Town Hall Debate

Main Topic

The Thrilla in Nassau County ()

In last night's town hall, they circled like prizefighters, pointed their fingers and interrupted each other -- while ignoring the moderator — and trading accusations of lying. It was presidential campaigning as prime-time political drama: as intensely personal as any such confrontation in memory. The President and the Governor touched on what seemed like dozens of issues, from contraception to immigration to the deadly attack on the Libyan consulate. President Obama won the early opinion polls because of the contrast to last week's performance, but Governor Romney held his own. We hear some examples and sample a variety of opinions on the possible impact of last night's battle of the candidates.

Guests:

• Molly Ball: The Atlantic, @mollyesque
• Paul Glastris: Washington Monthly, @glastris
• Jonathan Tobin: Commentary magazine, @TobinCommentary
• Ana Marie Cox: Guardian US, @anamariecox

Links:

• Ball on how the 'Walmart moms' saw the debate
• Tobin on the debate and the 'supposedly undecided voters'

Reporter's Notebook

Earth-Sized Planet Found in Alpha Centauri System ()

The blockbuster film Avatar featured a planet imagined to be circling Alpha Centauri B, the star closest to our sun. Now astronomers have discovered there really might be a system of planets there. The new planet orbiting Alpha Centuri B is so close to the star that it would not be habitable to life as we know it. But there could be other planets. Greg Laughlin is Chair of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California Santa Cruz and a blogger at oklo.org.

Guests:

• Greg Laughlin: University of California, Santa Cruz