Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts died late last night at age 77.

Son of one of the most storied families in American politics, Kennedy had seen triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and will be remembered as one of the most long-serving and effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate.

The death of Mr. Kennedy, who had been battling brain cancer, was announced early Wednesday morning in a statement by the Kennedy family, which was already mourning the death of the Senator’s sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, two weeks earlier.

“Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port,” the statement read. “We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever.”

Mr. Kennedy had been in precarious health since he suffered a seizure in May 2008. His doctors determined the cause had been a malignant glioma, a brain tumor that often proves terminal.

We talk with Kevin Cullen, columnist for Boston Globe and Carl Hulse, Chief Congressional correspondent for The New York Times to remember Senator Kennedy's life.

We remember Senator Ted Kennedy with various speeches he made throughout the years. Joining us to put Kennedy's life and career in context are Kevin Cullen, columnist for the Boston Globe, and Carl Hulse, chief congressional correspondent for The New York Times.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mi.) joins us to remember Senator Ted Kennedy as a political colleague. We also have New York Times Reporter John Broder, who wrote a piece in for The New York Times on Senator Kennedy.

Ken Feinberg, former chief of staff for Senator Ted Kennedy, worked for Kennedy from 1975-1980. Since being appointed Special Master of the U.S. Government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, he's now "Pay Czar" for the Obama administration.  Feinberg joins us to remember Kennedy's presidential aspirations, legislative record, and personal approach to politics.  (click through for full interview transcript)

Will the passing of Senator Kennedy effect the outcome of health care reform? Our guests talk about how they remember the senator as well as how the health care debate rolls on during these dog days of summer. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are looking at one very influential group in particular: senior citizens. And while the Republicans wait for Senator Charles Grassley to decide where he falls on the debate, the Democrats continue to rally around their new poster politician for health care reform, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. To make sense of this week in the health care reform debate is Jay Newton-Small, Washington reporter for Time Magazine; Jonathan Wilson, public radio reporter for WAMU in Washington; and Congressman Gerald Connolly (D-VA).

In May of 2008, Senator Ted Kennedy had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. Just a few days later, he was diagnosed with malignant glioma. It's a particularly difficult type of brain cancer to treat. With us to talk more about the condition Kennedy faced is Dr. Eugene Flamm. He heads the department of neurosurgery at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. We also talk to Dr. Sherwin Nuland, surgeon and professor of bioethics and medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. He is also the author of seveal books including, "How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter."

We speak to Nicholas Lemann, Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and author of "The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy," about Kennedy's policy legacies in education and health care.

Lucy Marcus, former intern for Senator Ted Kennedy, joins us today to talk about the work she did with him on education policy. She now lives in the United Kingdom, where she runs a company which restructures private equity funds.

We go live to Hyannis Port, Cape Cod, to talk with Sean Corcoran, senior reporter at WCAI.

In nearly 50 years in the U.S. Senate, Kennedy compiled an impressive list of legislative achievements: on health care, civil rights, education and immigration.  From outside the Kennedy's house on Cape Cod, we're joined again by Sean Corcoran, senior reporter for WCAI. The Kennedy family legacy is far from exclusively American, however – it extends across the Atlantic to Ireland. We're joined by Irish politician and former Kennedy intern Mark Durkan, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Ireland, and one of the leaders of the power-sharing governments in Northern Ireland.

People from all over the world are remembering Senator Ted Kennedy, who died early this morning. We're joined by former Senator Harris Wofford (D-Pa), who worked closely with Kennedy over many, many years in the Senate, as well as Tricia Rose, professor and Chair of Africana Studies at Brown University.

We talk to Chris Lydon, former host of NPR's The Connection and creator of Open Source radio. He has covered Senator Kennedy throughout his years as a reporter. We also talk with Jeff Zeleny, White House correspondent at The New York Times who is on Martha's Vineyard waiting for President Obama to speak about Kennedy's death and legacy.

We speak again with Kevin Cullen, columnist for the Boston Globe, about Senator Kennedy's place in Northern Ireland's politics.  Some politicians thought Kennedy agreed with the IRA's political stance. He also speculates on what might have happened if Senator Kennedy had won the presidency in 1980.

We talk with Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and Emily Rooney, host of WGBH's Greater Boston. They tell us about the the impact of Senator Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama's presidential bid during the campaign.

President Obama spoke to the press about his memories of Ted Kennedy just as we went off the air this morning.