We're entering the season for charitable giving around the country. But are the rising needs outweighing the charity? We check in with Susan Bond, who works in the trenches at the Samaritan Love Food Pantry in Kokomo, Indiana; as well as Melissa Berman, president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, about the broader picture on charitable giving. (Berman mentions the government's public service site, Serve.gov.)

• Washington Takeout: Washington Examiner White House correspondent Julie Mason says that the first family's decision to stay home for the holidays has the Washington press corps on high alert.
• Business Takeout: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story reports that the president's plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions is worrying some in the private sector.
• Turkey Takeout: Food contributor and New York Times food writer Kim Severson answers listener questions on cooking Thanksgiving turkey

Disney’s first movie to feature a black princess, “The Princess and The Frog,” opens this week in select cities, and nationwide on December 11. Jeff Yang, trend forecaster for market research firm Iconoculture and columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, talks with us about the challenges of marketing a film to both a wide audience and niche segments. And Latoya Peterson, who’s been tracking the black community’s reaction to a princess who spends most of the movie as a frog, relays what she’s been hearing on the ground.

Forty years ago this month, a group of Native Americans staged an occupation of the Island of Alcatraz. The occupation lasted nineteen months and was part of a protest movement that was intended to bring the rights of Native peoples into the public consciousness. This morning, a group of Native Americans will gather for a sunrise meeting to commemorate the takeover. We talk to Andrea Carmen, executive director of the International Indian Treaty Council.

On "Tech Thursday" it’s all about Google. Once upon a time, Google was just the name of the hugest number in the universe, then it became a verb. Now it refers to a media empire, on track to become the world’s first $100 billion media company. That’s just the kind of thing that gets the attention of Ken Auletta, author of “Googled: The End of the World as we Know it.”

A year ago, terrorists attacked hotels in Mumbai, India. We talk to Linda Blake, contributor for the Wall Street Journal in Mumbai, about what's happening there today, and to Felix Ambrose, who helped rescue victims at the Leopold Café last year, directly across from the site of the attacks.

• Sports Takeout: Ibrahim Abdul-Matin looks ahead to the day's football schedule and looks back at some memorable Thanksgiving football games.
  
• Turkey Takeout: New York Times food writer Kim Severson shares some tips that will help you make the best Thanksgiving Turkey.

As part of our week of coverage on Faith in America, we talk to Obama's 27-year-old head of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Joshua Dubois. What is the line between church and state and how does he negotiate it?

It's the second day of the Hajj, the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. 2 million Muslims from around the world typically make the trip; this year Saudi Government officials are predicting a 40% drop in the number of local pilgrims to Mecca this year because of fear of H1N1. We speak to the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani, from the middle of the Hajj, about the fears, precautions and facts about the spread of the flu at this year's pilgrimage.

It’s Thanksgiving Day! We're talking turkey and all the fixins’ that go with it. What is the proper way to carve a turkey? What do you do if your guests show up late? And how can we stay away from that dreaded canned cranberry sauce? Here to help solve some of these dilemmas, as well as give some helpful tips, are food writers Kim Severson and Julia Moskin from our partner The New York Times.