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NPR's Dan Charles reports on a congressional hearing held today on airplane safety inspections. During the hearing, an Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector testified from behind a screen, with his voice distorted, that FAA safety inspections are inadequate. The FAA defended its inspections, saying the agency was doing the best it could with limited resources.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu is quite struck by Timothy Leary's decision to have his suicide be a live event on the internet.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports that many while politicians got caught up in the debate over "whole language" reading instruction, many teachers have begun searching for a middle way that adds classic "phonics" instruction. "Whole language" stresses using good literature to get kids interested in reading, while phonics has emphasized basic reading skills--the ability to sound out words--and for years, supporters of the two systems have argued over which is more effective. Now, states like California, which was heavily invested whole language, are returning to phonics, but many educators are saying the best way is to combine the two approaches.

NPR's Joe Palca reports on the murky ethical questions that can arise during medical research. Palca tells the story of a woman with multiple sclerosis who volunteered to test an experimental drug. She says she was promised a free supply of the medication in exchange for her participation. Medical ethicists say patients should never be made promises like that, and should not enter studies with the expectation that they will benefit personally.

Barbara Bradley reports on the case of Fauziya Kasinga, the Togolese women who is seeking asylum in the United States to avoid being circumcised as part of a marriage ritual. The case, which goes before the US Board of Immigration Appeals on Thursday, is expected to open the doors for women fearing female genital mutilation.

Pierce thinks its a good idea.

NPR's Dan Charles reports that the role of typewriters in th eUNABOMBER probe has highlighted how law enforcement officials study typewriters in their investigations. Forensics experts can identify the unique signature of an individual typewriter. But the advent of computers and printers has undermined this ability.

News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that President Clinton of late has spoken of a streamlined--yet effective--government, and has been developing this theme since his State of the Union speech in January.

Noah talks to Daniel Yergin, President of the Cambridge Energy Research associates, about why people in America are so quick to suspect a conspiracy when oil prices are skyrocketing the way they have been lately. Yergin says proposals to roll back the 4.3 cent gas tax, cries of foul play, and President Clinton's plan to sell oil reserves don't focus on the source of the increase. Yergin is a Pulitzer-Prize winning author for his book, "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power."

Last Saturday, Washington Mayor Marion Barry, left town last Saturday, on a personal hiatus, he said, to recover from a spiritual and physical breakdown. He says he took "inventory" of himself and found that he needed spiritual healing because he began to see "tell-tale signs of spiritual relapse and physical exhaustion." Where do these code words come from , though? Robert Siegel talks with Washington Post editor Richard Leiby (LIBE-ee) about the incorporation of "reformation and transformation language into DC politics.