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of Carl Sagan. He spoke with NPR's Ira Flatow earlier this year.

NPR's Brooke Gladstone reports on the long-awaited television rating system, which was unveiled today. A TV industry group chose an age-based plan that child advocates say doesn't give parents enough specific information about a program's sexual or violent content. The proposed six-tiered system is designed to work with the so-called "V-chip" to allow parents to block unwanted shows. The ratings plan is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. President Clinton thanked the industry group that came up with the voluntary plan and said it will be up to parents and child advocates to use, evaluate and comment on the system's effectiveness, once it's implemented.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu explores the twisted qualities of health care in the age of HMO's. He talks about the absurdity of insurance companies that put financial profits before human life.

Commentator Stuart Cheifet explains that an "avatar" is the incarnation or embodiment of a spirit or concept. Now in cyberspace, you can create a "virtual you" — a graphic image representing who you are. These avatars can wander through a 3D cyber environment, meeting other avatars along the way.

A massive irrigation and hydropower project in Turkey is alarming Syria and Iraq. They fear that around half their current supply of fresh water could be cut off by their neighbor. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Turkey that its plan to build 22 dams has the region realizing that water is as strategic a resource as oil has been to the area's politics and economies.

Julian Crandall Hollick reports on the Shidhis, Pakistanis whose skin color and features are distinctly East African. Many are descended from slaves that were brought across the Arabian Sea to Pakistan. They say they are discriminated against because of their color; they say they are treated as second-class citizens in Pakistan. And many, still, are essentially slaves, sold as parts of dowries from family to family.

has stirred up a row within the governing Conservative Party on European monetary union by suggesting that unless Britain joins the single European currency, it won't invest any money in new plants.

They discuss one of this season's top players, Center Tim Duncan of Wake Forest, who has resisted offers to go professional before finishing college. Wake Forest is ranked number two in the nation, largely because of Duncan. Tomorrow, he and his teammates take on the University of Maryland, which is ranked number five.

committee responsible for investigating such allegations of improper fundraising. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee split directly along party lines this week on its first vote: how much money to spend on the investigation. Republicans supported the six-point-five million dollar supplemental budget request. Democrats opposed it as too expensive.

Steve Young of Vermont Public Radio reports on a lawsuit filed on behalf of a young Vermont student from a relatively poor school district. The suit, like others in other states, challenges the way Vermont distributes tax funds for schools and argues that it creates huge disparities in education state-wide.