From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Behavioral science and political change.

Hello again, I'm Mormon-Aulny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Barack Obama wants all Americans to change their behavior, to make better choices about money,

health care, and the use of energy. In his campaign and now in his White House, he's relied on

29 behavioral scientists to formulate ways of nudging us all to accomplish his goals.

Today, we'll talk with one of those advisors and others about how

the process works. Does it preserve or limit the opportunity to choose? Is it psychological

trickery that smacks a big brother? Or is it a subtle new form of leadership in a complex

and confusing world? On reporter's notebook later on, Kent's small investors get in on the bank bailout? First,

here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John

D. and Catherine T. McArthur

Foundation. Hello again. Mormon-Aulney, back with To the Poet. Scientists of Human Behavior helped Barack Obama get to the White House. Now they're helping him nudge Americans to help make better choices. We'll hear the pros and cons of a new form of leadership.

On reporter's notebook, will there be a less outrage over tax-funded bank bailouts if small-time

investors can make a profit?

What if the deal goes sour?

First, this news update, there was a ray of light on Wall Street today, with the Dow Jones

Industrial Average rising above 8,000 on some good news about banks.

Adrian Carter is financial editor at Businessweek Magazine.

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