Bill Moyers Journal (Audio) | PBS

Washington's abuzz about health care, but why isn't a single-payer plan an option on the table? Bill Moyers speaks with advocate Donna Smith about how our broken system is hurting ordinary Americans. Then, policy analysts and physicians Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen and David Himmelstein of Physicians for a National Health Program join Bill Moyers for a frank discussion about the political and logistical feasibility of a single-payer system amidst the troubled economy and a government dominated by lobbyists.

As the banking stress test results come in, the Journal takes a closer look at money's stranglehold on politics. Bill Moyers speaks with Senator Dick Durbin (D-Il) - who declared last week that banks "are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place" - on campaign finance reform, big lobbying, and making Washington work for the people rather than special interests. Bill Moyers speaks with one of America's leading educators and author of THE THIRD CHAPTER: PASSION RISK AND ADVENTURE IN THE 25 YEARS AFTER 50.

New debate has emerged from the release of the Department of Justice's Office of legal Counsel memos approving extreme measures of interrogation under the Bush administration. But, as the President acknowledges "a dark and painful chapter," how should he respond to allegations of torture? Bill Moyers sits down with Bruce Fein, former deputy attorney general under President Ronald Reagan and chairman of the American Freedom Agenda, and Mark Danner, who has been reporting on the US treatment and interrogation of detainees for the New York Review of Books. Also on the program, the Journal profiles Steve Meacham, a Massachusetts community organizer fighting to keep working people in their homes.

This week, the Senate responded to the growing demand for a new Pecora Hearing, the 1930s investigation into the causes and effects of the Great Depression. ring, the 1930s investigation into the causes and effects of the Great Depression. A 92-4 vote in Senate supported the creation of a bipartisan and independent commission to investigate wrong doing in the lead-up to the economic crisis. For context, Bill Moyers speaks with economist Simon Johnson and Ferdinand Pecora biographer and legal scholar Michael Perino. Johnson is a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, and Perino is a professor of law at St. John's University and has been an advisor to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

From crime beat reporter for the BAlTIMORE SUN to award-winning screenwriter of HBO's critically-acclaimed The Wire, David Simon talks with Bill Moyers about inner-city crime and politics, storytelling and the future of journalism today.

Assassinated on Good Friday, Abraham lincoln was transformed from man to martyr and myth. In this special performance edition of Bill Moyers Journal acclaimed actor Sam Waterston and historian Harold Holzer explore lincoln's legacy and legend in the poetry and prose by great American writers across the decades who have wrestled to define the true lincoln through the lens of their own times.

The financial industry brought the economy to its knees, but how did they get away with it? With the nation wondering how to hold the bankers accountable, Bill Moyers sits down with Bill Black, the former senior regulator who cracked down on banks during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Black offers his analysis of what went wrong and his critique of the bailout. And, Bill Moyers talks with alternative media heavyweights Glenn Greenwald and Amy Goodman about what can and can't be addressed in big corporate media.

The JOURNAl profiles James Thindwa, whose campaign for economic fairness for working people in Chicago has brought him up against the city's powerful political establishment and corporate giant Wal-Mart. For Thindwa, the battle is never over. For years best-selling author William Greider sounded the alarm about Washington's unholy alliance with Wall Street and the failure of the Federal Reserve and other regulators to take preventative measures to avoid disaster. Now, he offers suggestions to the question everyone is asking: "What do we do now?"

With the media buzzing over socialism in the Beltway, Bill Moyers sits down with "old-school socialist" Mike Davis for his critique of the government's response to the economic crisis and how he thinks it compares to Roosevelt's New Deal. Mike Davis is a writer and historian, who currently teaches creative writing at University of California, Riverside. And, Bill Moyers talks with Marta Pelaez, president and CEO of a domestic abuse shelter in San Antonio, TX, Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc., for perspective on the human face of the economic downturn and how it may be pushing some families over the edge.

With economic, political, and social strife across the globe, prominent religious scholar Karen Armstrong discusses our human commonalities and her work on an international charter for compassion. The renowned author of The Battle for God and The Bible: A Biography, Armstrong is a 2008 recipient of the coveted TED Prize. In a distinguished career encompassing time as a Roman Catholic nun, an academic, and a television broadcaster, Armstrong has become one of the world's foremost commentators on religious affairs, who first drew attention with her critically-acclaimed book Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet.

He's played heroes, villains, saints, sinners, a ballet-dancing elephant, and a space alien, now actor and children's author John lithgow - best known as Dick Solomon from NBC's hit show 3rd Rock from the Sun - reveals a new side of himself... poetry lover. The award-winning stage and screen star lithgow shares his favorite poems, insights into acting, and thoughts on the enduring power of art. lithgow currently stars in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. He has penned several children's books, as well as compiled poems for The Poets' Corner: The One-And-Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family.

Bill Moyers talks with economist Robert Johnson, who decodes this week's news on the bank bailout, with a hard look at the international ramifications of the plan and a discussion of why nationalization has become a flash point. And, scholar John McWhorter weighs in on whether the U.S. is "a nation of cowards," as Attorney General Eric Holder suggests, on racial issues.

Robert G. Kaiser has been following Beltway politics for THE WASHINGTON POST for nearly 50 years. This week on the Journal, Bill Moyers talks with Kaiser about his new book, SO DAMN MUCH MONEY: THE TRIUMPH OF lOBBYING AND THE CORROSION OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. And, Bill Moyers sits down with Parker J. Palmer, founder and senior partner of the Center for Courage and Renewal, for a conversation about maintaining spiritual wholeness even as the economy and political order seem to come apart. Also, in an essay, Bill Moyers reflects on President Obama's recent announcement that he will send more troops to Afghanistan.

Former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), MIT Sloan School of Management professor and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Simon Johnson examines President Obama's plan for economic recovery. And, Bill Moyers sits down with renowned poet Nikki Giovanni, whose 27 books have spanned the themes of race, politics, sex and violence.

As Abraham lincoln's bicentennial birthday approaches, Bill Moyers sits down with historian and lincoln biographer Eric Foner to discuss the legacy and the legend of America's most studied president. Having just received Illinois' highest honor, the Order of lincoln, Eric Foner is author of Our lincoln: New Perspectives on lincoln and his World and speaks to Moyers about the evolution of lincoln's image from politician to icon. And, news and analysis of this week's events with NYU journalism professor and PressThink blogger Jay Rosen and political journalist and Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald.