Senate confirmation hearings begin next week with Ted Kennedy returning to the Senate to take the lead. We’re taking a look ahead to what we should be keeping our eyes on as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Tom Daschle, Eric Holder and others face their friends (and sometimes enemies) the United States Senators. The Takeaway is joined by New York Times writer David Herszenhorn.

For a week straight Israel and Hamas have been locked in nonstop air strikes, leaving over 400 dead and 2,000 wounded. Wars between Israel and Palestine have flared up for over the last 40 years. How long is this particular history destined to repeat itself? And, this time around, what countries are positioned to come out ahead? For a look at the worldwide ripple effects of this latest conflict, we turn to Noah Feldman. Noah Feldman is a law professor at Harvard University and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine. He’s also the author of The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State.

At least three people have been killed in the most recent suspected American missile strike along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. According to security officials, the attack targeted Taliban headquarters in the Waziristan region, a mountainous area in the northwest corner of Pakistan. It's the second missile strike in the region in as many days. Charles Haviland, a correspondent for the BBC in Pakistan, joins The Takeaway to discuss.

Have you been to Waziristan? Tell us what it is like.

If you can drag yourself away from watching football this holiday season, it may be worth noticing that in this economy the recession-proof industries of sports and sports media may not be so recession proof. Here to talk about what could be a very important trend in the sports world in 2009 is Jeff Beresford Howe, The Takeaway tailgater and sports commentator.

These days it seems that economists are the go-to people to explain many of the world’s ills, from sub-prime lending to credit default swaps to Ponzi schemes to the bad, emotionally charged decisions that we make with our own money. Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist, has some first-hand insight into how one self-destructive financial decision can thrust us into a downward spiral of many bad decisions. Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University and author of Predictably Irrational.

What bad economic decisions have you made? Tell us!

What lessons have investors learned from Bernie Madoff? And what repercussions are still to come in the largest Ponzi scheme in history? Diana Henriques is the senior financial writer for the New York Times. She talks with John and Adaora about the state of the disgrace, the global finance markets, and how one gets away with global fraud.

It's a good thing astronauts are rocket scientists, because President-elect Barack Obama has sent some some very puzzling messages about the future of NASA under his administration. First he was for cutting the space budget, then he was on record supporting NASA. Joining The Takeaway to discuss what NASA may be in for is Phil Plait an astronomer and writer of the blog, Bad Astronomy.

Explore the pages of America's Briefing Book, a set of audio primers from experts on important issues President-elect Barack Obama will face when he takes office in January 2009.

A new year is upon us, and the country is dealing with some very important economic troubles that are trickling into every area of life--including fashion. When Chanel starts the layoffs you know the industry is in trouble. Some designers might be keeping a lower profile to save money, but Scott Schuman, founder of the popular style blog, The Sartorialist says that could mean big opportunities for regular folks.

Want more from The Sartorialist? Watch and learn.

The extended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating a large class of soldiers returning with emotional trauma. This trauma is leading to an increasing number of servicemen implicated in violent crimes. This trend is starting to raise alarms. Today, the New York Times reports that the secretary of the Army is considering a review of all of its soldiers involved in violent crimes since returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Dan Frosch co-authored the story and joins The Takeaway from Denver where Fort Carson is a small slice of a big story

For more about this troubling situation, read Dan Frosch and Lizette Alvarez's article in today's New York Times.

It’s a New Year and we’re taking a look back--and a look forward--at a venue at the center of American Music: Carnegie Hall. If 2008 was the year of the symphony at Carnegie, then 2009 is the year of the multimedia hybrid opera. Joining us to explain what that means is WNYC Music Host Terrance McKnight.

Here's the music you heard in this segment:

•Composer John Adams' "Son of a Chamber Symphony"
•Soprano Jessye Norman sings "Ave Maria"
•Composer Laura Karpman's "Not Forgotten."
•The Roots