WAMU-FM: WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show Podcast

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate has led to new interest in the Wisconsin congressman's budget. In its latest form, the Ryan plan changes Medicare from a system of guaranteed payments for seniors to one that uses "premium support" credits. These vouchers may be used to purchase private insurance or to join traditional Medicare. The Ryan budget also cuts Medicaid, keeps the Bush tax cuts and streamlines the federal tax code. Critics say it will end Medicare as we know it. Supporters say reform is necessary to save the program from bankruptcy. Diane and guests discuss the Paul Ryan budget plan and what it means for the future of federal entitlement programs.

In August, 1912, 4-year-old Bobby Dunbar disappeared during a family camping trip near a swamp in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. After an 8-month, nationwide search, investigators found a boy in Mississippi matching Bobby's description. He was with a traveling piano tuner, who was arrested and charged with kidnapping. But when a destitute, single mother named Julia Anderson came forward to claim the boy as her son, the case became a sensationalized battle over custody. Nearly 100 years later, Bobby Dunbar's granddaughter Margaret Dunbar Cutright started digging into the mystery again. She worked with documentarian Tal McThenia to put the pieces together. They join Diane to discuss the meaning of family identity and truth.

The United Nations Environment Program says the news about climate change is "bad and getting worse." In the U.S. alone, thousands of heat records have been matched or set so far this year. Most climate scientists have long accepted that the planet is warming and human activity is partly to blame. But global warming deniers have had a strong voice in the debate - along with substantial research dollars from conservatives such as the Koch brothers. Diane will talk with a prominent skeptic who has changed his mind. And her guests will explore not just the dire predictions, but also possible solutions.

Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate is already generating momentum among conservatives. But the choice also highlights divisions between the parties over spending, taxes and entitlements. The Wisconsin congressman is the architect of a plan to remake Medicare and cut trillions in federal spending. And despite the boost he brings to the GOP presidential ticket, Romney is already distancing himself from Ryan's controversial budget proposal. And President Barack Obama is now calling Ryan the ideological leader of the Republican party. Diane and her guests discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the 2012 Republican presidential ticket.

Most of us think of ourselves as honest, but psychology professor Dan Ariely says in fact, we all lie and cheat. In a new book, he challenges preconceptions about dishonesty, from seemingly small white lies to avoid hurting someone's feelings to massive financial fraud like Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme. He explores how unethical behavior in the personal, professional and political worlds affects all of us. He joins Diane to explain how dishonesty can be a slippery slope, what keeps us honest and how to achieve higher ethics in our everyday lives.

Talking about death and dying is never easy. Many of us cling to the childhood belief that parents are invincible. But avoiding an end-of life conversation with a loved one could have tragic consequences. It might mean a surrogate who has different values from your mother could end up making decisions for her. Or that your uncle won't qualify for Medicaid because he didn't understand the process. Armed with basic facts and good listening skills, it's possible to create a strategy that gives a loved one comfort and provides caregivers with peace of mind. Diane and her guests explore how to begin discussions about end-of life care.

The leaders of more than a dozen countries attended a meeting in Tehran, Iran, aimed at ending the violence in Syria. Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi fired his intelligence chief and other top security officials on Wednesday in response to the killings of 16 soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. And the murder trial of Bo Xilai's wife, Gu Kailai, concluded in China behind closed doors. Courtney Kube of NBC News, Tom Gjelten of NPR and Nadia Bilbassy of MBC TV join Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama of dismantling federal welfare reform and creating a "culture of dependency." The U.S. economy continued to send mixed signals. And victims of the Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting were remembered at vigils across the United States. Ron Elving of NPR, Nia-Malika Henderson of The Washington Post and John King of CNN join Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

In the early 1990s, courts declared homeschooling legal in all fifty states. In the years that followed, homeschooling was mostly the province of conservative Christians. But today, bankrupt state budgets and mandated testing requirements have led some parents to seek alternatives to traditional schools. More than two million students in the U.S. are now homeschooled and a growing number of these do not cite religious reasons. Diane talks to author and former child actor Quinn Cummings about her new memoir on the challenges of educating her daughter at home.

For the first time in seven years, home prices are going up. What fewer foreclosures, record low mortgage rates and renewed investor enthusiasm mean for the U.S housing market and the overall economy.

Talking about death and dying is never easy. Many of us cling to the childhood belief that parents are invincible. But avoiding an end-of life conversation with a loved one could have tragic consequences. It might mean a surrogate who has different values from your mother could end up making decisions for her. Or that your uncle won't qualify for Medicaid because he didn't understand the process. Armed with basic facts and good listening skills, it's possible to create a strategy that gives a loved one comfort and provides caregivers with peace of mind. Diane and her guests explore how to begin discussions about end-of life care.

The number of active hate groups in the U.S. has doubled in the last 10 years. New studies indicate there are now more than a thousand of these groups in America today. High unemployment, changing demographics and anger at a black president are among the factors attracting new members. The shooting rampage by a white supremacist at a Sikh temple in suburban Wisconsin has raised concerns about the danger posed by these groups, which are treated differently than foreign terrorists by law enforcement. Diane and guests discuss the rising threat of hate groups and what can be done to track their members.

In this month's environmental outlook, a look at the growing reliance on air conditioning. This summer marks the 100th anniversary of the air conditioner. Since its invention, air conditioning has provided relief from the heat and allowed industry to thrive in the hottest of places. But flipping on the air conditioner to cool off may be warming up the earth. The U.S. is the biggest air conditioning consumer, but use in countries like China and India is skyrocketing. Some scientists say the gases and electricity the units run on are contributing to global warming. Diane and her guests discuss the demand for air conditioning and the search for a cleaner way to cool.

Recent accounts of near collisions. Ensuring the safety of air travel as traffic increases and the Federal Aviation Administration transitions to a new control system.

When bone cancer forced the amputation of Jenny Brown's leg at age 10, she learned firsthand the suffering of living as a victim of forces beyond her control. Now, as an author, activist and founder of the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, she works daily to protect domesticated animals who also have no choice in their fate. She joins Diane to talk about her passionate fight for farm animals and her new memoir, "The Lucky Ones."