Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum talked about their book, That Used to Be Us, and they responded to telephone calls and electronic communications. In the book they argue that despite the current economic climate of the United States, the "recovery of American greatness is within reach." Mr. Friedman in the interview remarked that no quick fix for current U.S. problems exists, saying "We're either going to have a hard decade or a bad century." Other topics included education and who they interviewed for the book.

C-SPAN Radio's Nancy Calo read news headlines at the end of the program.