Guest: Andrea Bernstein, Takeaway Political Director

Vice President Dick Cheney said yesterday the U.S. has a "deep and abiding interest " in keeping Georgia and other neighboring states free from Russian domination and condemned what he said was Russia's attempt to change Georgian borders. The Vice President's visit comes a day after the White House announced a billion-dollar aid package to help rebuild the country following its conflict last month with Russia.

From time to time, we do an update of our Hero Reports series -- our highlight of everyday acts of courage. We recently heard about something called the “Heroic Imagination Project.” The man behind it, Dr. Philip Zimbardo, author of "The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, is famous for his theories on the subject and served as an expert witness for a U.S. military police reservist involved with mistreatment at Abu Ghraib. We ask him about his latest work, which seeks to “democratize” acts of heroism and good deeds.

Guest: Faith Salie, Takeaway convention correspondent

When Barack Obama picked Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate, there was a group of online gamers that already knew. They weren't political insiders, yet they predicted Joe Biden would get the nod even as the media and blogs were touting other contenders. So who are they? If you've been listening to The Takeaway for the past two months, you know we're talking about the players of our own Veepstakes Game on Facebook.

As the U.S. mainland continues its debate over the selection of Governor Sarah Palin, we look northward and talk to a long-time reporter in Alaska for a local’s opinion on McCain’s pick

A U.S. deal to sell nuclear technology to India will be tested this week, as international nuclear powers meet to finalize the deal. We explain why the deal matters and how it could impact dealings with Iran.

Will Wright, the godfather of gaming, is rolling out his latest creation—“Spore.” The game can best be described as “evolution meets computer simulation.” Eight years in the making—a mere nanosecond in the evolutionary scheme of things—this greatly anticipated game hits stores this Sunday. For a sneak preview we check in with enthusiastic gamer and evolutionary biologist, Dr. Thomas Near

Upon his return home from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, “Freakonomics” author Stephen Dubner came to a conclusion: John McCain hates economists. Dunber talks to John and Adaora about what the McCain camp has against number crunchers

What if they gave a party and no one came? David Wasserman, who handicaps House and Senate races says this convention may be more notable for who isn’t there than who is. More than 30 GOP Congressional candidates and incumbents will miss the convention this week, opting to campaign at home. With the Bush approval ratings in the tank, there is little fizz in the GOP champagne, and many incumbents are creating it on their own.

Guest: Ben Calhoun, Takeaway Convention Correspondent