Earlier this week we made a comparison between the Vietnam War and the current U.S. war in Afghanistan. One of our listeners responded with a rebuttal. Jonaid Sharif said we were

"comparing the Taliban — vicious and medieval — to the Viet Cong, who were fighting for progress and national liberation ... The Viet Cong were supported by half of the world ... I have yet to come across anyone who openly endorses the Taliban."

Today we look at Afghanistan from an Afghan perspective. Jonaid Sharif is a professor at Paine College in Augusta, Ga., where he teaches Pashto language. He is himself Afghan-American. We're also joined by Christine Fair, a professor at the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University; and Lyse Doucet, BBC Correspondent in Kabul.

• Sports Takeout: The Yankees did it! The Bronx Bombers ended their nine-year dry spell with a big win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, our sports correspondent, joins us with the highlights (and he'll try not to gloat too much).
  
• Washington Takeout: The U.S. Senate is extending aid to hundreds of thousands of jobless Americans. Our Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, explains that the only thing delaying this assistance was political gridlock.
• Business Takeout: We take a closer look at President Obama's estimate of how many jobs have been created by the stimulus package so far. As Louise Story, finance reporter for The New York Times, explains, there are some curious calculations behind the administration's numbers.

Today, President Obama follows up on a campaign promise: He is sitting down with 564 Native American and Alaskan Native leaders as part of the White House Tribal Nations Conference. It is the first time tribal leaders have been invited to the White House since Bill Clinton did it in the '90s. Can something be gained from bringing so many leaders together in one place, or is it all just for show? For answers, we turn to Ivan Posey, chairman of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe in Wyoming; Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, director of Indian Health Service for the Obama administration; and Victor Merina, senior correspondent for Reznet, a Native American news web site.

Yesterday, 50-year-old registered sex offender Anthony Sowell was formally charged with murder and rape in Ohio's Cuyahoga County Court. The story of Sowell's arrest and arraignment on charges of killing 11 victims and living with their corpses has stunned Cleveland residents. Dan Moulthrop, host of WCPN's Sound of Ideas, joins us to discuss Cleveland's reactions to their own home-grown serial killer.

Turn off the computer and go outside and play! We've all heard the conventional wisdom that says video games will turn your brain to mush. But a host of new studies show that gaming might actually be good for your health. Researchers at Nottingham University found that playing certain video games could achieve in one hour what eye patches achieve in 400 hours, while researchers at the University of Rochester found that first-person shooter video games improve visual skills by increasing the brain’s capacity to spread attention over a wide range of events. But wait, there's more! The Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, N.M., found that Tetris players developed a thicker cortex than those who didn’t play.  And the Nintendo Wii has been helping Parkinson's patients improve balance. So, are video games good for you?

To help answer that question we turn to technology writer Clive Thompson, the blogger for Collision Detection and a frequent contributor to Wired and The New York Times, and The Takeaway's tech contributor Baratunde Thurston, host of "Popular Science's Future Of," a TV show on the Science Channel, to tell us how video gaming has more positive effects than you might think.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives aren't satisfied with the health care reform bill drafted by the Democrats, so they have written a health care bill of their own. There are significant aspects of the Republican bill that aren't yet clear, chief among them how much the plan would cost. An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office said the GOP plan would insure only 3 million of those currently without health insurance. By comparison, the Democratic plan would insure 36 million currently uninsured Americans. (Both estimates look ahead to the year 2019.) While the Democrats' bill would cover 96 percent of eligible Americans, the Republican alternative would cover 83 percent — roughly comparable to current levels. House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) joins us with a look inside the Republican bill and his take on the nation's priorities for health care reform. (Click through for a full interview transcript.)

Join us tomorrow when Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the House Majority Whip, talks with us about the Democrats' health care reform ideas.

• Sports Takeout: The New York Yankees have won the 2009 World Series; Our sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, talks highlights and the number of Mets fans he saw rooting for the guys in pinstripes.
• Business Takeout: The Federal Housing Administration was all set to report on their own financial health, presumably to allay fears that the agency will be the next to need a bailout. But then they abruptly cancelled the report, the press conference and interviews. Louise Story, finance reporter for our partners The New York Times, explains what this means and why we care.
• The Value: We hear another installment of "The Value," as Farai Chideya looks at what we value most in a bleak economy. In today's segment she interviews Jared Vazales, who chose a career in community gardens. (click through for video)

On Tuesday, Maine voters headed to the polls and reversed the state legislature's decision to permit gay marriage. Maine is the third state in the country where voters repealed a legislature-granted law allowing same-sex marriage, and the 31st state to ban gay marriage outright. We ask Columbia University law professor Suzanne Goldberg, director of the Gender and Sexuality Law Program, if this repeal is part of a larger national trend. We also speak with Jill Barkley, a resident of Portland, Me., who was planning to marry her partner next summer; and to Andrew McLean, a gay man in Portland, Me., who volunteered with Equality Maine.

Nelson Schwartz, the European economics correspondent for The New York Times, joins us with a look at recent news from General Motors. This week, the financially strapped American car company posted its first monthly sales increase in nearly two years. With money on the books, General Motors is now reconsidering a deal to sell a majority stake in its German subsidiary, Opel.

John Irving, the writer famous for such well-loved and critically acclaimed books as "The World According to Garp" and "The Cider House Rules," has just released a new novel: "Last Night in Twisted River." The novel spans 50 years and follows the life and times of Danny Baciagalupo. When the novel starts, 12-year-old Danny is being raised by his father, Dominic, in a logging camp in New Hampshire. Events unfurl and Danny and Dominic end up on the run. The novel is a return to form for Irving, capturing sadness, isolation, and redemption in exquisite detail and with great humor. We talk to Irving about his new book and why he believes fear makes for better stories than happiness.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told his political allies that he will not seek re-election in January. Israel's president and defense minister, along with the president of Egypt and the King of Jordan, have all called Abbas asking him to reconsider. Abbas is expected to give a speech later today, where he will express his frustration with the peace process.

Officials say Abbas told President Obama in October that he would not run for re-election unless Israel agreed to freeze the building of settlements in the West Bank, thereby allowing him to resume peace talks without losing all credibility. Aaron David Miller, public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., joins us with his thoughts on the move. Miller has served as an adviser on Middle East politics to both Republican and Democratic Secretaries of State.