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NPR's Amy Dickinson goes to a scoring session for the TV cartoon "The Simpsons" and offers a behind the scenes look at how music is produced for the show. (7:30) ((ST

The post-Christmas holiday rush is on at computer helplines across the country. NPR's Adam Hochberg visits one of the largest ones - IBM. Computer helpers there answer a broad range of questions from:"how do I turn it on?" to "how do I remove the dog's tongue from my CD-ROM drive?"

Robert talks with NPR's Michael Skoler about the condition of refugees in a camp he visited today south of Kisangani. Thousands of Rwandan refugees have been returning to camps after they were driven out last week by local Zaireans and rebel troops.

With the election just eight days away, Bob Dole and Bill Clinton are making campaign trips. The Republican nominee is doing a bus trip in electoral vote-rich California. President Clinton is in the Midwest. Today he is is taking credit for a bit of sunny economic news. He told a St. Louis crowd this morning that the country has the smallest budget deficit since 1981. He says that just proves that the economy is on the right track. Republicans credit the healthy economy to their fighting for spending controls. We have reports from both political camps; NPR's Elizabeth Arnold is with the Dole campaign, and Mara Liasson is with the Clinton campaign.

Last week, the Social Security Advisory Council offered three separate options for reforming the social security system. The 13-member panel could not agree on a single approach for shoring up the nation's main retirement program, so it split into three factions, each with its own proposal. In the first report of a three-part series, NPR's John Ydstie reports on the go-slow approach advocated by council-member, Robert Ball.

Daniel talks with Judge James Baker of Texas and Former Judge Norman Krivosha of Nebraska. In Texas, judges are mandated by the state constitution to run for re-election and Judge Baker is a supporter of that. Judge Kivoshna is opposed to having judges run for office. He says that means judges may alter their decisions based on the whilm of the people, not the rule of law.

The seat for Governor, two seats in the House and even the one in the White House are all still being hotly contested.

three run-off House races in Texas.

, Chairman of the Republican Conference in the House, about his party plans if it retains a majority after next Tuesday's election.

Noah talks with Adam Schoenfeld (SHOW-un-feld), Vice President and Senior Analyst of Jupiter Communications, about a new form of internet advertising that may bring free access to internet users. Free access is already available in San Francisco where a web browser appears in conjunction with a small advertising window that flashes a new advertising message every minute.

Robert talks with composer and humorist Peter Schickele (SHICK-uh-lee) about his own compositions and those of the now-legendary P.D.Q. Bach. The musical "discovery" of Bach's 21st child took place while Schickele was living in Fargo, North Dakota in the late 1950's. Since then he has dredged up more than 100 recordings, including the cantata "Knock Knock" and the Concerto for 2 Pianos Vs. Orchestra. (5:15) (STATIONS: the music of P.D.Q Bach is available on both Telarc and Vanguard records.) ((ST

Reform Party Presidential candidate Ross Perot addressed a crowd in Boston's Faneuil Hall today. We hear an excerpt of his speech.

NPR's John Ydstie reports the economy slowed in the third quarter. Figures released this morning show the nation's gross domestic product expanded 2.2%, far less than the 4.7% achieved in the second quarter.

NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports from Vienna on a two-day auction of artwork owned by Jewish families sent to the Nazi death camps. The proceeds benefit needy Holocaust survivors or the families of victims. The artwork had been held by the Austrian government and not returned to the families after the war. The auction is seen as an attempt by the Austrians to make amends for that controversial decision.

Commentator Frederica Matthewes-Green says that both sides of the debate about abortion are afraid to talk about the issue this season -- it's the giant issue both the Democrats and the Republicans wish would just go away.

Commentator Bailey White tells the story of her old neighbor Luther, and his newfound love for dancing. This was not the first activity that Luther had passionately seized upon, but this passion was different somehow. White wondered what would become of Luther, now that this dancing spirit had entered his soul.

Several recent safety problems at a Connecticut nuclear power plant have prompted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to require nuclear plants across the country to update the safety information they have on file with the NRC. As NPR's Dan Charles reports, it's not clear whether plants are unsafe now, or whether updated safety instructions will make them safe if they're not.

NPR's Andy Bowers reports from Moscow on the jockeying for position to succeed Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin has only been in the Kremlin three weeks since last June and now that he's back in the hospital recovering from pneumonia, there's increased interest in the unofficial race to succeed him. Political observers say one of the leading contedners is a man who has never proclaimed himself a candidate, the mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov ((YUHR-ee LOOZH-koff)).

Writer Kathleen Norris reads an excerpt from her book "Dakota: A Spiritual Geography," about the landscape of winter and the unique challenge of getting around when the countryside's covered in snow.

that negative stereotypes of aging might contribute to memory loss in the elderly. The study used subliminal messages to alter subject's scores on memory tests. Those who received positive images, like wisdom and creativity, improved on their baseline scores...while negative messages resulted in lower scores.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports that the House Ethics Committee today began hearings about the proposed punishment for House Speaker Newt Gingrich. A special counsel has recommended that Gingrich pay a 300 thousand dollar penalty as part of his punishment.

who has discovered evidence that Amazonian women did exist, contrary to belief that ancient female warrior societies are mythological. Davis-Kimball's excavations have led her into central Asia, where she has found so-called Amazonian remains that date back to 600 B.C.

Robert speaks with Natan Sharansky (nah-TAHN shah-RAN-skee), Israeli Minister of Industry and Trade and the leader of the Yisrael Ba'Aliya (yis-rai-ELL bah-ah-lee-YAH) Party, about yesterday's 11-7 Israeli Cabinet vote to endorse the Hebron agreement. Although the party's votes were split, Sharansky says that Yisrael Ba'Aliya is the party of the center and has a special role in helping to build a consenus among Israelis. The former Russian dissident also says that both Palestinians and Jewish settlers in Hebron must accept the tough truth that they will have to make compromises.

NPR's Ann Cooper reports that the United States and other nations are increasingly concerned that fighting in eastern Zaire will lead to a regional war involving Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi. At the same time, the United Nations is trying to figure out how to care for the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have been forced to flee their Zairean camps because of the violence. So far, however, no one has any idea how to end the conflict or help the refugees.

Robert talks to David Courtwright, the author of the book Violent Land: Single Men and Social Disorder from the Frontier to the Inner City. Courtwright argues that young single men are the group most likely to commit violent acts and communities with a high ration of young single men have a violence rate that is much higher than the norm. In some frontier communities where mining and ranching were the main economic engines, there was a very high gender ratio... sometimes forty men for every woman...and as a result, also a very high violence rate.