Journalism

Since 2006, more than 60,000 of the weapons used in Mexican crimes have been traced back to the United States. Washington Post investigative reporter James Grimaldi explains how a team of reporters uncovered the names of the top 12 U.S. dealers of guns traced to Mexico.

When property taxes go unpaid, the debt gets sold -- sometimes resulting in a bidding frenzy between America's largest banks and hedge funds. Investigative reporter Fred Schulte says unpaid tax bills as low as $300 have resulted in homeowners losing their properties.

Speaking Tuesday on Fox news, Sen. Joe Lieberman suggested that The New York Times' should be investigated for publishing leaked diplomatic cables. The New York Times' chief Washington correspondent, David Sanger, responds -- and explains what the documents reveal about foreign diplomacy.

"You can no longer talk about what black America thinks or feels," says Pulitzer Prize--winning columnist Eugene Robinson. His new book, Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America, describes how African-American communities are becoming increasingly disconnected from one another.

After the housing bust, banks hired many people to handle foreclosure paperwork -- and many mistakes were made. New York Times columnist Gretchen Morgenson explains what the paperwork mess means for the banking industry and the economy.

In the Oct. 18 issue of The New Yorker, historian Sean Wilentz argues that the rhetoric expressed by both Glenn Beck and the Tea Party is nothing new -- and is rooted in an extremist ideology that has been around since the Cold War.

The AK-47 was created by the Soviets after World War II and changed the way war is fought. Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent C.J. Chivers explains how the gun became the weapon of choice for insurgents, terrorists and child soldiers.

As campaign finance experts tell Fresh Air's Terry Gross, the Supreme Court's lifting of restrictions has led many interest groups to dramatically increase the number of ads they're airing.

Writer Mark Feldstein says muckraking columnist Jack Anderson cut ethical corners to get Nixon exposes, and the president responded with fury. He recounts surprising details of the long-running battle between the journalist and the politician in Poisoning the Press.

Now that President Obama has declared the end of America's combat mission in Iraq, questions remain about the country's stability. New York Times foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid explains what the war means for the future of Iraq and the future of the Middle East.