A Story of Escape

Coming up on today’s show:

• Aruna and Vivek Jayaraman lost everything in the northern California wildfires this week. Their ordeal tells the story of so many people in the northern part of the state. The fires have been burning for for nearly a week now, and in the process they’ve destroyed thousands of structures and claimed more than two dozen lives. The Jayaramans share their story today on The Takeaway. 

• President Donald Trump selected Kirstjen Nielsen as his nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security yesterday. Politico Eliana Johnson said there are a few reasons why Nielsen — a “third string” official — might have been nominated to the position.  We look back at her track record and what to expect going forward. 

• Every Friday, Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday and The Takeaway, drops by to review the new releases hitting the box office. This week, Rafer gives his take on the new action-thriller “The Foreigner,” and the drama “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.”

• Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is in Washington this week, meeting with members of Congress amid revelations that accounts linked to Russia helped spread fake news during the run up to the 2016 election. Where does this investigation go from here? Cecilia Kang, a technology reporter for The New York Times, answers. 

• Last year, the synthetic opioid Fentanyl killed nearly 900 people in New Jersey alone. Now, the state is saying pharmaceutical companies are largely to blame, so it filed a lawsuit against drugmaker Insys Therapeutics last week. But New Jersey is not the only state going after pharmaceutical companies for their role in the crisis. Stephen Stirling of NJ Advance Media explains. 

• The Barr Brothers have been redefining “Americana” music since 2011, after touring for years as the avant-garde rock band The Slip. The two brothers leading the ban — Brad Barr and Andrew Barr — have spent decades producing music together, and have joined with harpist Sarah Page to create a spiritual layered sound. They discuss their new album, “Queens of the Breaker,” today on The Takeaway.

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.