In our ongoing look at the economy, we turn to Dante Chinni of The Christian Science Monitor's Patchwork Nation project, which uses demographic information to look at America beyond state lines. No more red state or blue state. Chinni tells The Takeaway about the affluent way of life at risk in the "Monied 'Burbs."

In our ongoing look at the economy, we turn to our friend Dante Chinni of the Christian Science Monitor's Patchwork Nation project. The project uses demographic information to look at America beyond blue-and-red state dichotomies. What does financial pain feel like on a local level? Chinni talks with The Takeaway about what he's found in two communities on the frontlines of economic downturn, "Emptying Nests” and "Service Worker Centers."

We're in the full swing of the 2008 election cycle. But, in a groundbreaking year for race in politics, Patrik Henry Bass has noticed one influential group that's been quiet: black preachers. Traditionally, the black church has played a pivotal role in general elections. But with Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee, is the black vote locked up? Or, is there a small percentage of black conservative churchgoers who could pull a November surprise in favor of McCain?

The figure is astonishing: $700 billion for a proposed bailout of financial firms. How could this affect you, American taxpayer? Will it affect you at all?

This week we’ve been hearing a lot about giants of the American economy getting saved by the government. But the bailout isn’t just the preserve of Wall Street. In fact, musicians have long since mastered the art of getting saved from financial ruin. Terrance McKnight, host of WNYC's "Evening Music," joins The Takeaway to talk about three very different musicians who got thrown the financial life preserver just in the nick of time.

Hurricane Ike is gone, but the Midwest is now dealing with its aftermath: severe flooding. Excess water is pouring into the Mississippi, Missouri and Meramec Rivers, posing serious risks to communities near St. Louis, Missouri. The Mississippi River is expected to crest on Wednesday night.

Parents face a challenge to supply healthy food for children in world dominated by processed food, snacks and soft drinks. Tara Parker-Pope, “Well” columnist for The New York Times, says the food environment for kids today is nearly completely different from the one their own parents faced. The Takeaway talks about her recent article, “6 Food Mistakes Parents Make.”

Texas is bracing for a big one. Hurricane Ike’s northwest trajectory is on track to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday, landing somewhere between Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Texas-Louisiana border. Evacuations were underway earlier this week Houston and Galveston. Paul Pendergraft, senior producer for news and public affairs at KUHF-Houston Public Radio, joins us from the embattled city.

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.”

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.

This hurricane season, Haiti has faced down four devastating storms in less than a month. Relief agencies are struggling to help thousands of flood victims, and hundreds of Haitians have died. Meanwhile, in South Florida, home to the largest Haitian expat community in the U.S., money and food has started pouring in. The Archdiocese of Miami has put out a call for donations, and churches across the region are busy taking them in.

Oil demand is weakening, and the price of crude oil has hit a five-month low, approaching $100 a barrel. The 149th OPEC conference runs through Wednesday, with the bulk of sessions happening today. Most ministers want to keep oil production unchanged, but if demand continues to weaken, they may have to make difficult decisions.

The California state legislature is late in approving the state’s latest budget — as of today, 70 days late. Typically, this would be a minor bureaucratic matter confined to partisan squabbling in Sacramento. But Julie Small, state Capitol reporter for KPCC radio, says the delay is now having human costs, with community colleges and hospitals feeling a pinch.

Asian markets rallied today [Monday] on news of the U.S. government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Peter Stein, Hong Kong bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, says Asia may be overreacting--there are still big problems with the housing market and the U.S. economy...He also wonders how the U.S. will continue to advocate liberalization of markets in Asia while practicing such a massive intervention at home.

What seemed unlikely has happened: On Sunday, the Bush Administration took control of mortgage heavyweights Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an effort to stabilize the housing market and U.S. economy.

From time to time, we do an update of our Hero Reports series -- our highlight of everyday acts of courage. We recently heard about something called the “Heroic Imagination Project.” The man behind it, Dr. Philip Zimbardo, author of "The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, is famous for his theories on the subject and served as an expert witness for a U.S. military police reservist involved with mistreatment at Abu Ghraib. We ask him about his latest work, which seeks to “democratize” acts of heroism and good deeds.

Oil refineries and rigs along the Gulf Coast escaped the major damage that followed Hurricane Katrina, and oil prices dropped to a five-month low. But Kevin Kerr, MarketWatch contributor and editor of the trading newsletter Global Commodities Alert, reminds us that this is just the start of a busy hurricane season. He says we’ll feel the effects of Gustav: the hurricane has caused evacuations and power outages, and that means oil production slowdowns well into next week.

There's a micro-sized voting bloc you probably haven’t heard about this election cycle: "Hip Hop Republican." The group has a blog, an agenda and several members attending the Republican National Convention. But what does this apparent contradiction of terms really mean? And what does the group think of the convention and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Arizona Senator McCain's VP pick? We speak with group member Claudio Simpkins, a conventioneer, former Huckabee volunteer and student at Harvard law.

Guest: Trisha Wallace, meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center, Miami, Fla.