Comic books today are a bigger part of mainstream popular culture than they've been for a very long time. But comics have often been both subversive, and scandalous! We speak with author David Hadju about the comic book scare of the 1940s and '50s, and we talk about the relationship between horror comics and political protest in Brazil.

One of Barack Obama's first acts as President
was to issue an executive order requiring the closure of
Guantanamo--but that's a lot more complicated than it sounds. We talk
with Fordham Law professor Martha Rayner about the complexities,
rights, and wrongs of shutting Guantanamo down.

What's the point of marriage? Well, sure, there's love...but in many places and times marriage has served lots of different purposes, from making business contacts to playing politics. We talk with historian Carina Ray about the complexities of love, marriage and commerce in the Colonial British Gold Coast, and we travel to Queens and the
village to look at how young South Asians are looking for love.