A group of retired generals and admirals is calling on the military to allow homosexuals to openly serve in the military. In an open letter, the group calls on congress to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they don't reveal their sexual orientation. Our guest is Thom Shanker of The New York Times.

At the end of a week that saw the re-launch of the peace process, we get a reality check on the prospects for a settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Our guests are Khalil Shikaki and Asher Susser, both from Brandeis University. Shikaki is senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies. He is also director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah. Susser holds the Myra and Robert Kraft Chair in Arab politics. He was director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University from 1989-1995 and from 1989-1995.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has changed the way it tests for gas mileage and the news is something that drivers may have already known; that our cars actually go 10 to 30 fewer miles per gallon than what it says on the sticker. We talk with Royal Ford who writes about automobiles for The Boston Globe.

We check in on some of the week's top sports stories with Bill Littlefield, host of NPR's Only a Game. And we check our e-mail in-box and voice mail for listener comments on some of our recent stories.

"No Country for Old Men", "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "There Will be Blood." Why are there so many grim films this holiday season? We'll go through some of the fare with Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr. Ty is also the author of "The Best Old Movies for Families."