This week on CounterSpin: You probably heard about Republican presidential candidate John McCain's little "joke," singing "Bomb, bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann. But our guest suggests that that incident wasn't so much a gaffe, as a pretty clear illustration of McCain's foreign policy vision. Robert Dreyfuss is an independent journalist, one of few who have actually examined McCain's record and his plans on issues of international engagement. We'll hear what he has to say.

Also on the show: The number is startling: 1 in 100 adult Americans is now in jail or prison, according to a new study. But maybe more surprising to some, the researchers say increasing incarceration, at tremendous social and economic cost, is not increasing public safety. Are media ready to shift the conversation around prisons? We'll hear from Michael Jacobson, director of the Vera Institute of Justice on that story.

Links:

— Hothead McCain, by Robert Dreyfuss (Nation, 3/24/08)

— Vera Institute of Justice