Our guest, Niall Ferguson, once coined the term "Chimerica" to describe the American-Chinese relationship. What did he mean, and where does he think this weeks' talks between U.S. and Chinese officials will lead? Niall Ferguson, a Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University and William Ziegler Professor at Harvard Business School, joins us.

President Barack Obama welcomed 150 Chinese officials in Washington, D.C. yesterday. Throughout the week the U.S. and China will discuss the global economy, trade, and the environment. On The Takeaway to tell us more of what’s in store—and what's at stake—is Reuters’ Asia Correspondent Paul Eckert in Washington, D.C.

Watch Obama's address in the video below.

Economists offer an academic view of the economy—they know the numbers, the rates, and the interest. But if you want to know the reality behind those numbers and find out what's happening on the ground, there's only one view: the trucker's view. Cliff Hagedon owns Fort Gratiot Express trucking; he carries freight across the nation. The more people buy, the busier he is. He joins The Takeaway from the road on his way to Texarkana.

A new study, whose findings will be released later today, says that driving while texting makes you 23 times more likely to get into an accident. This morning we're joined by Dr. Rich Hanowski, Director for the Center of Truck and Bus Safety at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which conducted the study. Also joining the discussion is Adam Bryant, Deputy Business Editor of The New York Times, who's been working on the “Driven to Distraction” series.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Southern Iraq this morning. He was in Israel and then Jordan yesterday. How much power does he have inside the administration, and how does it compare with previous Pentagon chiefs? Long-time U.S foreign policy analyst Anthony Cordesman talks about the Gates-Obama relationship.

Today in The Takeaway's Science segment, we talk about neuroscience. A handful of new studies suggest that in matters of weight loss, will power could lose out to brainpower. The brain, which is an organ designed to seek out calories, could outsmart the tricks we play on it, such as drinking diet soft drinks. Joining The Takeaway to talk about the brains behind our bulk is Jonah Lehrer. He is The Takeaway’s science contributor and author of the books "How We Decide" and "Proust Was a Neuroscientist." Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington Correspondent also joins the conversation to talk about how health policy could be used to encourage better eating habits.

Over the last two weeks, good economic news has been rolling in: there were big quarterly profit reports from banks and Ford and the Dow is trading over 9,000. Is the recession over? Friend of The Takeaway Dan Gross, columnist for Newsweek and Slate.com, joins us with his take on the economy, including the prospect of a jobless recovery.

For more, read Dan Gross' cover story, The Recession is Over, in Newsweek.

A new study hints that losing a significant other has effects that last well after the Kleenex box has been emptied and thrown away. Linda Waite co-authored a new study on health and marriage and she joins The Takeaway with the details.

The talks between the U.S. and China this week include climate change, clean energy, nuclear nonproliferation, and humanitarian crises. And the overwhelming challenge: economics and trade. Ron Kirk, President Obama's U.S. trade representative, discusses the Beijing-Washington trade talks.

In the continuing uproar over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., one of the nation's preeminent African American scholars, Cambridge police released audio of the 911 call reporting a possible break-in that eventually led to his arrest. Was that 911 call sufficient cause to give an officer the right to enter a private residence? Was a basic Constitutional right broken? On The Takeaway to discuss the issue is Darius Charney, an attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights.

For more on the Henry Louis Gates, Jr., listen to The Takeaway's stories, America, Still Not 'Post-Racial', Call the Police: Racial Profiling and the Law, and read Takeaway Contributor David Wall Rice's essay, Professor Gates Arrested? No Surprise.

Dealing with Iran will be the top priority for U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates as he meets with Israeli leaders today in Jerusalem. Gates is part of a steady stream of high profile U.S. visitors to Israel this week including Middle East Envoy George Mitchell and National Security Advisor Jim Jones. To talk about what's on the table this week is New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Ethan Bronner, and Judith Kipper, Director of Middle East Programs at the Institute of World Affairs in Washington, D.C.

Viral marketing campaigns have changed the way the entertainment industry lures audiences. For the TV show "True Blood," for instance, the ad campaign that generated buzz was an effort to mobilize support for a (fictitious) Vampire Rights Amendment. The Takeaway is joined by one of the people behind the "True Blood" campaign, Steve Wax, a managing partner at Campfire ad agency, and Brian Morrissey, Digital Editor for Ad Week magazine.

Watch a video featuring the Vampire Rights Amendment viral ad campaign:

The Takeaway follows up on a story the show covered in February: the tale of hundreds of children and teenagers sentenced to juvenile detention centers in Pennsylvania. Local judges were participating in a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme for sending teens to privately run youth detention centers. One of those children is 17-year-old Hillary Transue. Her mother Laurene Transue joined The Takeaway in February and is on the show again to talk about the latest events in the case.

President Obama, who has been pushing health care all week, takes his case for health care reform to senior citizens. In a “tele-town hall,” the president will take questions about health care from AARP members via phone, email, and a small live audience. To gather the questions, the group will contact hundreds of thousands of its members with automated "robo-calls" ten minutes before the event. The Takeaway talks to Drew Nannis, spokesman for the AARP, about the town hall.

A dramatic rescue operation is underway in the Caribbean, where more than a hundred Haitian migrants have been rescued after their boat capsized off the Turks and Caicos Islands. The U.S. Coast Guard is helping the local authorities with the rescue. To get the very latest, The Takeaway talks to Matt Morlag, of the U.S. Coast Guard in Miami.

The Afghan government now says it's arranged a truce with a group of Taliban in a district in northern Afghanistan in order to allow elections to go ahead on August 20 and to permit development projects to proceed in the area. The Takeaway talks with Professor Anthony Cordesman, Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. who just got back from a month-long trip in Afghanistan.