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Since 1985, about three dozen other states have struggled with the same issues as New Hampshire: who pays for schools and how much. Now, a new book looks at the impact and implications of these court cases, for the students, and public education overall. Laura's guest is Paul Peterson, Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government at Harvard University, Director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at the Kennedy School of Government, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Editor-In-Chief of Education Next and author of several books, including “School Money Trials: The Legal Pursuit of Educational Adequacy”.

From "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Letters from Iwo Jima" to "The Departed" and "The Queen", we're looking at what movies might be bringing home gold and which ones may be left out in the cold. It's a preview of the 79th Annual Academy Awards, airing this Sunday, February 25th. Laura's guests are Garen Daly, artistic director of the Peterborough Community Theatre and frequent film commentator for The Exchange; and Amy Diaz, Executive Editor and movie reviewer for The Hippo Newspaper.

Iran's nuclear ambitions have been the subject of much discussion here in the United States and were part of the discussion at an international security conference last week in Munich, Germany where European Union diplomats talked with Iran's National Security Chief. Meanwhile, President Bush has been pushing for tougher European action on Iran to stand down on its nuclear ambitions. The tension between Iran and the U.S. has escalated in recent weeks with President Bush targeting Iran as a supplier of weapons and training for the insurgency in Iraq and the response from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that he would target American interests around the world if Iran was attacked. We'll look at where things stand with Iran in terms of both the United States and Europe. Laura's guest is Dr. Jackson Janes, Executive Director of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and Massood Samii, Professor of Economics and Chair of the International Business Dept at SNHU. He was also the former Chief Economist for OPEC in Vienna.

They flee their homelands in the face of war, disaster and famine. But once here in the U-S, they face new challenges: language barriers, housing problems and, sometimes, discrimination. Now, a new report from a task force in Manchester is raising questions about how New Hampshire helps refugees build new lives in the state. Today on the Exchange we'll look at the refugee experience in the Granite State, the challenges they face, the challenges their host state and city face and explore ideas on better integrating them into New Hampshire life. Laura's guests are Frank Guinta, Mayor of Manchester; Chau Kelley, a resident of Hooksett who came to the state in 1994 as a refugee from Vietnam; Nasir Arush, Deputy Director of the Somali Development Center; and Nabil Migalli, an activist from Manchester who works with several organizations that assist refugees. We'll also hear from Amy Ignatius, director of the state's Office of Energy and Planning, which oversees the state's role in refugee resettlement.

This program was originally broadcast on July 31, 2006

Love is in the air this Valentine's Day and you're sure to be seeing plenty of the color red, whether through hearts, candies, flowers or cards. Red has been the color of passion...and also of power, courage and danger. As far back as history can record, red has taken on special meaning and the red dye cochineal, the most potent natural red dye in the world, was at one time such a luxury that it only trailed silver as New Spain's most valuable export. Cochineal dyed cloth provided the fabric for royal robes and the uniform's of the world's fiercest fighters, while artists like Rembrandt and Rubens used cochineal in their paintings. Today on the Exchange we explore the history of the color red, the dye cochineal and how one color could mean so much to so many. Laura's guest is Amy Butler Greenfield, author of "A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire".

*This program was originally broadcast on 5/18/05*