It is the day before the first presidential contest and the candidates are campaigning at a frantic pace. We check in with Jill Lawrence, national political correspondent for USA Today.

We look at the growing popularity of lending to families and friends without a bank providing the capital, servicing the loan and collecting interest. Our guest is Asheesh Advani of Virgin Money. Advani says the company manages $200 million in loans. We also speak with Elaine Appleton Grant, who writes about Virgin Money, Prosper.com and other websites that make lending to family and friends — and even strangers — possible.

Playwright and Iowa native Robert John Ford's comical take on the strange merging of politics and theater that is the Iowa caucuses, now playing in Des Moines. An adaptation, called "The Primary Primary," will be performed this month by the New Hampshire Theater Project.

The Juneau Jumpers are a rope-skipping team from southeast Alaska who dazzle spectators and judges with lightning-fast jumping and complex choreography. Five of the group's members are busy gearing up for the 2008 World Jump Rope Competition. Producer Rebecca Sheir stopped by one of their practices and sent us a report.

The former singing drummer of the The Band is out with his first solo recording in 25 years. Here & Now music critic Tim Riley joins us to talk about how Helm overcame a series of calamities to put together a new album of traditional folk songs that has garnered a Grammy nomination.