Money, sex and oil: it sounds like the prime time soap opera "Dallas." But now it's Denver where that dangerous mix is in the headlines. U.S. government officials in charge of collecting billions in energy royalties stand accused of illicit drug use, taking expensive gifts and engaging in sex with employees of the industry they were supposed to be watching. The Takeaway talks to investigative reporter Derek Kravitz, who is covering the story for the Washington Post.

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Hillary Clinton got cheers when referred to the people who voted for her in the primaries as "18 million cracks" in the glass ceiling for women in politics; now Sarah Palin has arrived on the national political scene with that image still in the air. Polls suggest that this young governor is energizing a wing of women voters who might otherwise stay home or vote Democratic this election. The Takeaway examines how Palin plays with women voters and how gender factors into campaign politics this year.

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In 2001, after the fall of the Taliban, experts warned of a nightmare scenario. They projected that the Taliban and al-Qaida would leave Afghanistan and infiltrate neighboring Pakistan. There, they would find a relative sanctuary where they could establish new command centers, out of America’s reach. With the U.S. military largely committed in Iraq, that scenario seems to be coming true. Frontline’s senior producer Martin Smith joins The Takeaway to discuss the latest developments along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border.

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Fekkak Mamdouh was scheduled for work on the 107th floor of the WTC’s North Tower on the day of the September 11, 2001 attacks. A former waiter at Windows on the World restaurant, he lost 73 friends and colleagues when the towers fell. After the dust settled, Mamdouh co-founded an organization to help the newly displaced workers — many of them undocumented immigrants — navigate their way to new jobs in the restaurant industry. This year, that organization has opened branches nationwide, and expanded far beyond its immigrant base.

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The events of September 11th still seem too fresh to qualify as American history. High school teachers are grappling with how to teach this event to kids, some of them just seven years old in 2001. Gideon Sanders is one such teacher who has thought about how to discuss this with his students. He joins The Takeaway to discuss how he's turning an emotionally fraught moment into an opportunity to teach the lessons of 9/11. Paloma Walker, a senior at McKinley Technology High School, also joins us.

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September 11th, 2001, was the first day of school for John Hockenberry’s twin daughters. He looks back at that day and the lessons he and daughters learned.

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For seven years, American officials have tried to work with Pakistan to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban. But after months of debate, the Bush administration is allowing Special Ops forces to carry out ground assaults without the prior consent of the Pakistani government. The Takeaway talks to Eric Schmitt, of The New York Times about the situation.

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The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has arrived in Poland on his first visit since Russia sent troops into Georgia last month. In talks with the Polish prime minister and foreign minister, Mr. Lavrov is expected to express Moscow's anger at the agreement by Poland to host part of the planned American missile defense system in Eastern Europe. The Russian military has warned that the installation could become a target for a nuclear strike.

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What you see is what you get, right? Well, it seems it’s not quite that simple. A growing body of scientific work has studied how what we perceive — or think we perceive — can have less to do with reality than we think. In light of recent findings, Jonah Lehrer, editor-at-large for Seed magazine and author of “Proust was a Neuroscientist,” says it’s time to radically rethink notions like “you get what you pay for.”

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It’s called “security theater:” highly visible measures that serve no genuine security purpose. Those National Guard troops you see at the airport? Generally those big guns aren’t loaded. Having to show one's ID at every turn? The 9/11 hijackers carried genuine drivers licenses, too. The Takeaway talks to the man who coined the phrase “security theater” about what makes genuinely good security and what's just for show.

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The iconic chime of Big Ben marks the hours, but an artist found a way to bend time as the clock keeps it. The BBC partnered with American sound sculptor Bill Fontana on a public art project. Paddy O’Connell, of the BBC show Broadcasting House joins The Takeaway to discuss the project.

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President Bush will dedicate a memorial at the Pentagon today, as the nation reflects on seven years since the September 11th terrorist attacks. The president starts this morning with a moment of silence at the White House at 8:46 a.m., the exact time the first jetliner slammed into the World Trade Center. For the first time since June, John McCain and Barack Obama will appear together. WNYC's Arun Venugopal reports live from Ground Zero.

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Power sharing talks continue in Zimbabwe following the disputed election there. President Robert Mugabe has so far refused to yield or share power with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has said he and his supporters have been under violent threat from Mugabe. The key stumbling bloc has been how Mugabe and Tsvangirai would divide responsibilities, and who would have the most power.

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WNYC's Arun Venugopal reports live from Ground Zero.

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