Terry Gross

It's been a busy congressional season — contentious hearings with Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez in the hot seat, revisions to the nation's domestic-eavesdropping laws, major ethics-reform moves and, of course, debate about what to do about Iraq. Journalist Carl Hulse, who reports on Congress for The New York Times, reviews the legislative session.

Singer Pegi Young has just released a self-titled debut album after many years of singing backup for her husband, Neil Young. Pegi wrote many of the songs on the album, too. Her main focus in life, however, has been the creation of the Bridge School for special-needs children like her son Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy. Now, with her kids grown (the Youngs also have a daughter named Amber), she's found time to get into the studio to record her own music.

Mark Olsen and Will Scheffer created the HBO series Big Love, now in its second season. It's about a man (Bill Paxton) and his three wives (Chloe Sevigny, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ginnifer Goodwin). They've broken from the Mormon church and still practice polygamy — a tradition disavowed by mainline Mormons. Olsen and Scheffer are credited as writers and producers on the series. This year, they won a Writer's Guild Award for their work.