Economist James Galbraith gives us an historical look at the debt ceiling, which was first enacted by the U.S. government in 1917 to fund World War I. We’ll also examine the controversy over credit ratings agencies, which recently downgraded Greece, Portugal and Ireland’s debt to junk status. In Europe, criticism of the “big three” ratings agencies has mounted since the beginning of the debt crisis. We talk to Markus Krall, an economist at Roland Burger, who’s heading an effort to create a new European credit agency. And on Global Activism, we talk with Phyllis Wezeman, executive director of Malawi Matters, whose mission is to develop creative HIV and AIDS education in the Southeast African nation.