From the Albany Bureau at the New York Times, reporter Nicholas Confessore discusses what the Joe Bruno trial says about how business is conducted in Albany.

The first Asian-American elected to city-wide office, John Liu, , explains what he plans to accomplish in the next four years.

Three members of the improvisational musical comedy group Tara Copeland, Michael Martin, and Frank Spitznagel, demonstrate the art of "improv musicals." Call for Ideas! Suggest a song title, pulled from the headlines, for the instant musical.

Details continue to emerge about the shooting at Fort Hood. Two communities have been affected in particular: military families and Muslim-Americans. We try to find common ground. Tom Tarantino, legislative associate at the (IAVA) and an Army Captain who returned

Mebrahtom Keflezighi was the first American in 27 years to win the New York City Marathon. Cameron Stracher, the publisher of the New York Law School Law Review and author of a forthcoming book about the American running boom in

The ticker tape parade for the Bronx Bombers is today, and the star of the show is World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, who exemplifies a particular brand of baseball that's different from the rest of his team. WNYC's own baseball

The Bronx Bombers won their 27th world series last night, and it's time to celebrate with an Ode to the Yankees Acronym Contest. Post your acronym that spells out "Yanks," "Matsui," or some other Yankees-related word below!

In one month, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to address climate change. Former Virginia Senator John Warner, co-sponsor in 2006 of the only climate change bill passed by a Senate committee, explains what measures must be taken. He also

President Obama gave a major education speech yesterday that may have implications for how New York runs its school system. Beth Fertig, WNYC education reporter and author of Why Can't You Teach Me 2 Read?, offers analysis and what changes

Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of and research fellow at the , joins us weekly in November to talk about the global impact of social media. This week's topic: Bridge-blogging.For next week, check out , a website that uses machine-assisted translation technology

For decades, the back page of Vanity Fair has been devoted to the "Proust Quiz," the same series of questions answered by celebrities and politicians. Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair discusses the highlights, which have been compiled in Vanity

has honored two individuals with the 2009 Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism. The honorees, Daniel Bekele, anti-poverty activist and human rights lawyer in Ethiopia, and Elena Milashina, Russian investigative journalist, discuss their work in the face of repression

What gives an object meaning, or makes it worth anything at all. Rob Walker (who also writes the column for the Times) discusses the Significant Objects project, which picks random knick-knacks, recruits writers to write stories inspired by them, and

Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and president of , an environmental consultancy firm, talks about what faces Chris Christie as the first Republican governor in eight years for the Garden State. Then Bob Hennelly, WNYC's senior political reporter,

Elizabeth Mendez Berry, journalist and author of ," at TheNation.com, and Leslie Feldman, professor of political science at Hofstra University, talk about the contributions of young Democrats and Republicans to yesterday's elections and what the results mean for the national

Joyce Purnick, long-time New York Times political writer and the author of Mike Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics, talks about New York City races. Then, Bill de Blasio was elected Public Advocate last night - he discusses how he plans to

David France, contributing editor at , talks about his article in this week's magazine about accelerated aging among people living with AIDS.

Red states, blue states, made up states. Katharine Harmon, editor of The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography talks about her new book, which highlights maps as outfits, political statements and art.Gallery Show: The Map as Art at Christopher

Tom Moran, political columnist for the , analyzes today's election in New Jersey, and Azi Paybarah, reporter for the New York Observer, analyzes the New York City races.

A referendum on same sex marriage in Maine may serve as a bellwether for legislation around the country. Susan Cover, statehouse reporter for the , reports on what's at stake.ThenPeople will be voting on other ballot initiatives all over the