Friday, December 13 – Friday, December 20

House and Senate budget negotiators reached an agreement on a budget deal aimed at averting another government shutdown. Will the agreement bring an end to the partisan gridlock that paralyzed the federal government for the past three years? Sarah Binder, professor of political science at George Washington University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, tells us whether we should expect more bipartisan negotiations in the new year.

The biography, “Crusader for Justice: Federal Judge Damon J. Keith”, written and edited by Peter J. Hammer and Trevor W. Coleman, chronicles the extraordinary career of the renowned jurist. The book details his rise from working nights as a janitor in the “Detroit News” building to ruling over landmark civil rights cases from the U.S. Court of Appeals. Judge Damon J. Keith joins us to discuss his 50-plus years of fighting for justice from the bench.

Our regular commentator George Johnson joins us with his 3-minute sports drill.

Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma is one of few classical musicians to garner crossover appeal. He performs everything from classical to bluegrass to tango and beyond. Among his many collaborative ventures is The Silk Road Ensemble, a group of musicians gathered from countries linked by the ancient Silk Road trade route. Yo-Yo Ma joins us to discuss the ensemble’s latest CD, “A Playlist Without Borders”.