New America Voices

In this second New America weekly podcast, Media Relations Manager Kate Brown sits down with Health Policy Program Associate Director Elizabeth Carpenter to discuss the current state of health reform efforts, the debate over the public option, and the prospects for passing legislation.

The MP3 recording is available below. For more on Carpenter, please click here.

This month is National Work Family Month.  It is coming on the heels of a month that included significant holidays for religious groups in America that highlights the importance of workplace flexibility.  September saw Ramadan, a most significant month for Muslims, and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, significant for Jewish Americans.

During the past few weeks in particular, conflicts between work and religious observance were significant for many religious Americans.  Khalil is a Muslim friend of mine who works in the Midwest.  He works at a factory in Ohio where I grew up.  Friday prayers are very important to his religious life.  However, at a time when Midwestern factory jobs are disappearing and job security is scarce, Khalil feels conflicted in taking time from work for religious observance.  Ramadan highlights the focus on his faith.  It draws attention to an issue Khalil faces all year, how does he remain a good worker in a scarce job market when has Friday work hours, while staying true to his faith and its requirements for prayer?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-gray/california-an-example-of_b_334333.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-gray/national-work-family-mont_b_305009.html

In this week's New America/Politico Live Chat, Nicholas Thompson will be online to discuss the dueling views on U.S. strategy in Afghanistan -- and how foreign policies forged in the Cold War continue to shape today's debate.

Thompson is a Schwartz Fellow at New America, a Senior Editor at Wired magazine, and the author of The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War.

Update: This real-time, text-based online discussion has concluded. A full transcript is available below.

* * *

Past Chats

Previous New America/Politico chats have their full transcripts archived:

The month of October is National Work Family Month. Families and workers are trying to succeed and survive in this challenging economy. Going into the Fall, the country is focused on health care. Everywhere we go we hear about it. The primary policy debates in Washington focus around health care reform. Throughout the country health care dominates town hall meetings.

Layered on top of this health care debate are the national preparations this month for a possible swine flu pandemic. Schools are setting up quarantine rooms. The government is preparing for the largest inoculation campaign in a generation. Public health officials are engaging in a public education campaign designed to minimize the potential impact of swine flu. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been issuing advice for how we all can reduce the likelihood of contracting swine flu. However, the Centers for Disease Control estimate that up to 40% of the U.S. workforce could be directly affected.

In this "pilot" edition of New America's new weekly podcast, Media Relations Manager Kate Brown sits down with Flynt Leverett to discuss his views on relations with Iran, the latest negotiations, and his recent dinner with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The MP3 recording is available below.  For more on Leverett, please click here.

Has the momentum shifted on climate change? Lisa Margonelli, author of Oil on the Brain and director of New America's Energy Policy Initiative, argues that last week may have been the turning point. And a recent Politico article notes that big business is now pushing the Senate and White House to act.

Margonelli will be taking questions on the current state of the energy and climate debate in this week's New America/Politico Live Chat. This real-time, text-based online discussion will kick off at Noon ET / 9am PT on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

You may submit questions in advance via the comments form below -- or just return to this page at Noon ET / 9am PT on Tuesday to join in the conversation.

Dayo Olopade, a new Schwartz Fellow at New America, is taking questions today on the Obama Administration's faith-based initiatives in a live chat co-hosted by Politico.

You may participate in the chat below, or on the Politico website, starting at noon ET.

UPDATE: This chat has concluded, but you can read the transcript below. New America and Politico will be co-hosting chats mid-day each Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Wired Magazine's Danger Room blog.

In 1964, Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze had to check himself into the hospital for a bleeding ulcer. Friends visited, and asked how Nitze could have become so stressed that he literally busted his gut. "I've never said this before and I'll never say it again," replied Nitze. "But the answer is McNamara." As in Robert McNamara, his boss and the Secretary of Defense at the time.

McNamara died Monday at age 93. And his habit of causing maximum stress is one of many things I learned about the former Pentagon chief, while researching my soon-to-be-released book on Nitze and George Kennan, The Hawk and the Dove.

Nitze had run the Pentagon's department of International Security Affairs under McNamara in the Kennedy administration, but he and his boss had never quite bonded. The two were technocratic wizards, but McNamara more so. Nine years younger, the Secretary of Defense had a reputation for being even smarter. He could crunch any set of numbers. He was the man, everyone said, that the computers try to imitate.

By Daniel Levy

President Obama almost certainly has emerged from the Cairo speech with new global leverage, accumulating additional capital rather than expending it.