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Writer and producer Chappy Hardy is on a mission to eat his way across the southern United States, measuring the places he dines by delectability and cost-per-bite. He speaks with Scott Simon from Lil' Dizzy's, a restaurant outside the French Quarter in New Orleans.

Renee Montagne talks with Afghanistan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. He is in Washington with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who met with President Bush earlier this week. Abdullah discusses prisoner abuse in Afghanistan, recent anti-American protests and ongoing tensions in U.S.-Afghan relations.

Two weeks after the death of Pope John Paul II, the process of electing a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church formally begins. The public was invited to Monday morning's Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. But the actual conclave, meeting in the Sistine Chapel, is shrouded in secrecy.

The Catholic Church has a new pope. Former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected Tuesday to be the new leader of the world's 1 billion Catholics. Neal Conan talks with guests and takes listener calls about Pope Benedict XVI and what challenges lie ahead for him.

Author Barry Yourgrau offers children cruel, twisted and shockingly mischievous cautionary tales in NastyBook. The tales present an up-to-date twist on the monstrous tradition of fabulists from Aesop to Hans Christian Andersen.

The Alabama Preservation Alliance and the Alabama Historical Commission have just named historic gas stations across the state "places of peril." Architectural historian Melanie Betz tells Scott Simon what makes these gas stations worth preserving.

Commentator Frank Deford says part of the allure of professional sports drafts is trying to predict who will be picked by whom and when.

President Bush appears in Ohio on Day 44 of his 60-day Social Security policy campaign. Other administration officials are also touring to address the issue: Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt held a session Wednesday in Chicago.

Monday, 115 cardinals of the Catholic Church will withdraw into a conclave in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope. The session, the first in 27 years, will be a blend of Old-World pageantry and state-of-the-art technology.

For four years, the National Park Service has been gathering natural sound in dozens of parks across the country. The idea is to protect visitors -- and wildlife -- from unwelcome noise.