dip
into the Here & Now mailbag.
Carpenter
Poets Following in the footsteps of the
Cowboy poets, a group of workers who make their living with
hammers, nails, and saws, have taken to writing about the work
they do. Here & Now's Andrea Shea profiles the "Carpenter
Poets" of Boston.
