The Story

Ben Golnik has been interested in politics ever since he was a little kid watching Crossfire with his parents at the dinner table. When he grew up, he worked his way up the ladder to become a prominent campaign consultant in the Republican party. But it took being a key member of two landmark election monitoring teams for Ben to realize just how democratic the democratic process can be.

Jessica Zichichi and her husband Sal have held onto good jobs - their problem is the housing market.

Jess and Sal were living in a small house in Cape Cod that they loved. Then Sal took a job in South Carolina. It was 2006 and they figured they could easily sell the house. In the meantime, they’d live on their 33-foot boat.

As gas prices skyrocket, food prices follow. Melissa Hilliard can no longer make her costs and her income meet in the middle. Recently Melissa swallowed her pride and made her first trip to the local food bank. Also in this episode, on the anniversary of the attack on the USS Stark, Dick Gordon spoke with Tim Gable about his survival story. Tim was on the Stark when it was attacked, and if it wasn't for a life ring that was thrown from the deck Tim may not have survived the night in the water. Michael Tooker, a helicopter pilot stationed on the Stark, heard Tim on the radio and called to tell us his story.

Last week, the Bancroft family voted to sell Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal to media mogul Rupert Murdoch. When she heard the news, Nancy Block could relate. She's in the 4th generation of a family that has owned newspapers since the 1920s. Her family owns the Toledo Blade and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Also in this episode: a man who worked opn the booster rockets for the Challenger space shuttle reflects on that disaster.