Guest: Alex Ritson, BBC business correspondent

A bailout of the U.S. financial system has passed Congress and was signed into law by President Bush on Friday. Now what? The Economist’s U.S. Economics Editor Greg Ip tells The Takeaway what the plan is designed to do and how it will function, and explains the best-case and worst-case scenarios.

Guest: Josh Rogers, New Hampshire Public Radio political reporter.

The winner of November's presidential election will face profound science-based challenges and questions. Can we protect our citizens from emerging pandemics? How should we address issues of stem cell research, DNA testing, genetically modified crops, and food from cloned animals? The Takeaway talks to genetics and law expert Lori Andrews to find out what the next president needs to know about science.

Guest: Elizabeth Holland, John Hockenberry's mother-in-law

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The U.S. economy's troubled banking sector is under fire. Investments banks are being absorbed by commercial banks and Americans are afraid for their money. Michael Lind, a fellow at the New America foundation, has a solution: postal banks — small banks set up through your local post office. These banks once were a key part of the U.S. banking sector. Can they be once more?

Guest: Javier Blas, Financial Times commodities correspondent

Reverberations from the financial crisis are being felt all across the country — particularly in places where people normally spend their money. Auto dealers, restaurant, store and hotel managers, and even casino owners, are all reporting fewer customers and reduced spending.

It’s been a busy weekend for candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times joins The Takeaway to explain.

With a less than a month before Election Day, The Takeaway takes a broad look at the hundreds of battles for Congressional seats and why the Democrats are favored.

In our ongoing look at the economy, we turn to Dante Chinni of The Christian Science Monitor's Patchwork Nation project, which uses demographic information to look at America beyond state lines. No more red state or blue state. Chinni tells The Takeaway about the affluent way of life at risk in the "Monied 'Burbs."

A trip to the ball park, hockey rink or whatever sports venue suits your fancy has always been a great way to escape from it all for a few hours. But sports marketers are starting to worry that fans and big corporate sponsors are thinking twice about spending at the ball game during tough economic times.

Ten years ago this week, Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally murdered. Shepard’s death struck a chord with people across the nation and re-energized the gay-rights movement. But a decade later, many say the nation hasn’t come nearly far enough.

Guest: Carola Hoyas, chief energy correspondent for the Financial Times

GUEST: Matthew Bishop, The Economist's chief business writer and U.S. business editor. His new book is "Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World."