For centuries, payback has been etched into our laws and moral codes. Retribution is just a part of human nature, which may explain an odd thing that happened at a recent presidential debate: People saved their loudest applause of the night not for tax cuts or jobs, but for the death penalty.

Need to Know host Scott Simon talks to former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman about the difficult choices states are facing in this tough economic climate.

As communities across the country struggle to make ends meet, leasing public assets to private investors is an increasingly attractive way to generate much needed cash. Need to Know correspondent Rick Karr travels to two cities that are doing just that.

Throughout history, humans have reserved special disdain for traitors: Brutus, Cassius, and Judas, just to name a few. In fact, "treason" is the only crime mentioned specifically in the U.S. Constitution. Now, Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry has suggested a new entry in the annals of treachery: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

On the 10-year anniversary of September 11, 2001, Need to Know host Alison Stewart talks with the Chair of the 9/11 Commission, Tom Kean, about where our country has come since 9/11 in terms of security and what remains to be done.

A decade after one of the most tragic days in America's history, Jon Meacham reflects on the legacy of September 11, 2001, and wonders how it will be remembered in the years to come.

Architectural critic Paul Goldberger of The New Yorker reflects on the 9/11 Memorial and the social, political and economic challenges of rebuilding at Ground Zero.

The 9/11 attacks resulted in the nation's longest war effort, although it remains peripheral to most Americans' lives. Not so for the military families whose loved ones are deployed to a war zone. Need to Know profiles three families to get an intimate view into their lives and the sacrifices military children make every day.

Three people who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks tell how their lives have changed in six words.

Need to Know attended a training session for educators on supporting children of National Guard and Reserve service members in Bridgewater, Mass. The session was run by the Military Child Education Coalition, a non-profit organization that supports military children.

Need to Know visits the Child, Adolescent, and Family Behavioral Health office, which manages and develops several programs supporting military kids and families for the Army.

A retired Marine and a filmmaker discusses a new documentary that tells the story of a massive water contamination incident at the Camp Lejeune Marine base. Up to a million people may have been exposed to dangerous chemicals from the 1950s to the 1980s.

There are thousands of wild horses roaming America's western states. We speak to filmmaker and wildlife activist, Ginger Kathrens about how the wild horses live and interact with one another and about the controversial removal of horses from the wild by the Bureau of Land Management.

As the first major hurricane of the season threatens the Eastern Seaboard, Need To Know investigates the links between extreme weather and climate change.

New York Times food writer, op-ed columnist, and author Mark Bittman on the politics of food policy.

Despite Governor Perry's statement that Texas schools teach evolution and creationism, Texas recently voted not to add creationism or intelligent design to its science texts. But the actions of the state's school board continue to be closely watched by the nation. Need to Know caught up with the Board last May as it was considering changes to be made in its social studies curriculum.

Can an agency protect consumers from making bad decisions about their finances? Need to Know meets one military family whose situation seems tailor-made for the mission of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

With the price of gold at an all-time high, veteran war photographer Ron Haviv documents the environmental destruction illegal gold mining has caused in the Peruvian Amazon.

A Watch List Investigation in cooperation with Pro Publica and investigative journalist Aaron Kessler: drywall manufactured in China is emitting sulfur gasses which American homeowners allege is making them sick. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating, and many homeowners are suing, while at least one major manufacturer denies that its drywall causes any ill effects.

This Saturday Texas Governor Rick Perry is holding a call to prayer in Houston. This is the just latest in a series of steps that seem to put Perry in line for a presidential run in 2012. Need to Know Host Alison Stewart talks to Ken Herman of the Austin American-Statesman about Governor Rick Perry's accomplishments in Texas and his national ambitions.