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With Al Jazeera taking the lead, Arabic-language news networks are shifting strategy due to increased competition and pressure from Arab governments unhappy with their political coverage.

Rapper Pitch Black Afro's debut CD has sold a reported 50,000 copies in South Africa, a country where much of the population can rarely afford to buy a CD. Sean Cole reports from Johannesburg.

For tips on summer refreshments, Liane Hansen stopped by Espuma restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, Del., to chat with Jay Caputo, the owner, chef and bar manager.

Youth Radio's Brandon McFarland recalls corporal punishment as a child. He says he deserved it, and he knows that it meant that his parents cared enough to discipline him.

Israel has completed most of its planned withdrawal of Jewish settlements from Gaza. Four settlements await final evacuation after a break for the Sabbath. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sets elections for late January.

Microsoft's new Xbox 360, on the market Tuesday, is expensive -- $400 -- but worth it if you are a hard-core gamer. The sound and graphics are amazing, the games are fun, and it makes a decent media hub for your DVDs, digital photos and music.

Adam Hochberg reports from a trailer park in Alabama, where FEMA is resettling many people made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. The agency says it's planning to use all kinds of options -- trailer parks, old military bases, campgrounds, and even cruise ships -- as temporary housing for storm victims.

According to a new study by the British Cheese Board, different cheeses can give you different types of dreams. None of the study volunteers reported nightmares from their bedtime snack. NPR's Melissa Block talks about the results of the study with Nigel White, secretary of the British Cheese Board.

Michele Norris talks with John Allen, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and author of The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope was Elected, and Where He will Take the Catholic Church.

Actress Lauren Ambrose plays daughter Claire Fisher on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. Also a classically trained opera singer, Ambrose appeared on stage last year in the Sam Shepard play Buried Child at London's National Theatre. (This interview originally aired July 6, 2005.)

Alan Ball, creator of the hit HBO series Six Feet Under, has served as producer, writer and director for the show. He won an Academy Award for writing the screenplay for American Beauty. His other production credits include the TV shows Cybill and Oh Grow Up. (This interview originally aired June 25, 2001.)

Tom Wopat — yep, good ol' Luke Duke — has worked hard to avoid letting one role define his career. He's a Broadway success, and now comes a CD of Harold Arlen standards.

Alan Cheuse reviews Margaret Atwood's new novel, The Penelopiad. It's a retelling of Homer's Odyssey from the point of view of the warrior hero's wife Penelope.

NPR Political Editor Ken Rudin explains the political fiasco that led New York City to adopt a runoff system when no candidate receives 40 percent of the vote in a primary.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden say it's the second-largest consumer settlement in state history.

For Cecilia Munoz, a childhood memory of anger has inspired a career in activism. She believes that early outrage fuels her work on behalf Hispanic immigrants for the National Council of La Raza.

Michele Norris talks with Jim Ginavan, director of the non-profit Oz Museum in Wamego, Kan., about a pair of original ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz that were stolen last month from a children's museum in Grand Rapids, Minn. Ginavan is coordinating this year's Oztoberfest -- a Dorothy-themed celebration that, for now, will go on without her iconic ruby slippers.

Think of hits by 1960s girl groups and The Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" or The Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" come to mind. But what about "Needle in a Haystack" by the Velvelettes, or "I Never Dreamed" by The Cookies? A new boxed set compiles some of the forgotten gems of the era.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discusses Thursday's parliamentary elections in Iraq, the war and the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops. He says much hard work lies ahead for Iraqis to build their own government and security forces.

Slate human guinea pig Emily Yoffe bares it all for the sake of art... Alex Chadwick speaks with Yoffe about her experience being a nude model for an art class. Yoffe has previously visited a hypnotist, entered a matzo ball-eating contest and tried to beat a lie detector test.

For decades building American cars was a family affair. Children followed their parents into the auto plants, where generous union-negotiated wages lifted them into the middle class. Now that tradition is in jeopardy.

The four members of Winterpills deliver melodies that draw on influences as diverse (and yet harmonious) as the Beatles, the Carter Family, Elliott Smith and Neil Young. Members of the group talk with Liane Hansen about their eponymous debut CD on Signature Sounds.

Legendary pianists mix with promising newcomers at the Jazz Piano Christmas, recorded live at the Kennedy Center. The 16th edition of the annual concert features Hilton Ruiz, Marcia Ball and others playing jazzy renditions of holiday classics.

Corky Siegel has new music out — just pick your album. The blues harmonica player has released three separate recordings this year, each featuring different players and styles.

Robert Siegel discusses President Bush's speech outlining a strategy in the war in Iraq with Reuel Marc Gerecht, contributing editor for the Weekly Standard, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, former Middle Eastern specialist for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1985 to 1994 and author of The Islamic Paradox: Shiite Clerics, Sunni Fundamentalists, and the Coming of Arab Democracy, and George Packer, staff writer at the New Yorker magazine and author of The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq.