Belle & Sebastian Want to Solve Our Human Problems

Coming up on today’s show:

• Congressman Charlie Dent is considered a moderate Republican, and announced in early September that he will not seek re-election in 2018. Dent has been very critical of the Trump administration, and credits the Trump brand of politics and his supporters as the reason for his retirement. We speak to him about the future of the Republican Party today on The Takeaway. 

• While Congressman Dent says that at least part of his retirement is for personal reasons, it’s also the case that there’s been a big change in Pennsylvania’s 15th District. Shifts like that happen as a result of on the ground organizers, like Mary Barket. She’s a longtime Republican activist in Pennsylvania, and an elected Republican county and state committee member for Northampton County, which includes Representative Dent’s 15th district.

• Around 10 million women in the U.S. use oral contraceptives every day, and now a new study out of Denmark says hormonal birth control may increase the risk of breast cancer. But many doctors and experts are urging users to keep this study in perspective, like Dr. Nancy Stanwood, anassociate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Yale School of Medicine.

• President Trump’s decision on Wednesday to move the U.S. embassy in Israel was met with sharp criticism. Scott R. Anderson,the David M. Rubenstein fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, and Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University Daoud Kuttab, explains how we got here, and the potential geopolitical implications of this decision.

• For years, former figure skating champion Tonya Harding has been the butt of jokes.  Her involvement — or not, depending on who you believe — in the attack on her rival skater Nancy Kerrigan took over the news cycle in 1993. For those of you out there who still think Tonya is America’s villain, director Craig Gillespie of the new movie “I, Tonya” wants to change your mind. He discusses his new film today on The Takeaway. 

• Indie darlings Belle and Sebastian have a new trilogy of EPs out, and this time they’re doing something special for their fans. Stuart Murdoch, Belle and Sebastian frontman and co-founder, and Sarah Martin, who sings and plays violin and other instruments in the group, join The Takeaway to discuss their new project. 

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich