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NPR's Guy Raz reports on the history of the Vice Presidency. It wasn't until the 20th Century that the position took on real importance. Even today, the position requires someone who can both balance the ticket and fit into the administration.

Host Bob Edwards talks to NPR's Cokie Roberts and Kevin Phillips about political events of the week. The Republican National Convention begins next week in Philadelphia and George W. Bush has not announced a running mate.

NPR's Andy Bowers looks at how some Internet companies will be covering this year's political conventions. In 1996 some dot coms covered the conventions but had to watch as their broadcast and print counterparts were given preferential treatment. This year, not only have many internet companies been given equal access, but both the Republicans and Democrats are broadcasting their own coverage over their web sites.

Commentator Marit Haahr is a little unnerved by the growth of dot-com companies that provide service to your doorstep, like Kozmo.com. She says it's spontaneous human contact, as in video stores, that keeps us all from becoming shut-ins.

Marianne McCune of member station WNYC reports that a new committee appointed to decide the future of Ellis Island is pushing to transform several crumbling buildings on the south side of the island into a center for tourists, scholars and world leaders.

Massachussetts has long been one of the most generous states for students with special needs. A 26-year old law has required school districts to give students the "maximum feasible benefits" to keep them on track in public schools. But lawmakers have recently limited those services, and that has parents of special needs kids worried. From Member Station WBUR, Toni Randolph reports.

Only four governors in U.S. history have faced a recall election — and California's Gov. Gavin Newsom is one of two who managed to survive the vote.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from Havana, on the growing minority of people in Cuba, who are self employed. Even though Fidel Castro's Communist government sets strict standards for entrepreneurs, more and more Cubans are trying their hand as capitalists. But they're finding it more difficult to make a profit than they thought, and with the high taxes they're forced to pay, many are barely getting by.

Host Bob Edwards shares letters from listener.

NPR's Jack Speer reports on the aging Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Washington, D.C. It's just one of the thousands of bridges considered obsolete in the U.S. The Federal Highway Administration is citing structural problems and the strain of increased use as its reasons for replacing the Wilson Bridge and others like it on schedule.

Host Lynn Neary talks with musicians in the ensemble AXIOM OF CHOICE about their new CD, Niya Yesh. Blending traditional Persian melodies and instruments with those from a variety of other cultures, ensemble members Loga Rameen Torkian and Mamak Khadem, create a highly stylized multicultural crossover music. (8:55)Niya Yesh by Axiom of Choice is available from Emd/Narada; ASIN: B00004T9SS or NARADA WORLD RECORDS www.narada.com

NPR's Brian Naylor reports that the House of Representatives passed another tax cut yesterday. The measure decreases the amount of social security income that is subject to taxation. Critics of the Republican-led move say this and other recent tax cuts could lead to budget deficits in the future.

Host Lynn Neary talks with Wall Street Journal technology writer Walter Mossberg about the future of communication via the so-called wireless web.

Pam Fessler reports on the results of a new poll on American attitudes about politicians. The poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government found that while most people don't trust the government, they want it to do more.

Commentator Lester Reingold says he thinks the recent crash of a Concorde in France signals the end of an era in aviation.

Ametha Sharma from member station KPBS reports the San Diego District Attorney's office is reviewing a number of cases to see if DNA evidence could definitely prove guilt or innocence. The reviews are being conducted on more than 500 convictions made before 1992, when DNA evidence was not widely in use.

Host Jacki Lyden talks to NPR's Peter Kenyon in Philadelphia, where Republicans are finalizing the 2000 GOP Platform. Except for the controversy over abortion, this year's platform has been softened and toned down from the party's statements in 1996. It reflects the tight hold the George W. Bush campaign has had over this year's convention.

American scientists sometimes complain that they are underfunded and underappreciated. But compared to researchers other countries, they have it pretty good. In Russia, for instance, one physics experiment has been attacked by thieves trying to steal precious metals. In this week's science wrap-up NPR's David Kestenbaum took a look at happenings overseas.

Mid-summer is the busiest time of year for America's traveling circuses. These family-owned businesses play rural towns and county fairs across the country. Stiff competition from movies and television has forced circuses to be leaner and more efficient - but the allure of clowns and elephants and trapeze artists still draws a good crowd. Reporter Brian Mann spent the morning recently with a circus as they prepared for a show.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Philadelphia, where the Republicans are holding their Platform Committee hearings in preparation for next week's presidential nominating convention. Republicans, following the lead of their presumed nominee, George W. Bush, are taking some of the tougher-edged rhetoric out of this year's document. But it remains a strongly conservative platform, as abortion-rights advocates were once again thwarted in their efforts to modify the plank.

NPR's Brooke Gladstone looks at the history of convention coverage - and the reasons for the declining interest in it - over the course of this century. It seems H.L. Mencken was just as disgruntled with conventions in the 1920's as was Ted Koppel four years ago.

Millions of music fans cheered Friday's appeals court ruling that lets the internet music company Napster stay in business at least temporarily. Napster was slated to shut down most of its Web service at midnight Friday. Jacki talks to NPR's Rick Karr about why Napster has been such a hot-button case for music fans and internet users, and why the move to shut it down may hurt the recording industry more than help it.

Linda has a series of interviews about tonight's scheduled shutdown of Napster -- the Web-based service that allows users to trade music recordings free of charge. A US District court judge ordered Napster to stop facilitating these trades tonight at midnight, saying the company was aiding copyright infringement. Linda talks to Ric Dube an analyst with Webnoize, which researches and reports on the new media entertainment industry. Then she chats with two university students. First, Jeff Meredith, who will be a senior at Indiana University in the fall, and has 1000 MP3 files on his computer, about 400 of which come from Napster. And finally, Sam Ross, a student at the University of Virginia who has thousands of mp3 files, downloaded courtesy of Napster.

On Friday the Justice Department asked the U.S. Supreme Court for its official thoughts about pot. Two weeks ago a federal judge in San Francisco ruled there can be legitimate medical reasons to make the drug available legally. Now the Justice Department's action could set the stage for new rules about marijuana. Kai Ryssdal reports from San Francisco.

The World Toe Wrestling Championships, the Cone Museum, and the Blood Pudding Tossing Contest: these along with other British eccentricities are celebrated in the light-hearted book Eccentric Britain. Host Jacki Lyden speaks to author Benedict le Vay about the people that in some countries would be looked at as crackpots, but in Britain are respected and even revered. (Eccentric Britain: The Guide to Britain's Follies and Foibles;The Globe Pequot Press; 2000)