Thirty years ago on Sunday, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had a partial meltdown. The incident stirred fear and panic in the hearts and minds of Americans everywhere, and stopped the growth of nuclear programs cold. Joining us with a look back and a look at nuclear power's future is Jonathan McClelland is President of the New York City Chapter of the United States Association for Energy Economics and also joining us is Christian Parenti, contributing editor for The Nation.

Here's part one of a 1999 PBS documentary, "Meltdown At Three Mile Island", chronicling the terrifying near-catastrophe that occurred in Pennsylvania at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in March 1979.

In the last five years, Liberia has made the transition from Charles Taylor, a warlord accused of hate crimes, to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman democratically elected to lead an African nation. It's a change that has made Liberia a focal point for the advancement of women in Africa and worldwide. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is now coming to the U.S, and releasing a book about her life, This Child Will Be Great. She's also just been interviewed by Lynn Sherr, special correspondent for World Focus on PBS.


For more, head to worldfocus.org

Here is a 2007 tribute to President Sirleaf created when she was honored at the Africare Bishop Walker Dinner and received the 2007 Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Award.

This week, we sent Senior Editor Femi Oke out to bring your stories about the economic crisis back to the show. Sam Jordan was listening in New Jersey and sent us an e-mail. He wanted us to meet a real estate broker who he describes as more or less his real estate hero. Not something you hear about brokers these days, so Femi Oke went and got the story. She found a broker who, even during the height of the real estate boom and easy mortgages, preached caution and budgetary restraint. He lost clients over his moderation and colleagues laughed, but that real estate philosophy saved families, like Sam Jordan's, from mortgage overload. Femi joins us now with the story.

The Takeaway's videographer Jennifer Hsu captured the action on film:

Trouble viewing this video? Check out the YouTube version.

London will host the G20 summit next week and as they face down hard economic times, it is worth a look back at the last time London hosted a world economic summit. In June 1933, delegates from 66 countries gathered in London to try and agree to a plan to revive the world economy in the midst of the Great Depression. The U.S. played a key role in the 1933 conference, just as it will at the G20 meeting in April. Even then it was the world's largest economy and also the most severely affected by the economic downturn. And, in the midst of the Depression, it had also turned to a new leader to replace the discredited Republican administration of Herbert Hoover. For a look at this historical echo, we turn to Steve Schifferes, an economics reporter for our partners at BBC News.

In the past fifty years, wealthy nations including the U.S. have given $1 trillion in aid to the continent of Africa. And yet, many African countries remain mired in poverty. So is it time to rethink aid to Africa? The Takeaway talks to Dambisa Moyo an economist and author of the book Dead Aid: Why Aid is not Working and How there is a Better Way for Africa. We are also joined by Lynn Sherr, journalist and Africa correspondent for PBS's World Focus.

For more from Dambisa Moyo, watch the clip of her discussing African aid below.

The Takeaway looks at two stories in the global news today with our partners, the BBC. First, President Barack Obama unveils his Afghan war strategy today. Officials say the President plans to send thousands of more military and civilian trainers on top of the 17,000 combat troops he's already ordered. The plan includes no time line for withdrawal of troops.

In other news, the Sudanese government says an air attack on the country in January destroyed a convoy carrying weapons intended for Hamas in the Gaza strip. The numbers killed in the attack fluctuate wildly, but the story's made big news in Israel whose prime minister has hinted that Israel's air force was involved. For a look at both these stories we are joined by the BBC's defense correspondent Rob Watson and the BBC's Arab Affairs analyst, Magdi Abdelhadi.

Want to know how to avoid paying taxes on April 15? Jason Zengerle, a senior editor at The New Republic, might be able to give you some ideas— though he may not be able to tell you how to escape from jail when the IRS catches up to you. Jason wrote an article for this Sunday's New York Times Magazine called "Hell Nay, We Won't Pay!" profiling the philosophical movements that argue that despite, you know, the law, you're not actually obligated to pay your taxes. He joins us now to explain.

On her recent trip to Mexico, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged our part in the violence that’s erupting in Mexico, saying that, “Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the death of police officers, soldiers and civilians.” With the so-called War on Drugs, clearly failing, how should politicians and policy makers re-work the rules of engagement? Joining us to talk about what it would take to get to “mission accomplished” is Kurt Schmoke. He is the Dean of the Howard University School of Law. He also served as Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, from 1987 to 1999. As mayor he fought for drug reform. For those of you who are fans of The Wire, Dean Schmoke’s drug reform endeavors are rumored to be the inspiration behind the drug enforcement-free zone Hamsterdam, and Dean Schmoke even had a cameo in the series.

There's been plenty of outrage in the U.S. over collapsing banks, bailouts and bonuses, but the financial crisis is turning violent in Europe. Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the ailing Royal Bank of Scotland, had his house and car vandalized this week and the manager of a 3M factory in France was barricaded in an office by workers demanding better severance packages for employees being laid off. All this comes ahead of the G20 meeting in London next week, where some protesters are planning to hang effigies of bankers from lamp posts. Damian McLoughlin, managing director of the security firm Guardian GS, joins us for a look at the security concerns for bankers in this environment.

For a look at the vandalism on Fred Goodwin's home in Edinburgh watch the video below.

President Obama plans to announce an expansive new plan for Afghanistan in a speech at the White House this morning, committing thousands more troops and starting what's being called a "civilian surge." He told Congressional leaders that he'll set the first benchmarks for progress in fighting al Qaida and the Taliban. Obama's plan also reportedly intends to "recast" the Afghan war as more of a regional issue, involving Pakistan, India, China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. Thom Shanker, Pentagon correspondent for the New York Times, and Mark Mazzetti, defense correspondent for the New York Times, join The Takeaway for more on what's next in the region.

For more, read Thom Shanker's article, In New Afghan Strategy, Obama Will Add Troops in today's New York Times.

President Barack Obama unveils his Afghan war strategy today. Officials say the President plans to send up to 4,000 more troops and will start a surge of civilian trainers on top of the 17,000 combat troops he's already ordered. The plan includes no time line for withdrawal of troops. For more we turn to Paul Hughes, senior program officer for the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention. He served as a colonel in the U.S. Army and as a senior military fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies. Also joining us is Nicholas Schmidle, a fellow with the New America Foundation and the author of the forthcoming book, To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan