Legalize all drugs; Hard truths about climate change; Moms with sons in jail; John Banville's Blue Guitar

While we're at it, why not legalize all drugs? - Michael's essay: "It should be clear by now that prohibition doesn't work. It didn't work for alcohol in the Twenties and it doesn't work for drugs nearly a century later."

Why can't we have a grown-up conversation about climate change?: Most people seem to agree  that climate change is real, that we are responsible, and that it is a threat to humanity's future. So why is it so hard to come to terms with the fact that we simply must radically reduce our carbon emissions, and at the same time, acknowledge that it won't be easy or painless? Michael's guests are Bruce Pardy, professor of environmental law at Queens University, and long-time environmental activist Tzeporah Berman.

"It can't be true. Not my son.":  But when it IS true — when your kid commits a crime and ends up in jail — mothers are heartbroken, furious, embarrassed, terrified, and often very lonely. MOMS Ottawa is a group — the only one of its kind in Canada — where they can let it all hang out and find support. Hear some of their stories in Christine Maki's documentary "There for Me".

John Banville's "The Blue Guitar":  If John Banville offers anything to his readers, it's the pleasure of the perfectly chosen word, and the thrill of exquisitely turned phrases and sentences. He is widely considered one of the greatest living writers in English, and has won many awards, including the Booker Prize for his 2005 novel, "The Sea". Michael met John Banville in Dublin to talk about his latest novel — his 17th — "The Blue Guitar".