Stories of the Week | PBS NewsHour Podcast | PBS

With elections around the corner, a top concern for Mexican voters is the war on drug cartels. Margaret Warner continues her reporting from Mexico with a look at the devastating impact of the widespread drug violence.

A fire near Colorado Springs has consumed more than 24 square miles as record heat and drought continue. Gwen Ifill gets an update from Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on the challenge of containing the blaze.

In 2008, President Obama promised to make Afghanistan a top priority. Soon after, he agreed to a troop surge. Ray Suarez talks with author Rajiv Chandrasekaran about the U.S. strategy, the administration's role in Afghanistan and what he calls "the war within the war" in his new book, "Little America."

An article on balancing career and motherhood has drawn nearly a million views online and sparked a bigger debate about the role of women in the work force. Judy Woodruff discusses the subject with Anne-Marie Slaughter, Monica Olivera of MommyMaestra and Naomi Decter, vice president of the public relations firm, Beckerman.

Tracy Shelton of GlobalPost reports from behind the front line in Syria, where she has been embedded with Syria's opposition fighters. Then Ray Suarez speaks with Randa Slim of the New America Foundation on the strength and strategies of the opposition forces in Syria. Slim is in regular contact with Syrian fighters.

A Philadelphia priest was jailed Friday for how he handled sexual abuse claims, marking the first U.S. church official to be convicted of such a crime. Jeffrey Brown speaks with Barbara Blaine of Those Abused by Priests, and Thomas Plante of Santa Clara University.

Never before has the story been told of a group of Americans who lived in Berlin as Hitler and his Nazi party clawed their way to ultimate power. Margaret Warner speaks with former Newsweek journalist and author Andrew Nagorski about his new book, "Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power."

More and more states are repealing and relaxing helmet laws, even as the death toll continues to rise from motorcycle accidents. Judy Woodruff interviews Rick Schmitt, a reporter for Fair Warning.org on the subject.

President Obama's decision last week to help undocumented youths obtain work visas has rippled through the presidential campaigns. Gwen Ifill and Lisa Lerer of Bloomberg News discuss the political fallout, who the new policy affects and what it means for the Latino vote.

Amid a tough economy, economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has probably captured as much attention -- and notoriety -- as anyone else in his field. Part of his Making Sen$e of financial news series, Paul Solman speaks with Krugman whose new book "End This Depression Now" suggests some radical policy-making.

Leaders around the world are closely watching this weekend's elections in Greece, where the outcome could have serious repercussions for the global economy. Judy Woodruff and journalist John Psaropoulos, reporting from Athens, discuss the atmosphere in Greece and what election results might mean for the rest of the world.

President Obama announced plans to shift the administration's immigration policy Friday to allow some undocumented young people to remain in the U.S. For two sides of the issue, Jeffrey Brown talks with Cecilia Munoz, the president's director of domestic policy, and Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who opposes the move.

After providing some thought-provoking words to the graduates of Princeton's Class of 2012, author Michael Lewis speaks with Jeffrey Brown on the merits of success, the relationship between luck and good fortune, and the responsibility luck warrants.

As its farmers get too old to work the land, Japan is grappling with a question now facing many industrialized nations: Who will grow our food in the future? Reporter Sam Eaton presents the latest in the Food for 9 Billion series.