Hour 1
Iran has charged three Americans arrested near the Iranian border in July with espionage. One of them, Josh Fattal, was born and raised in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park. His family and supporters say that Josh was not a spy, just a tourist hiking in Kurdistan, Iraq, when he may have strayed into Iranian territory. Joining us will be LAURA FATTAL, Josh’s mother, as well as JOEL SIMON, head of the Committee to Protect Journalists, who is supporting the effort to free the hikers. Also helping us understand the recent history of U.S.-Iranian relations is MARK BOWDEN, journalist and author of "Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle of America's War with Militant Islam."

Filed under: author, politics, world |

Hour 2
The common airline passenger concern of how a plane stays in the air may now be replaced with ‘who is flying the plane?' The idea of the captain in the cockpit piloting a plane as a grace-under-pressure act of courage may be a dated convention as the development of digital computers controlling flight instead of relying on mechanical back-ups has become more standard. Our guests include PATRICK SMITH who writes the "Ask the Pilot" column for Salon.com and WILLIAM LANGEWIESCHE, writer, pilot and international correspondent for “Vanity Fair,” whose new book “Fly By Wire” describes this new strain of airplane and what it means to modern air travel.

Filed under: science, transportation |