A Global Hunger Crisis, Fighting for Religious Freedom, Comedian Todd Barry

Coming up on today’s show:

• Late last week, the United Nations announced that 20 million people in four countries — Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen — are facing or at risk of famine, marking what the U.N. has described as the worst humanitarian disaster since the creation of the global governing body. Nigeria has also been considered at risk of famine. Ciaran Donnelly, senior vice president of international programs at the International Rescue Committee, has the details. 

• Today the Wisconsin HOPE Lab released “Hungry and Homeless in College,” a new research report on food and housing insecurity among community college students, including more than 33,000 students at 70 community colleges in 24 states. Two thirds of the students surveyed struggle with food insecurity, and one half with housing insecurity. Sara Goldrick-Rab, one of the authors of new report, a professor of higher education policy and founder of the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, has the details. 

• The European Court of Justice ruled this week that employers can ban workers from wearing headscarves in certain conditions. Maryam H’madoun, policy officer for the Open Society Justice Initiative and co-founder of Boss of My Own Head, which advocates the rights of Muslim women, weighs in. 

• Ahead of the deadline for NCAA bracket picks, The Takeaway looks at basketball bracket alternatives and offers tips for selecting your March Madness bracket with Joe Gagliano,a sports betting guru and former NCAA basketball fixer.

• Military commissaries function as discount grocery stores that offer food at low prices for service members and veterans. The prices are set by a formula and the program is funded by taxpayers. But now, lawmakers and the Department of Defense are looking into alternatives. Dorian Merina, a journalist reporting for the American Homefront Project, explains. 

• The inclusion of women in the military has come with both successes and failures. MJ Hegar, an Air Force pilot and author of “Shoot Like A Girl: One Woman’s Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and on the Home Front,” was the pilot responsible for challenging the Department of Defense’s longstanding practice of barring women from thousands of ground combat positions in 2012. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta later rescinded this ban, known as the Ground Combat Exclusion Policy. She shares her story today on The Takeaway. 

• Comedian Todd Barry is known for his appearances on shows like “Louie” and “Conan,” but the subject of his first book chronicles his tour through small cities and secondary markets across the country, where his comedy changes with the crowd. He’s the author of the new book, “Thank You for Coming to Hattiesburg.”