Reporting from "Talibanistan"

The Afghan war has always been a conflict where borders haven't meant the same thing to both sides. Most experts believe that Al Qaida leaders fled, along with much of the Taliban, to the rough terrain that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. As hard-core Taliban leaders live and thrive in these areas, the war has expanded into Pakistan itself.

After sitting aside for many years, the Pakistani army is now fully engaged in taking on the Taliban forces that were growing and mounting in Pakistan. In February of 2010, National Geographic documentarian Tresha Mabile traveled down IED-laced roads and accompanied Pakistani army forces to Taliban strongholds. With the cooperation of the Pakistani military, Mabile interviewed a captured Taliban soldier and spoke with Pankistani police who suffered some of the most vicious attacks in the Swat Valley.

The Nat Geo producer talks about what she saw firsthand in "Talibanistan," and the change in the Pakistani military's approach toward the Taliban.

LISTEN: TRESHA MABILE - INSIDE "TALIBANISTAN"

An Economy Unaccountable

America's accounting system doesn't balance out and the red is threatening to drown out the black. David M. Walker would know: he used to look over the books.

Walker was comptroller general of the United States and CEO of the Government Accountability Office from 1998 to 2008. In that time he reported on the growing fiscal imbalance the country was facing, but saw little action from our leaders to address the issue. Walker was prominently featured in the acclaimed documentary "I.O.U.S.A."

Now, as president of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Walker is taking an active role pushing for the change of what he says is a broken system that is "headed for a cliff."

LISTEN: DAVID M. WALKER

Beliefs and Big Questions by the Numbers

Do people really believe what they believe? The numbers indicate they often don't. Steven Landsburg says that mathematicians and economists can apply impartial models to a lot of the issues that get deep thoughts...and produce clear results.

Landsburg has applied his approach to such philosophical head-scratchers as "does it make sense to believe in God?" Landsburg, who is a professor of economics at the University of Rochester contributes to Slate.com and is the author of THE BIG QUESTIONS.

LISTEN: STEVEN LANDSBURG - THE BIG QUESTIONS

When "Breaking News" Gets It Wrong

The bread and butter of CNN and the other cable news networks is breaking news. The problem with the "breaking news" model of broadcasting is that the amount of information immediately gathered does not equal the amount of airtime that needs to be filled. The result: inaccurate reporting, speculation, and a general lax in the application of the journalistic standards applied to the "old media" age.

Coverage of the recent Ft. Hood shooting included all of these unfortunate elements.

But are these problems new ones or old ones? Does new technology like Twitter make the problem of inaccurate reporting worse? Should we even worry about it?

Robert Thompson, Director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University discusses these issues as and more.

LISTEN: ROBERT THOMPSON - BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE