Scandals like Avandia in 2007 and the recent recall of generic drugs from India have some people wondering if the Food and Drug Administration has been sampling too many free pharmaceuticals. This week in the journal Nature, Dr. Steven Nissen writes about the problems with the FDA, most notably, its "culture of secrecy." He joins us to discuss how the new Obama administration might shake things up a little.

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President-elect Obama campaigned on a platform of hope, change and sweeping healthcare reform. That was before the U.S. economy melted down. Now, unemployment is rising and healthcare is on nearly everyone's mind. Obama faces enormous challenges. For the long view on healthcare reform in 2009 and beyond, The Takeaway checks in with Susan Dentzer, editor-in-chief of the health policy journal, Health Affairs.

With a fixed amount of water on earth, a growing population means the competition for water is increasing.

President-elect Obama has plans for a new cabinet position: Chief of Technology.

Recent terrorism in South Asia poses challenges for the CIA.

The Arab-Israeli conflict has plagued U.S. presidents for decades. As he assumes the highest office in the nation, President-elect Barack Obama will have to grapple with tough questions about how the U.S. can best engage in a peace process in the region. John Hockenberry speaks with Aaron David Miller, a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Our series America's Briefing Book continues with former Supreme Commander of NATO General (Ret.) Wesley Clark helping us find out what President-elect Barack Obama needs to know about NATO. Clark names some external security challenges for Barack Obama, including finding the right way to get out of Iraq. He says this accord between Iraq and the US is positive but not the final answer. Clark also says we have to have a strategy for Afghanistan that works and use non-military units of power more.

We're continuing our series "America's Briefing Book" with a focus on what President-elect Obama needs to know about the military. As he transitions to Commander-in-Chief, Barack Obama will have to negotiate troop withdrawal from Iraq, wrestle with the best method of defeating Al Qadea cells in Afghanistan and ensure that the U.S. provides for the welfare of servicemen and women at home and abroad. Joining us is General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe for NATO and a presidential candidate in the 2004 democratic primaries.

European Pilgrims and Native Americans breaking bread together is an easy image to conjure up on Thanksgiving, but it belies the struggle and marginalization that American Indians continue to face. During his campaign, President-elect Barack Obama received strong support from tribal nations — but can he deliver on his promise to improve life for members of America’s 562 Indian tribes? Former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) joins us.

As President-elect Obama focuses on the economic crisis during his transition period, he'll soon have to consider US-China relations. With a fast-growing economy and population, China's effect on global issues — energy consumption, the world’s economy and climate change, to name a few — will be profound and long-lasting.

Taking on an issue like gun regulation in the US can mean political suicide for even the savviest of politicians. Nate Persily, law professor and political scientist at Columbia, joins the Takeaway to talk about what President-elect Barack Obama needs to know about gun policy during his first term in office.

With rumors that Senator Hillary Clinton will accept the key position of secretary of state in President-elect Obama’s Cabinet, the nation is starting envision what American diplomacy will look like after President Bush.

As the economic downturn continues, the ranks of those who live below the poverty line are growing. President-elect Barack Obama has promised to tackle poverty by reducing taxes, increasing the minimum wage and introducing new social services and rural investment. But what is his best, first move?

Poverty facts:

• 37.3 million Americans lived in poverty in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Almost 700,000 children went hungry in America in 2007, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That's more than 50 percent higher than the year before.
• Families from Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas and Arkansas were reported to have the least "food security."

"I think it's a moral imperative that we grant these people an amnesty because they were often toddlers and children when they entered the United States. And they are not guilty of anything except obeying their parents."
--Douglas Massey on immigration status in the U.S

"Instead of planning for the prison, how about some money for Head Start? How about some money to keep families together?"
--Ted Conover on what prisoners want in prison reform