Government shutdown: Ideological impasse or pure politics?

First day of the government shutdown

Brian Schweitzer, the former Democratic governor of Montana, and Ron Bonjean, the former chief of staff for the Senate Republican conference who once served as spokesman for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, will join Consider This host Antonio Mora to discuss the latest developments.

How will the Affordable Care Act impact hospital costs?

Andrew Rubin, the vice president for Medical Center Clinical Affairs & Affiliates at NYU Langone Medical Center, and Dr. Neel Shah, the executive director of the nonprofit organization Costs of Care, will join Antonio Mora to talk about how hospital care will be affected by the new health care reforms.

Afghans, Iraqis who aided US troops seek long-promised US visas

A Special Immigrant Visa program was set up in 2008-2009 for people who aided U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, but so far most of the visas for this program have not yet been distributed. "Hassan," an Iraqi man who served as a translator, Matt Zeller, an Afghan War veteran who is fighting for a US visa for his Afghan translator, and Michael Breen, the co-founder of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, will join Antonio Mora to weigh in on this situation. Learn more about Zeller's story at NewYorker.com.

Protecting Syria's cultural heritage

Bonnie Burnham, the president and CEO of the World Monuments Fund, and Bastien Varoutsikos, a research fellow at Harvard University, will join Antonio Mora to discuss efforts to save Syria's endangered archaeological sites and prevent the plundering of historical objects across the Middle East.