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NPR's Michele Norris talks with Lynne Duke, author of Mandela, Mobutu and Me: A Bittersweet Journal of Africa. Duke talks about her memoir of her experiences as the Johannesburg bureau chief for The Washington Post. From 1995 to 1999, she covered wars, epidemics, and political upheaval all over Africa. The book is published by Doubleday.

Kathy Witkowsky visits Yellowstone National Park to allow listeners to experience the park in winter. Park officials are embroiled in a fight over whether snowmobiles should be part of winter recreation in Yellowstone.

Country singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver has lived through some hard times, but nothing compares to the past three years. In that time, his mother, wife and son all died. Then Shaver suffered a massive heart attack. NPR's Bob Edwards interviews Shaver about his new CD and the therapeutic benefit of writing songs.

In a mid-term report card, Secretary of State Colin Powell earns the highest grades among members of the Bush Cabinet, according to a National Journal study. Powell receives the only 'A' in the magazine's report card, which grades the department heads on such criteria as their influence within the administration. NPR's Bob Edwards interviews Jim Barnes, the weekly's chief political correspondent, about the report.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell insists the U.N. Security Council remain open to the possibility of using military force in Iraq. Powell's comments come amid growing international opposition to a war with Iraq. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Some of our earliest childhood memories often involve books. The drawings and characters we encountered as children can trigger deep feelings when we see them again as adults. But many of us carry around scattered memories of a few lost books — those whose titles we forgot long ago, but that we are desperate to find today. NPR's Andy Bowers talks with Book Stumpers founder Harriet Logan about one way to solve these minor mysteries.

Since the ceremony first began in 1929, the Oscars have always been held at venues in Los Angeles. But Charles Monroe-Kane of Wisconsin Public Radio reports on a whimsical effort to bring the awards show to Green Bay, Wisc. Think your town's got what it takes to attract the glitterati? Share your opinion -- send an e-mail to NPR, telling us why your city should be the next Hollywood.

A hearing to determine if two American pilots will be court-martialed for dropping a bomb that killed four Canadian troops in Afghanistan has ended. Majs. Harry Schmidt and William Umbach now await a decision. NPR's Lynn Neary talks to Derek Stoffel of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation who's been covering the hearing.

The debate on capital punishment moves into many state capitals after the massive death-row commutations in Illinois earlier this month. Maryland, meanwhile, lifts its moratorium on executions, and elsewhere, lawmakers introduce a variety of death penalty bills. Hear NPR's Cheryl Corley.

When Luciano Pavarotti calls in sick for what was to be his final performance, tenor Salvatore Licitra steps in and wows the audience at the Met in New York. He has since released a CD called The Debut, which has been winning critical acclaim. And he's in New York again tonight for a performance at Carnegie Hall. Salvatore Licitra talks with NPR's Robert Siegel.