The United States' average unemployment rate is 10.2%. But that average conceals a wide range of very real statistics for different groups of people currently out of work. For African Americans, joblessness rates are much higher than the average – more than 15% nationwide. This week, the N.A.A.C.P. and a host of other groups called on President Obama to do more to create jobs. We speak with Hilary Shelton, senior vice president for advocacy and policy for the N.A.A.C.P., and Amanda Cox, a graphics editor at The New York Times, whose recent project explored U.S. unemployment data by race, gender, age and education levels. We also speak with Takeaway listener Francine Morin, who rang us some months ago on her way to a job interview and now, at last, has a job.

• Business Takeout: We have figures on how many Americans have been hiding money in offshore bank accounts, and Louise Story, finance reporter for The New York Times, tells us about the more than 14,000 people turning themselves in as part of a tax-amnesty offer. 
• Sports Takeout: Ibrahim Abdul-Matin ponders the future of a Cleveland with (or without) LeBron James, who's poised to become a free agent.
• Listener Takeout: We hear from you about ethics in the workplace and our coverage of Rakim's latest album release.
  

People (and economists) have long thought that humans have a basic inclination toward altruism: toward helping one another without thinking of a reward. Stephen Dubner, co-author of "SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance" tells the story of how this was called into question and how studies complicate the picture of what motivates human beings.

When President Obama continues his week-long Asia trip today in South Korea, he’ll get a look at the long aftermath of the Korean War. There are still approximately 28,000 United States soldiers stationed in South Korea. That's about 12,00 fewer than six years ago. Joining us now to explain why there are still so many U.S. troops committed is Robert Kaplan, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and a correspondent for The Atlantic.

With days upon days of holiday cooking ahead of us, it's the time of year when you're most likely to consult a cookbook ... or give one to your mom. Julia Moskin, New York Times food writer, and Adam Gopnik, staff writer for The New Yorker, join us for our very own cookbook roundup. Gopnik also examines the larger purpose of the cookbook in the age of the internet.

A government-backed physicians' group, the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force, recommended this week that women delay their yearly breast exams until age 50. (Previously, 40 was the suggested age to begin screening.) The recommendation has quickly sparked a national debate. People intuitively feel that more tests are always better, but health economists and doctors practicing "evidence-based medicine" say that some screenings aren't worth doing as often: They don't actually help many patients, they expose millions to risks from radiation, and they can lead to expensive, unnecessary treatments for patients who wouldn't otherwise get sick.

Mary Elizabeth Williams is The Takeaway's culture critic and a writer for Salon.com. She's been getting mammograms for years even though she's noticeably younger than the new recommended cutoff age...but she has no plans to stop. We also talk to Michael Chernew, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. Economists like Chernew run the numbers that lead to some of these controversial suggestions. And Dr. Gerald Andriole, professor and chief of urology at Washington University in St. Louis, does prostate screenings – yet another preventive-care practice now under scrutiny for its evidence-based results.

• Washington Takeout: Our friend in Washington, Todd Zwillich, tells us about Sen. Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) next moves for health care reform and new efforts by Congress to create jobs.
• Business Takeout: Louise Story, finance reporter for The New York Times, fact-checks a claim that some families will have to repay some of the stimulus money they received this year. 
• Environment Takeout: The New York Times' Elizabeth Rosenthal reports on the efficacy of carbon offset programs.

In 2006, when Felipe Calderón was inaugurated President of Mexico, he promised to aggressively fight the drug cartels that had long been waging war in the streets of Mexican cities. Three years later, drug turf wars continue to escalate in violence and have claimed the lives of 14,000 people since December 2006.  

We talk to two guests who describe extra-judicial attempts to fight the cartels, as people turn to vigilante justice to protect themselves. Dudley Althaus is Mexico City bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle; Diana Washington Valdez is a reporter with the El Paso Times. Both journalists speak about the ongoing violence and attempts to hold it back.

As President Obama wraps up his trip in Asia, news out of the Middle East is threatening to distract from whatever progress he might have made this past week on the international stage. Israel has announced plans to expand a Jewish district of Jerusalem captured in the 1967 war. The Palestinians have said this district belongs to their future state.

Isabel Kershner is a reporter for our partner The New York Times. She reported on the story, and she joins us from Jerusalem.

Today, on the day that the National Book Award winners will be announced, Patrik Henry Bass, Takeaway contributor and books editor for Essence, tells us who's nominated, who he thinks will win, and who was left off the nomination list that we should be reading anyway. We also ask: Do the awards lead to bigger book sales and larger signing bonuses, or is it all just about the honor of being recognized?

Click through for the full list of books Patrik Henry Bass believes should have been nominated for a National Book Award this year.