2009: The Year Ahead

One year ago, at the dawn of 2008, we knew we had problems, but thought we might skate through them. Now we know better. The economy was the big bombshell, and that’s not over. Wars and power shifts fill out the picture.

So what about 2009? Is this the year of turnaround? On Wall Street? Main Street? Afghanistan and beyond? Or more woe?

This hour we’ll peer into 2009 with big thinkers Laura Tyson, on the economy, and Noah Feldman, on world affairs.

This hour, On Point: What lies ahead. We’re imagining '09.

You can join the conversation. What do you foresee in 2009 — for the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan? Is the U.S. ready for a comeback, or is it still on thin ice? Will Obama change the game? Share your thoughts.

Guests:

Joining us from Berkeley, California, is Laura Tyson, professor of global management at the University of California's Haas School of Business. She served as chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors from 1993 to 1995 and chairman of the National Economic Council from 1995 to 1996. She was dean of London Business School from 2002 to 2006, and she serves on the boards of AT&T, Eastman Kodak, and Morgan Stanley.

With us in our studio is Noah Feldman, professor of law at Harvard University and a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. In 2003, he helped draft Iraq’s interim constitution as senior constitutional advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority. He is the author of several books, including "The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State" and "What We Owe Iraq: War and the Ethics of Nation Building."