Gene Cranick of Obion County, Tenn., watched his house go up in flames — so did the firefighters who showed up. Cranick had failed to pay a $75 annual fee that residents outside the city must pay in order to receive services from the fire department. Cranick's house burned down and several pets died.  Firefighters did save the house next door because those people had paid the fee. Is this right? Jonathan Cohn is senior editor for The New Republic and is author of the Citizen Cohn blog.

With less than a month before the midterm elections, candidates across the country are pulling out all the stops in tight races. In Florida, Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson called Republicans "Neanderthals," and his recent ad labels his Republican opponent, Daniel Webster, as "Taliban Dan," because of his conservative Christian views on marriage and abortion. We also check in on the Wisconsin Senate race where incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold is in the fight of his political life against Republican challenger Ron Johnson. Feingold is also being flagged by the NFL for using unauthorized clips of Randy Moss in the end zone as part of a campaign ad. Our guests are Adam Smith of the St. Petersberg Times and J.R. Ross of Wispolitics.com.

Major League Baseball's second season gets underway today — the playoffs, the one that counts! Eight clubs are vying for a ticket to the world series two weeks from now. In the American League, it's the New York Yankees, the Minnesota Twins, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Texas Rangers. In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves hope to make it to the Fall Classic. Ted Keith, baseball editor for Sports Illustrated, joins us to talk about their chances.

A handful of Americans are stuck in limbo in Nepal, trying to bring home the children they've adopted. But the U.S. government changed its policy this past summer, banning adoptions from Nepal because of concerns about child trafficking. One Chicago woman, Candice Warltier, has been stuck in Kathmandu for two months with Antara, the daughter that Nepal has given her permission to adopt.

We revisit our conversation with National Book Award winning author Ha Jin. In his latest collection of stories, "A Good Fall," he explores the lives of immigrants from China in Flushing New York, who struggle to make their way in a new country while still dealing with their ties to their homeland. "A Good Fall" comes out in paperback later this month.

• Peter Dixon, "Nagog Woods"
• The Wee Trio, "About a Girl"
• Paul Simon, "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover"
• Ashley MacIsaac, "Sleepy Maggie"
• Herbie Hancock, "Watermelon Man"
• Itzhak Perlman, Kodo & Tan Dun “Yearning For Peace”