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NPR's Jackie Northam reports on the disaster's impact on America's contribution to the international space station. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

Florida Senator Bill Nelson flew on the last shuttle mission before the 1986 Challenger explosion and joins host Steve Inkseep to share his perspective as a former astronaut and Floridian.

Today President Bush was called upon for the second time to comfort a nation in mourning. He telephoned the families of the lost astronauts and then addressed the nation from the cabinet room. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

NPR's John Burnett rejoins Steve Inskeep from the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, where NASA missions are directed and its people are considered to be friends and family. The front gate of the space center there has become a place to gather and mourn, as Ground Zero did after Sept. 11.

Troubleshooters are expected to scrutinize the shuttle Columbia's auxiliary power units, which help provide power to the orbiter's steering mechanisms during descent -- a task that requires highly flammable fuel. NPR's Howard Berkes joins host Steve Inskeep to talk about the role APUs play in reentry and why their redesign had been on NASA's to-do list. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

Lt. Col. Dan Biggie, an Air Force chaplain, joins host Steve Inskeep from Cocoa Beach, Fla., where spectators had been waiting for the shuttle Columbia to land. He discusses the role of chaplains and how astronauts deal with the danger of their occupation. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

Host Steve Inskeep reviews what is known so far about the Columbia disaster.

NPR's Andy Bowers reports from Palmdale, Calif., where the space shuttle Columbia was upgraded in 2001. Palmdale is near Edwards Air Force Base, which was the original landing site during the space shuttle program's infancy. It is still the alternate landing site.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden profiles the seven astronauts who perished aboard the space shuttle Columbia. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

South Korea offers to mediate the standoff between the United States and North Korea over North Korea's plan to restart a nuclear weapons program. South Korea has dispatched envoys to Russia and China in an effort to resolve the dispute through diplomacy. NPR's Eric Weiner reports.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) will propose that the military draft be reinstated so that every American must consider the human cost of ousting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Rangel, a military veteran, opposes a strike against Iraq. There appears to be little support in Congress for his draft plan. Rangel speaks with NPR's Juan Williams.

Satirists Bruce Kluger and David Slavin wonder if there's anything that new Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist cannot do.

Hoppin' John has been the centerpiece of the Southern holiday table for generations. NPR's Vertamae Grosvenor's says it's unthinkable to not have the black-eyed peas and rice dish for New Year's, and offers this recipe from her cookbook, Vertamae Cooks.

NPR's Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg speaks with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu about whether there is such a thing as a "just war." He says modern weapons of mass destruction make just war impossible, and that war should be outlawed. Tutu is the recipient of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize. He adds the gross inequality in the world of health care, food, and education are the biggest sources of global instability.

Robert Siegel talks with Washington Post columnist and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow E.J. Dionne, and Weekly Standard senior editor David Brooks.

Stalker 3 is the title given to video of Russian troops being ambushed in Chechnya. It's being shown as art in a Manhattan gallery. The title is a play on the title of the Russian film classic, Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky. David D'Arcy reports.

Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) announces his bid for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004. Some ask whether he has the gravitas for the job. He's a self-made millionaire, a criminal defense lawyer and the first southerner to enter the race on the Democrats' side. NPR's Adam Hochberg reports.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu brings us this glimpse of the kind of day that feeds a commentator's mind.

With North Carolina Sen. John Edwards announcing his plans to run for president in 2004, speculation about the Democratic primary steps up a notch. NPR Senior News Analyst Dan Schorr says the only real question at hand is who can raise the most money by the end of the year.

No one disputes that the Bush administration hates information leaks, and few doubt the current White House has stopped leaks better than its predecessors. But there's real disagreement about what that means, especially when it comes to keeping Congress in the dark as well as the media. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

A native of Indiana, John Poindexter went to the Naval Academy, became an admiral and went to work in the White House with the National Security Agency. He then became a central figure in the mid-1980s affair called Iran-Contra. That got him indicted and convicted of misleading Congress, but it did not end his government career. Today, John Poindexter is back, and NPR's Linda Wertheimer has this profile.

America West paves new ground in cost-cutting. The airline will serve food on flights -- from snacks to hot dinners -- but customers will have to pay for it. NPR's Janet Babin reports.

Robert Siegel and Lynn Neary read from some of this week's letters from listeners. Among this week's topics: our series on prayer, a report on water-efficient appliances and a religious sect's claim of human cloning.

Afghanistan is promoting a new national currency by collecting old money -- most of it printed by warlords -- for a new type of bill. The old money was so devalued it required bags of cash to make major purchases. NPR's Renee Montagne and Torek Faradi, an adviser to the Afghan Central Bank.

In the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan, a cult of personality surrounds President Niyazov, who prefers the term "Father of All Turkmen." His nation is isolated and shrouded in mystery. Reporter Ilan Greenberg managed to travel there for a piece in Sunday's New York Times Magazine. He speaks with NPR's Renee Montagne.