Diane Rehm’s weekly podcast features newsmakers, writers, artists and thinkers on the issues she cares about most: what’s going on in Washington, ideas that inform, and the latest on living well as we live longer.

Dr. Francis Collins has dedicated his life to easing human suffering – and has often succeeded. He made his mark as the man who led the team that mapped the human genome, unlocking a new world of possibilities in medicine. He went on to head the National Institutes of Health under three different presidents. Collins says he was always guided by an optimism based in his belief in science and his evangelical Christian faith.But that optimistic view of society was shaken during the Covid-19 crisis as he saw people reject a lifesaving vaccine based on profound mistrust. Since then, Collins has embarked on a journey to understand how our divisions became so deep – and how we can bridge them. His new book is titled The Road To Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, And Trust.

Dr. Francis Collins has dedicated his life to easing human suffering – and has often succeeded. He made his mark as the man who led the team that mapped the human genome, unlocking a new world of possibilities in medicine. He went on to head the National Institutes of Health under three different presidents. 
Collins says he was always guided by an optimism based in his belief in science and his evangelical Christian faith.
But that optimistic view of society was shaken during the Covid-19 crisis as he saw people reject a lifesaving vaccine based on profound mistrust. 
Since then, Collins has embarked on a journey to understand how our divisions became so deep – and how we can bridge them. His new book is titled The Road To Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, And Trust.

Former NIH director Francis Collins talks about his new book,  "The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust."

Dr. Francis Collins on faith, science and healing our divisions

The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1872 might not take up prime real estate in most U.S. history books, but it holds the title as the deadliest the country has ever seen. In the late 1860s, a new South was emerging from the wreckage of the Civil War. The passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments promised an era of multiracial equality in the region. As the 1870s began, white Southern resistance was on the rise and the nation’s political parties became deeply divided. Then came the election of 1872. Though tensions flared throughout the South, in Louisiana chaos ensued – two governors claimed office, warfare broke out in the streets of New Orleans, and hundreds were killed in political violence. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/profiles/dana-bash-profile">Dana Bash</a>, CNN anchor and chief political commentator, says these events changed the course of politics in our country -- and provide a cautionary tale for today. She and her co-writer David Fisher tell the story in a new book titled <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/americas-deadliest-election-dana-bash?variant=41500214755362">“America’s Deadliest Election.”</a>

The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1872 might not take up prime real estate in most U.S. history books, but it holds the title as the deadliest the country has ever seen. 
In the late 1860s, a new South was emerging from the wreckage of the Civil War. The passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments promised an era of multiracial equality in the region. As the 1870s began, white Southern resistance was on the rise and the nation’s political parties became deeply divided. Then came the election of 1872. 
Though tensions flared throughout the South, in Louisiana chaos ensued – two governors claimed office, warfare broke out in the streets of New Orleans, and hundreds were killed in political violence. 
Dana Bash, CNN anchor and chief political commentator, says these events changed the course of politics in our country -- and provide a cautionary tale for today. She and her co-writer David Fisher tell the story in a new book titled “America’s Deadliest Election.”

CNN’s  Dana Bash talks about her new book, "America's Deadliest Election" and explains why the violence of 1872 should serve as a cautionary tale for today. 

Remembering America's deadliest election

In poll after poll voters say economic issues top their concerns when it comes to this year’s vote. They worry about inflation, the price of housing, whether their family can afford the bill at the grocery store. “Americans are going to want to know how each candidate will help them in their personal situations,” says <a href="https://www.wsj.com/news/author/damian-paletta">Damian Paletta</a>. He leads The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of Washington and says that the economy is strong, but on shaky ground, which has complicated Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's messaging around the economy and issues like inflation and taxes. Paletta joins Diane to look at the economic proposals of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and break down what they would mean for our country – and your pocketbook.

In poll after poll voters say economic issues top their concerns when it comes to this year’s vote. They worry about inflation, the price of housing, whether their family can afford the bill at the grocery store. 
“Americans are going to want to know how each candidate will help them in their personal situations,” says Damian Paletta. He leads The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of Washington and says that the economy is strong, but on shaky ground, which has complicated Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's messaging around the economy and issues like inflation and taxes. 
Paletta joins Diane to look at the economic proposals of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and break down what they would mean for our country – and your pocketbook.

The Wall Street Journal's Damian Paletta digs into the economic plans of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris — and how they might affect inflation, the job market, and your pocketbooks. 

Voters say the economy is their top issue. Who has the upper hand?

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris met on stage for their first, and likely only, debate of the campaign Tuesday night, just a week before early voting kicks off in Pennsylvania, one of the most critical battleground states of the election.Over an hour and a half Harris needled Trump on everything from crowd sizes to getting “fired” by the American people.With each jab the former president seemed to become more enraged, his anger distracting him from his own talking points and allowing Harris to set the agenda.Headlines across the country declared a clear victory for Harris and Trump now says that he will not debate her again. But how much will all this matter at the polls? The New Yorker’s <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/susan-b-glasser">Susan Glasser</a> joins Diane to help answer that question.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris met on stage for their first, and likely only, debate of the campaign Tuesday night, just a week before early voting kicks off in Pennsylvania, one of the most critical battleground states of the election.
Over an hour and a half Harris needled Trump on everything from crowd sizes to getting “fired” by the American people.
With each jab the former president seemed to become more enraged, his anger distracting him from his own talking points and allowing Harris to set the agenda.
Headlines across the country declared a clear victory for Harris and Trump now says that he will not debate her again. 
But how much will all this matter at the polls? The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser joins Diane to help answer that question.

The New Yorker's Susan Glasser breaks down the presidential debate – and the state of the race -- as early voting kicks off next week in key battleground states.

What the Harris-Trump debate says about the state of the race

Donald Trump began his political career with demands to see Barack Obama’s birth certificate, based on the false claim that the he had been born outside of the United States. In other words, a lie. The former president concluded his term in office with an even bigger lie, namely that the 2020 election was rigged. In between, Trump fibbed thousands of times about things big and small. And keeping track of these mistruths and exaggerations were political fact-checkers, journalists whose job it is to call out not only Donald Trump’s lies – but the lies all politicians tell. Glenn Kessler has been the chief writer and editor of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fact-checker/">Fact Checker</a> column for The Washington Post since 2011. In it he examines the “truth behind the rhetoric.”Kessler joined Diane to talk about how his job has changed since Donald Trump entered politics and the challenges of covering the 2024 presidential election.

Donald Trump began his political career with demands to see Barack Obama’s birth certificate, based on the false claim that the he had been born outside of the United States. In other words, a lie. 
The former president concluded his term in office with an even bigger lie, namely that the 2020 election was rigged. 
In between, Trump fibbed thousands of times about things big and small. And keeping track of these mistruths and exaggerations were political fact-checkers, journalists whose job it is to call out not only Donald Trump’s lies – but the lies all politicians tell. 
Glenn Kessler has been the chief writer and editor of the Fact Checker column for The Washington Post since 2011. In it he examines the “truth behind the rhetoric.”
Kessler joined Diane to talk about how his job has changed since Donald Trump entered politics and the challenges of covering the 2024 presidential election.

Glenn Kessler is the chief writer of the Fact Checker column in the Washington Post. He joins Diane to talk about truth and lies in the 2024 election.

Fact-checking the 2024 election

If you’re a reader of the New York Times – or a lover of books – you might know about the paper’s project this summer counting down <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21st-century.html">the top hundred books of the century so far</a>. Number one on the list? “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante. It is the first of four novels that tell the story of the friendship between Lila and Elena, two working class girls growing up in post-World War II Naples. In 2018 HBO adapted the series for television. Diane hosted a discussion of “My Brilliant Friend” as part of her Readers Review series back in 2015 on The Diane Rehm Show. She and her guests dug into the characters, the setting, and the mystery surrounding the author’s identity. Diane's guests included Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, and The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University; Louis Bayard Author, "Roosevelt's Beast." His other books include "The Pale Blue Eye," "The School of Night" and "Mr. Timothy," a New York Times Notable Book. He teaches fiction writing at The George Washington University; and Professor of contemporary Italian culture, Georgetown University; author of "The Tigress in the Snow: Motherhood and Literature in Twentieth-Century Italy" and of the novel "Un Paese Di Carta."

If you’re a reader of the New York Times – or a lover of books – you might know about the paper’s project this summer counting down the top hundred books of the century so far. 
Number one on the list? “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante. It is the first of four novels that tell the story of the friendship between Lila and Elena, two working class girls growing up in post-World War II Naples. In 2018 HBO adapted the series for television. 
Diane hosted a discussion of “My Brilliant Friend” as part of her Readers Review series back in 2015 on The Diane Rehm Show. She and her guests dug into the characters, the setting, and the mystery surrounding the author’s identity. 
Diane's guests included Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, and The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University; Louis Bayard Author, "Roosevelt's Beast." His other books include "The Pale Blue Eye," "The School of Night" and "Mr. Timothy," a New York Times Notable Book. He teaches fiction writing at The George Washington University; and Professor of contemporary Italian culture, Georgetown University; author of "The Tigress in the Snow: Motherhood and Literature in Twentieth-Century Italy" and of the novel "Un Paese Di Carta."

The New York Times recently ranked the top hundred books of the century so far. The number one spot went to "My Brilliant Friend" by Elena Ferrante. In 2015 Diane hosted an in-depth discussion of the novel – and the mystery surrounding its author. We revisit that conversation. 

A discussion of "My Brilliant Friend," the NYT's book of the century so far

Kamala Harris currently leads Donald Trump in national polls by more than 3 percentage points <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/?ex_cid=abcpromo">according to the website 538</a>. But if there’s one thing that recent elections have taught us, it is that a victory in the popular vote does not guarantee a spot in the oval office. This is, of course, thanks to the Electoral College. In two of the last six elections, more Americans punched their ballots for the eventual losers than the men who went on to claim the presidency. And the same could happen again this year.  “My opinion is that it is a fundamentally unfair system because of the way it erases so many millions of Americans’ votes,” says Jesse Wegman, a member of the editorial board of the New York Times.  In 2020 Wegman joined Diane to talk about his book, <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250260352/letthepeoplepickthepresident">“Let the People Pick the President,”</a> and made his case for abolishing the Electoral College. With the 2024 election less than 75 days away, we revisit their conversation.

Kamala Harris currently leads Donald Trump in national polls by more than 3 percentage points according to the website 538. But if there’s one thing that recent elections have taught us, it is that a victory in the popular vote does not guarantee a spot in the oval office. 
This is, of course, thanks to the Electoral College. 
In two of the last six elections, more Americans punched their ballots for the eventual losers than the men who went on to claim the presidency. 
And the same could happen again this year.  
“My opinion is that it is a fundamentally unfair system because of the way it erases so many millions of Americans’ votes,” says Jesse Wegman, a member of the editorial board of the New York Times.  
In 2020 Wegman joined Diane to talk about his book, “Let the People Pick the President,” and made his case for abolishing the Electoral College. With the 2024 election less than 75 days away, we revisit their conversation.

 Revisiting Diane’s 2020 with Jesse Wegman, author of “Let the People Pick the President.” They talked about the creation of the Electoral College and why he says it’s time to rethink our presidential election system. 

The case for abolishing the Electoral College

If you count yourself among the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=more+americans+own+pets&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS884US885&amp;oq=more+americans+own+pets&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQABiABDIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABNIBCDU2NjVqMGo3qAIAsAIA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">majority of Americans </a>who own at least one pet, you might have noticed that your vet bill is quite a bit bigger than it once was. In fact, over the last decade the cost of pet care has risen by more than 60%.Helaine Olen is a journalist who has written about personal finance and the financial industry for years. In 2020, her aging dog fell ill, and she found herself shelling out big bucks to keep her beloved pup alive. She knew she wasn’t the only one who was willing to open her wallet in a big way for her furry friend and started looking into the big business of veterinary care. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/vet-private-equity-industry/678180/">What she found was an industry going through a major shift</a>, with a flood of private equity investment and corporate consolidation. Olen joins Diane to discuss what she says can be called the era of Big Vet.

If you count yourself among the majority of Americans who own at least one pet, you might have noticed that your vet bill is quite a bit bigger than it once was. In fact, over the last decade the cost of pet care has risen by more than 60%.
Helaine Olen is a journalist who has written about personal finance and the financial industry for years. In 2020, her aging dog fell ill, and she found herself shelling out big bucks to keep her beloved pup alive. 
She knew she wasn’t the only one who was willing to open her wallet in a big way for her furry friend and started looking into the big business of veterinary care. What she found was an industry going through a major shift, with a flood of private equity investment and corporate consolidation. 
Olen joins Diane to discuss what she says can be called the era of Big Vet.

Journalist Helaine Olen explains how private equity and corporate takeovers are reshaping the pet care industry – and raising your bill.

Behind the rising cost of veterinary care

Dr. Anthony Fauci became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic. To many, he was a hero for his efforts to relay potentially lifesaving information. But he also found himself at the center of conspiracy theories -- and became the target of a vitriolic political backlash. He says of the experience that it was “very painful and tragic to see people make decisions that led to their detriment.”Dr. Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022. He has advised seven presidents, guiding the nation’s response to threats like Zika, Ebola, AIDS, and Anthrax.  His work on a 2003 plan to address the global HIV/AIDS crisis helped save more than twenty-five million lives. Dr. Fauci’s new memoir is titled “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service”.  He joins Diane to talk about his career in public health and share his thoughts on the threats ahead.

Dr. Anthony Fauci became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic. 
To many, he was a hero for his efforts to relay potentially lifesaving information. But he also found himself at the center of conspiracy theories -- and became the target of a vitriolic political backlash. 
He says of the experience that it was “very painful and tragic to see people make decisions that led to their detriment.”
Dr. Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022. He has advised seven presidents, guiding the nation’s response to threats like Zika, Ebola, AIDS, and Anthrax.  His work on a 2003 plan to address the global HIV/AIDS crisis helped save more than twenty-five million lives. 
Dr. Fauci’s new memoir is titled “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service”.  He joins Diane to talk about his career in public health and share his thoughts on the threats ahead.

 Dr. Anthony Fauci talks about his groundbreaking work on HIV/AIDS, the relationship between politics and public health, and whether the country is ready for the next pandemic.  

Dr. Fauci on AIDS Breakthroughs, Covid Setbacks and the Future of Public Health

President Biden laid out a series of proposals to change some fundamental aspects of our nation’s highest court this week. This included term limits, a code of ethics and a constitutional amendment that would say nobody is above the law. Though the Supreme Court’s approval ratings are <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/647834/approval-supreme-court-stalled-near-historical-low.aspx">stuck at historic lows</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/johnson-says-bidens-supreme-court-overhaul-dead-arrival-house-2024-07-29/">Republicans said the reforms are “dead on arrival.” </a>Democrats, on the other hand, see this as a winning issue among the American public for this election cycle, and beyond. “I think Biden and the people advising him are playing the long game,” says <a href="https://www.latimes.com/people/harry-litman#:~:text=Harry%20Litman%2C%20the%20senior%20legal,MSNBC%2C%20CNN%20and%20CBS%20News.">Harry Litman</a>. Litman is the senior legal affairs columnist at the Los Angeles Times, a former U.S. attorney and deputy assistant attorney general, and host of the podcast “Talking Feds.” He joined Diane to break down Biden’s proposed reforms, what impact they would have, and why the president is proposing them now. You can find "Talking Feds" wherever you listen to podcasts or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingFeds">on YouTube</a>.

President Biden laid out a series of proposals to change some fundamental aspects of our nation’s highest court this week. This included term limits, a code of ethics and a constitutional amendment that would say nobody is above the law. 
Though the Supreme Court’s approval ratings are stuck at historic lows, Republicans said the reforms are “dead on arrival.” Democrats, on the other hand, see this as a winning issue among the American public for this election cycle, and beyond. 
“I think Biden and the people advising him are playing the long game,” says Harry Litman. 
Litman is the senior legal affairs columnist at the Los Angeles Times, a former U.S. attorney and deputy assistant attorney general, and host of the podcast “Talking Feds.” He joined Diane to break down Biden’s proposed reforms, what impact they would have, and why the president is proposing them now. 
You can find "Talking Feds" wherever you listen to podcasts or on YouTube.

President Biden's plan to reform the Supreme Court. Legal analyst Harry Litman breaks down the proposals and explains why he thinks Democrats are playing the long game.