December 9, 2019 - PBS NewsHour full episode

On the 2020 campaign trail, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg have been challenging each other over transparency and potential connections to corporate interests. Another major issue is support among African American voters, with whom former Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead. Meanwhile, Sen. Cory Booker lamented the all-white lineup for the upcoming debate. Amna Nawaz reports.

Paul Volcker, who served as chair of the Federal Reserve for two presidents, died Monday. His passing came 40 years after he drove interest rates to record highs in an effort to tame double-digit inflation. Known for his height and his stubbornness, Volcker remained a trusted Washington resource into the Obama administration. Economics correspondent Paul Solman remembers Volcker’s life and work.

In a blockbuster story representing the culmination of several years of investigation and pursuit of government documents, The Washington Post reports that U.S. officials have been misleading the American public about the war in Afghanistan for the past 18 years. John Yang talks to The Washington Post’s Craig Whitlock, lead reporter on the story, about what the classified document trove revealed.

In a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Democrats summed up their case for impeachment of President Trump, saying his handling of Ukraine policy represented a “clear and present danger” to American elections. Republicans pushed back on the integrity of the investigation, calling it a rush to judgment. Nick Schifrin reports and Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

A long-awaited report into the origins of the Russia probe found no evidence of a political conspiracy against President Trump. But the Justice Department’s inspector general criticized the FBI’s handling of wiretap applications used in the early stages of the investigation. William Brangham reports and Judy Woodruff talks to John Carlin, former assistant attorney general for national security.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Amna Nawaz to discuss the latest political news, including campaign sparring between Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg and which candidates might leverage it, how much transparency matters to Democratic voters, lack of racial diversity in the next debate and reaction to the inspector general’s report on the Russia probe.

Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill,” released in 1995, became the angry and raw soundtrack of a generation. Now, the Grammy-winning album -- which sold 33 million copies -- is the basis of a musical that just opened on Broadway. During the show’s initial Boston run, special correspondent Jared Bowen explored how Morissette’s music accompanies the story of a contemporary family's unraveling.