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If Cole Porter and George Gershwin provided a soundtrack for the city, then Hoagy Carmichael was the voice of America's heartland. A new Carmichael biography and song collection — both called Stardust Melody — lead a resurgence of interest in the prolific songwriter's work. Sing along Wednesday on All Things Considered

Turns out Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk has a secret passion for bonsai and magnolias in addition to carburetors and exhaust systems. On Morning Edition Ketzel Levine of Talking Plants takes us on a tour of Ray's Massachusetts garden. Hear excerpts of their rainy-day conversation and view a collection of photos online.

In the close-knit village of Oakwood, Ohio (population 742), residents are reeling from a financial scandal involving one of their own -- a banker who is accused of embezzling tens of millions of dollars. All Things Considered host Robert Siegel visited Oakwood, and reports on the community's crisis of trust.

Thomas Keneally talks about his new book examining the life of the rakish congressman who beat a murder rap after killing his wife's lover -- then went on to gain fame (and lose a leg) as a Civil War General. And let's not forget the affair with Queen Isabella of Spain. (American Scoundrel: The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles {Doubleday; ISBN: 0385501390}).

Old computer monitors and TV picture tubes dumped in landfills can leach hazardous amounts of lead into groundwater, according to a scientific study. The research is playing a key role in the fight to keep electronics out of landfills and has intensified a controversy over who should pay to recycle them. NPR's Emily Harris reports for Morning Edition.

Senate debate begins this week on ways to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. Fifteen years ago, Congress passed such a measure, only to repeal it a year later under a storm of criticism. NPR's Julie Rovner reports for Morning Edition.

Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes host John Nielsen and an in-studio guest whose voice is very familiar to our listeners. Will repeats the two-week creative film challenge he gave last week.

At age 16, Carla the parrot has cut her first record, "I'm a Green Chicken," co-written by the bird, is a duet with music producer Skip Haynes, who talks with Scott Simon about the interspecies collaboration.

Researchers and activists are in Barcelona this week to talk about the global AIDS epidemic. But another epidemic of similar size is sweeping the globe: tuberculosis. A major push is on to expand TB treatment, and as NPR's Richard Harris reports from Kenya, the treatment is working, even under some of the most challenging conditions.

Fifty years ago, Folkways Records released a six-album set of recordings that had a profound influence on the folk music revival and later on rock music. Morning Edition has the story of Harry Smith's The Anthology of American Folk Music. NPR Online offers a selection of songs from the collection.