From WNYC in New York, this is NPR's on the media.

I'm Brooke Gladstone.

And I'm Bob Garfield.

After two and a half years of furious debate following the publication of a New York Times story about the government's secret warrantless wiretapping program, on Thursday, the president signed the new Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Today I'm pleased to sign landmark legislation that is vital to the security of our people. The bill will allow

our intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the communications of terrorists abroad

while respecting the liberties of Americans here at home. The new law still requires the government

to obtain warrants to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens, but permits it to listen in on the phone calls of foreign nationals

outside the country without warrants, even if they are speaking to people in the U.S.

It grants retroactive immunity to the telecom companies that assisted in the earlier eavesdropping

and effectively closes down dozens of lawsuits challenging the program's legality.

It also expands the government's power to invoke emergency wiretapping procedures.

Despite the vehement protests of liberal Democrats and civil liberties advocates,

it easily passed both in the House, 293 to 129, and the Senate, 69 to 28.

Tim Starks has been following the bill for Congressional Quarterly, Tim.

Welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me.

Now, let me see if I understand this correctly.

If I am suspected of, let's say, participation in an organized crime, the federal government

or the local police can get a wiretap on me, but they have to go to a

court. Under the 1978 version of FISA, the federal government had the option of going to a

secret court in order to get a court order for a wiretap. But as the New York Times revealed,

...