Today, Dave DeAngelis speaks with scientist and historian Naomi Oreskes about her new book "The Merchants of Doubt,"which describes how organized campaigns undermine the scientific evidence related to important environmental and health issues such as second-hand smoke, acid rain, the ozone hole, and global warming.

Even in these days of shadow, we manage somehow to lurch toward enlightenment. Amid the unfolding debt debacle -- and the first-ever downgrade of U.S. credit -- the Dept.

Host Michelle Schroeder-Fletcher speaks with Joni Seager and Cynthia Enloe about their book, REAL STATE OF AMERICA ATLAS, which draws back the curtain on our complex nation to reveal the myriad realities of the American experience-from our changing demographics to patterns of home ownership to the kinds of food we eat. The atlas upends many long-held myths and shows us who we are today.

Cynthia Enloe is research professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and has appeared on NPR and written numerous articles on feminism, militarization, and globalization.

 In this special one hour feature, host Stephanie Potter interviews Dr. Kerry Crofton, author of Wireless Radiation Rescue: Safeguarding your Family from the Risks of Electro-Pollution. A recent  warning from the World Health Organization states that  cell phone radiation is “possibly carcinogenic to humans," and The Council of Europe Environmental Committee reported recently that there is enough published evidence that the microwave radiation emitted by cell phones and wireless networks is harmful, and our children are most at risk.

Since its birth during the Manhattan Project, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation has left a toxic legacy in its wake, from displaced populations to groundwater contamination to radiation in the Columbia River. Now, the U.S Department of Energy has proposed a "cleanup plan" that abandons large amounts of plutonium and other toxins at the site, and is even proposing using Hanford as a nationwide toxics disposal site.