Search results for

Linda talks with Hod Lipson, a research scientist at Brandeis University about a robot he and computer scientist Jordan Pollack designed, which constructs other robots. He says this is a new step towards the autonomy of artificial life.

Minority enrollment is up at Florida's state universities and Governor Jeb Bush is attributing the increase to his "One Florida" program. The governor's plan abolished affirmative action in state college and university admissions. It substituted a program where the top 20% of students in each high school class is guaranteed admission to a state institution. But critics say the governor is off base, because other outreach and recruiting efforts are really behind the increase. Susan Gage of Florida Public Radio reports.

Linda and Robert read letters from All Things Considered listeners. (3:15) To contact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20001. The e-mail address is atc@npr.org.

The government of Tartarstan -- part of the Russian Federation -- has decided to switch from using the Cyrillic alphabet to the Roman alphabet. The switch is timed to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of self-rule in Tartarstan. Robert talks with Martha Brill Olcott, a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Brill co-authored Getting It Wrong: Regional Cooperation in the Commonwealth of the Independent States. (4:30) Brill's book is published by Carnegie Press, 0ctober 1999.

President Clinton today vetoed a bill to repeal the federal estate tax. The veto sets up a confrontation with Congress as early as next week. It also continues the election-year debate over what to do with the federal budget surplus. Pam Fessler reports.

Phillip Davis reports on the political battle surrounding rising hurricane insurance rates in Florida. Florida insurers have used a scientific model they commissioned to argue that global warming means that Hurricane strength will continue to increase in the coming years, thus the need for rate increases. State meteorologists are not convinced. But efforts to get money appropriated for an independent state study have been killed by the insurance lobby.

The cottontail rabbit used to be a common sight among the oak forests and mountain trails of New England. No more. NPR News correspondent John Nielsen reports on a request by conservationists to put what once was thought to be the most procreatively successful American animal on the endangered species list.

A cheery story by Franz Kafka about an executioner called In the Penal Colony has been turned into a pretty opera by Phillip Glass. It's being directed by Glass' former wife, celebrated theater director Joanne Akalaitis. The work is premiers in Seattle tonight at ACT Theater. It travels to Chicago in November. Marcie Sillman, of member station KUOW, reports.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports that the trial of former Indonesian President Suharto opened today in Jakarta, but Suharto failed to appear. A team of 24 doctors attending the former president told the judge they had examined Suharto earlier in the day and that he was too ill to go to court. The trial now has been postponed for two weeks to allow the court to rule on a prosecution request for an independent medical examination of Suharto. He is charged with illegally siphoning off some 500-million dollars from charities during his three decades in power.

Bernd Klosterfelde talks about his new CD, Nie Mehr Allein (Alone No More), released in Germany last February. The CD is a compilation of household sounds intended to evoke the presence of a non-existent partner. Klosterfelde came up with the idea after his divorce. He says the disc can be used to make one feel less lonely, or to remind one of how annoying a partner can be. Klosterfelde says an English version will be released soon. (4:45) The label is Delta Music.