Details are still coming in from a suicide bombing against U.N. forces that left nine dead in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday. To find out what life is like in the city right now, we talk to two civilians: American ex-pat Sarah Chayes, who works with NATO, and Fareedoone, a 25-year old Afghan university student in Kabul. We also speak with Afghanistan expert Michael Semple to find out if yesterday's attack signals a shift in tactics — is the Taliban now deliberately targeting civilians?

• Washington Takeout: The Takeaway's man in Washington, Todd Zwillich, previews what we can expect from the House's version of health care reform, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will unveil in Congress later this morning.
  
• Business Takeout: Louise Story, finance reporter for The New York Times, says Commerce Department data shows new home sales unexpectedly dropped in September.
  
• Listener Takeout: Listeners weigh in on our conversations about okra and the perennial battle over the toilet seat.

As Congress begins to debate climate change legislation, a fight between environmentalists and industry over a particular type of coal mining is ratcheting up in West Virginia. The Obama administration threatened to revoke a permit to one of Appalachia's largest mountaintop removal mines earlier this month, and all sides are bracing for pivotal policy decisions after decades of controversy. We speak to Erica Peterson, reporter at West Virginia Public Radio, along with Roger Horton, founder of the advocacy group "Citizens for Coal." Horton works at a mountaintop mine as a truck driver.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) may be best known as the first openly gay member of Congress. But he has been representing Massachusetts's Fourth Congressional District since 1981 and has a long history of speaking his mind rather ... frankly. As the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, he was also one of the central architects of the $700 billion foreclosure "rescue plan."

All of these details have been well-known for years; other details in a new biography on Frank have not been as widely reported. We talk with Stuart Weisberg, the biographer behind "Barney Frank: The Story of America's Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman" about his book — and the scandals, secrets and accomplishments that have shaped Frank's life and career thus far.

To see Rep. Barney Frank in a recent rambunctious moment, watch this clip from a health care town hall in Dartmouth, Mass.:

The Takeaway's Farai Chideya interviews Mason Scherzer for "The Value."

The Takeaway's correspondent Farai Chideya joins us with the next installment in her series, The Value, which focuses on how priorities change in an uncertain economy. This time, Farai talks to "ordinary adventurer" Mason Scherzer, who values adventure travel over saving or common comforts like a daily latte. Instead of sticking his money under his mattress, he's going on a trip to Antarctica.

Unemployment is rising, and the job market is painfully lean — but, hey, did you know the recession is over? GDP numbers out this morning say the economy is officially rebounding. We talk to Duke University economist Mike Munger about why a bad job market may actually be boosting company profits. We also speak with Rick Holguin, owner of the recruitment firm Latinos for Hire, and Rhoda Quick, who was recently laid off from her job as a legal assistant in Minneapolis. (A tip of the hat to MPR News' Bob Collins, who originally interviewed Quick back in August.)

• Washington Takeout: Our own Todd Zwillich joins us from Washington to discuss what may have made the cut in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's health care reform bill, due to be unveiled later this morning.
  
• Business Takeout: Louise Story, finance reporter for The New York Times, says a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts [PDF, 910k] finds that 100% (yes, all) of the credit cards issued by the nation's 12 biggest banks are in violation of the recently passed Credit Card Act. The new law goes into effect in February.
  
• Sports Takeout: The Takeaway's sports correspondent, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, recaps last night's World Series game: The Philadelphia Phillies came to the Bronx and routed the New York Yankees 6-1.

According to BBC correspondent David Loyn, Afghanistan is considered the 175th most corrupt nation in the world. But some ingenious people are trying to fight that corruption … with cell phones. In a pilot program, officials are attemping to eliminate graft by paying police officers their monthly wage via mobile phones.

It's been 25 years since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened its doors to the music-loving public ... or at least, the music-loving public willing to travel to Cleveland. Some of the most famous acts in rock and roll history have been inducted into the Hall of Fame over the years. But as music sales decline with the advent of digital records and music piracy, how is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame holding up? We look at the music recognized by that institution and how it's faring in the age of the MP3 with Andy Langer, music critic for Esquire.

Here's Neil Young inducting the Jimi Hendrix Experience into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992:

The president and first lady spend a lot of time in the public eye. The private life of Barack and Michelle Obama is, well, private. But this week's New York Times Magazine offers the public a look at the couple's off-camera relationship. New York Times national reporter Jodi Kantor joins us with an intimate portrait of one of the most powerful couples in the nation.

Jodi Kantor's profile of Barack and Michelle Obama's marriage will be in the New York Times Magazine this Sunday.