The US government outlawed debtors' prisons in the 1830s, the Supreme Court has ruled they're unconstitutional, and you'll find sentences like this on the internet: "Today it is illegal to put someone in prison because of a debt." So how is it that courts across the country lock up thousands of low-income people each year, according to estimates, because they haven't paid up their traffic tickets, garbage collection bills and other minor violations? Lisa Foster, a former judge and co-founder of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, says many courts have become "a place of oppression" because they "make the measure of justice the measure of someone's wealth. That is fundamentally un-American and it is unjust," Lisa tells us. "But our system does it every day."

I think it is (Danny's writing this) - especially when the author is my co-host, David K. Shipler. Dave's new novel, The Interpreter, takes us into the rice paddies and twisting alleys of Vietnam, right after US troops fled the war there in 1973. But Dave explores provocative issues that would resonate in Iraq or Afghanistan or any other country where interpreters play a crucial role for Americans. David Ignatius, the acclaimed associate editor and columnist of the The Washington Post, reviews it like this: "Shipler captures the awful truth that every correspondent knows - that we are unworthy of the brave men and women who act as our translators and ‘fixers,’ the solitary heroes living between two languages and cultures but refusing to take sides." Dave's novel raises provocative questions, sure, but some of my favorite parts are like Vietnam travelogs, painting images of streets pulsing with motorbikes piled with families, chickens and guavas; lush jungles and spidery canals; and Vietnam's foul-smelling but magical-tasting fish sauce.

Two Israeli educators argue, with evidence to back them up, that Israel's schools have indoctrinated people over the decades to detest and mistrust Palestinians - and to be primed to fight them (Palestinian schools have done a similar job poisoning their own students against Israelis). Daniel Bar-Tal and Nimrod Tal are convinced that revamping the curriculum could help change Israelis' mindsets, and make them more open to working toward peace. Wait until you hear how Nimrod taught teachers-in-training last year about distressing, little-known aspects of Israel's history - and how that opened their hearts (at least a bit) to Palestinians.

AI recreations of real people, which clone their faces, distinctive voices and all, have become so convincing that even top computer specialists are finding it hard to tell the difference between fakery and reality. Creative "deep fakes" aren't all bad - they can bring dead artists and historical figures alive, to energize museums and schools - but most uses so far have been evil: Think fake pornographic videos of your sister or daughter, or scams that bilk people out of millions of dollars. Our guest, law professor Danielle Citron at the University of Virginia, has been advising companies and government officials on how to protect the public from the terrible harm that deep fakes can cause, but executives like Elon Musk don't want to listen. Her worst fears haven't come true yet - such as a deep fake that changes an election or triggers a war - but it's hard not to expect them.

Dazzle friends with the grammar smarts you'll get from our second chat with Bryan Garner, one of America's language gurus. Finally, you're about to learn if you can - or cannot - end a sentence with a preposition; if you can use "like" instead of "as"; and if you can banish "whom" and "whomever" from your brain. Just wait until you hear Bryan's rant about lawyers' terrible writing. Speaking of which, can you guess which common five-letter word (which lawyers love) causes endless legal battles?

... we've never had so much fun debating it! Bryan Garner, one of America's grammar gurus, tells us where we're going wrong grammatically - and what we're getting right. You're sure to find (you'll surely find?) answers to some of your own burning questions, like (or is it "such as"?): should you feel bad about using adverbs? Or should you feel badly? How will this episode impact your own language? (Actually, is "impact" even a verb?) After hearing our conversation with Bryan, you might not write or speak quite the same way.

Our guest warns that some of this is so secret that even members of Congress don't know it: Past Presidents have drawn up astonishing plans to wield sweeping emergency powers, possibly including seizing control of the internet. Elizabeth Goitein, of the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, has unearthed dozens of these little-known emergency presidential powers - and she says they should scare you.

In this uplifting chat, John Marks joins us again to tell how Search for Common Ground created radio and TV programs from Africa to Asia - designed to help bring former enemies together. His case studies from Burundi, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo show how Search’s broadcasts helped soothe conflicts between warring groups, and reduced the scourge of rape by rampaging soldiers. The programs obviously are no panacea, but as John says, they are “keeping hope alive.”