Need to Know

From paper to pixels

Editorial cartoonists like Steve Brodner are fighting to stay relevant in the increasingly digital mediascape of infographics, photo memes and data visualizations.

This week on Need to Know

Need to Know Correspondent Mona Iskander updates her report from Greenville, Mich., about a town that tried to reinvent itself by bringing in a solar panel manufacturing company. Jeff Greenfield hosts.

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Economy

Loans on the line

In Missouri, there’s an effort to put an initiative on the ballot this November that would cap payday loan interest rates. But will capping rates mean no credit at all for some Missourians? Stacey Tisdale reports.

Poll: Payday loans

Payday lending

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Economy

The high cost of poverty

Journalist Gary Rivlin talks to Jeff Greenfield about the need for affordable, non-predatory credit in poor communities.

America’s poverty tax

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Environment

Poll: Green futures

Should we invest more in green technology? Vote in our poll.

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Economy

American Voices: Cy Richardson

The National Urban League's Cy Richardson on how to put money into the hands of those who have historically been shut out.

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Five Things

Payday lending

Do payday loans take advantage of the poor? Or do they extend loans to consumers with no other access to credit? Read our primer.

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Security

The drone next door

What has mainly been an aerial asset for the U.S. military in countries like Afghanistan or Pakistan is now being used increasingly on the home front – raising some serious legal questions about how to best balance citizens’ rights with law-enforcement goals.

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Opinion

Secure at sea

The Law of Sea treaty will enable the U.S. to assert global leadership and navigate an increasingly complex international security environment without relying on its military, writes Joshua Foust.

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Need to know today

Obama embraces marriage equality

NTK's Zachary Green talks to The Nation's Richard Kim about President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage. Plus, Dan Savage's candid take on the president's "evolution."