President Obama created a bi-partisan panel today to come up with ways to reduce the federal deficit. The White House had asked Congress to appoint a similar panel, but failed to get enough votes in the Senate. So what's the new panel's mandate and how much power does it have? We speak with Lori Montgomery, Financial Reporter for The Washington Post.

The Obama administration, under political pressure, is reportedly re-evaluating Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try confessed 9-11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in a criminal rather than military court. We speak with Evan Perez, who covers the Justice Department for the Wall Street Journal, and Karen Greenberg, Executive Director of the Center on Law and Security at New York University Law School, which produced a report on criminal convictions of terrorism suspects.

The offensive by NATO and Afghan forces has been underway for nearly a week. We get an update from the BBC's Ian Pannell about how British troops are faring with their operations in Helmand Province.

We hear from listeners William Tecku about our recent segment on smelt fishing in Maine and Gerry Arbes about our conversation with three mayors across the country about how they're handling budget cuts.

With Here and Now's pop culture critic Renee Graham, we take a look at this year's Oscar nominees for best supporting actor and actress. Nominees include Christoph Waltz, Stanley Tucci, Mo'Nique and Vera Farmiga. As Renee points out, a great supporting performance isn't a matter of the amount of time the actor spends on screen.

• Air, "Mike Mills"
• Christian McBride, "Theme for Kareem"
• Rolling Stones, "She's So Cold"
• Fred Hersch, "Desafinado"
• Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett, “The Weary Kind” (Theme from Crazy Heart)