Kristen Meinzer

This Sunday, awards season officially kicks off with The 68^th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which will be broadcast at 8 p.m. eastern time on NBC. Also known as the happiest awards show in Hollywood, the Globes is an event where alcohol is served throughout the night, TV stars and movie stars mingle, and comedies and dramas are given equal recognition. But in addition to the misbehaving, winning, and losing, what else should we be keeping our eyes on at this year’s ceremony?

When it comes to the Golden Globes, there are certain bets you can place that you're more or less guaranteed to win.

For example, want to bet that at least one person will stumble onto the stage with a drink in hand? Sure, especially if there's money on it. Want to wager that the camera will pan over to Jennifer Aniston whenever Brad Pitt is on stage? Well, that's a gimme.

But what about wagers that are less obvious — about winners and losers and predictors for the Oscars? I have some tips that might help you out.

For decades, teenagers have enjoyed stories of darkness and dystopia — from social critiques like “The Lord of the Flies” to dystopian nightmares like “A Clockwork Orange.” But in the last year or two, the market for dystopian and apocalyptic young adult fiction has exploded with more books and darker stories than ever, and the year ahead promises the most books in this genre to date.What's behind this teen dystopian trend, and why is there so much demand for it?

Everyday, all of us spend money on things — things we need, and things we don’t. And in turn prices are put on those things. But where do those prices come from? How much has to do with supply and demand? And how much has to do with bigger forces at play? Finance writer Eduardo Porter has been researching these questions for years. His new book is called “The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do.” Porter joins us to talk about the nature of value in modern society, some of its mysteries and explanations.

Michael Fosberg was raised in a working class Armenian American family led by his biological mother and adoptive father. When he was in his thirties, his parents decided to divorce. Michael responded to the split by going out in search of the long lost father he never knew and discovering that he was black.

This month, minimum wage workers in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington will see paycheck increases of three to 12 cents per hour. For those earning low wages, increases do help with living expenses, but is such a small raise really noticeable? We speak with Ashley Kinsinger, who has worked for minimum wage as a supermarket cashier, and Beth Kobliner, work contributor for The Takeaway about the issue.

A year ago, when the monumental earthquake of January 2010 hit Haiti, 250,000 people died, even more were injured, and roughly one million were left homeless. But the tragedy didn’t end there. At the same time that millions of civilians mourned, over 4,000 prisoners escaped from the national penitentiary and began a reign of terror over the nation’s tent cities that continues today; raping women and children, brutalizing citizens, and controlling access to drinking water and electricity.

Why do we say we’re "flying by the seat of our pants?" Or that someone’s "got our goat?" Harry Oliver has researched hundreds of the quirky phrases we use in everyday life, and found out the history and stories behind each one. His new book is called “Flying by the Seat of Your Pants: Surprising Origins of Everyday Expressions.”

The new backstage celebrity drama "Country Strong" hits theaters Friday, and the big question on everyone's mind is, can Gwyneth Paltrow actually sing?

This week’s big movie opening is a back-stage country music drama called "Country Strong." It stars Gwyneth Paltrow as hugely popular country singer named Kelly Cantor. Kelly is battling alcoholism, competition from a younger singer, low self esteem, and a fractured relationship with her husband and manager played by Tim McGraw. The big question, of course, is: Does Paltrow give a convincing performance as a country music star? And for that matter, is it ever a good idea for actors to sing in their movies?

Russell Simmons made his name as one of the most influential names in hip-hop by helping to found Def Jam Records in the 2980s. But he's also a the author of a successful self-help book that Oprah Winfrey helped become a bestseller. Simmons tells us why he's trying to help people get rich.

In 2004, Gene Robinson became the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, and a firestorm of controversy broke out in parts of the worldwide Anglican Communion. A little more than six years later, in late 2010, he announced that he’d be retiring.

Every-woman, comedian, and actor, Roseanne Barr has announced her run for president. On the agenda: pointing out when the emperor is wearing no clothes and putting the “pal” back in Palestinian. Her latest book, “Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm,” details her platform and latest musings. We talk with Barr about her book, her presidential run and the truth in satire.

Over thirty years ago, Ian Dury concluded what many people already believed…that sex, drugs and rock & roll were all that a brain and body really needed for a happy life. Technology reporter Peter Nowak says Dury was not completely off-base. He analyzes the relationship between war photography and pornography, and looks at how the military has driven food technology.

A little over six years ago, hedge fund manager Sal Khan began tutoring his cousins long distance, with the help of a speakerphone and Yahoo Doodle software. By 2006, his tutorials had taken the form of YouTube videos, which Khan made free to anyone who wanted them. Today, people watch Khan’s 1,800 tutorials — which cover math and science topics from trigonometry to cosmology in roughly 15-minute chunks — an average of 70,000 times per day. 

Highlights include a discussion about Mel Gibson's new puppet movie, a disagreement over Russell Brand and thoughts on the new "Green Lantern."

2010 is coming to an end and a whole new year of news and culture awaits us. All week long, we've been talking with big thinkers about what they’re anticipating, from new music to world events. Today we take a look at the movies you'll likely be talking about in the year ahead.

All week long we're talking with some of our favorite guests from 2010 about the year that was…the good, the bad, and the ridiculous. Today, our subject is the year’s big breakups, and our guest is author, humorist, and newshound Andy Borowitz. But rather than just talk about or look at the breakups, we’re also inviting listeners to participate and answer a quiz that we’re calling the Takeaway’s 2010 Breakup Quiz.

The American film industry never seems to grow tired of portraying young lovers as they meet, fall in love, and get married before settling into an imaginary "happily ever after." But what they almost never present us with is the reality of marriage over time, of the toll that child-rearing, boredom and familiarity can take on a couple in the years after they first see each other across a crowded room. The just-released film, “Blue Valentine,” attempts to tackle these issues.

All week long we're talking with some of our favorite guests from the past year about the year that was. Today we're having a conversation about the teachable moments of 2010. What lessons can we take away from the major world events of the past year?