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As images of oil-drenched coastlines and stories of devastated industries and families flood the airwaves, how can we begin to reckon the real magnitude of the damage?

The Obama Administration has authorized the killing of American-born Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. If the administration can kill US citizens without due process, where does the slippery slope end?

The Senate recently defeated an attempt to weaken crucial regulations on derivatives. Why and how should derivatives be regulated?

Christopher Hayes asks Ken Ward Jr, renowned reporter for the Charleston Gazette, whether this grave incident could be the catalyst for mine safety reform and regulator empowerment.

To discuss the threat of nuclear war, Jonathan Schell, Nation Institute fellow and author of "Reaching Zero," guests on the Brian Lehrer Show with David Hoffman, Foreign Policy contributing editor.

The SEC has filed a civil suit against Goldman Sachs for their role in exacerbating the sub-prime mortgage crisis by producing risky investment options. On this week's The Breakdown, Hayes discusses the case with blogger, author and economist Simon Johnson.

Largely overshadowed by Healthcare's passage, student loan reform promises big changes to the current bank-based lending system. This week, The Breakdown with Christopher Hayes and education Policy Analyst Ben Miller, dissect these changes and explain how they will effect college students, past, present and future.

Global warming is not just controversial, it's also pretty confusing. As world leaders debate in Copenhagen, politicians in Congress are pushing different plans to deal with climate change. Christopher Hayes breaks down the difference between cap and trade and a carbon tax.

Tom Engelhardt and Jonathan Schell discuss American involvement in Vietnam and Afghanistan, US nuclear policy from the 1960s to the present and the dilemma of nuclear weaponry in the Obama era.

If incumbents are running scared, what does that mean for the phenomenon of the incumbency effect?

Could the Senate start getting things done, if only legislators didn't have to face filibuster threats? This week on The Breakdown: the history of the filibuster, and how to get rid of it.

The Obama Administration has announced a plan to reduce the budget deficit through a three-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending. What are possible long-term effects?

Fourteen states have filed suit challenging the healthcare overhaul, particularly the individual mandate, as unconstitutional. Christopher Hayes asks Columbia law professor Gillian Metzger whether this argument holds up.

Listen to an audiocast of remarks by "humanity's avenger," Luis Moreno-Ocampo, first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

After reporting US politics and economics for forty years, Nation national affairs correspondent William Greider still considers himself an optimist. Appearing as a guest on Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane, Greider discusses the promise of the American people and their crucial role in reforming government.