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President Bush is sounding alarm bells about the fate of the Social Security system, claiming the senior safety net will collapse soon and younger workers should instead divert some of their payroll taxes to private investment accounts. NPR's Madeleine Brand talks with Ed Andrews, economics correspondent for The New York Times, about whether there is a Social Security crisis.

Afro-American, African-American, black American or Negro -- writer Janus Adams ponders an appropriate name identity for members of the black community.

NPR's Emily Harris reports on a new restaurant in Berlin, Germany, that caters to anorexics called Sehnsucht -- German for "longing." The owner touts the eatery as a great way to meet others who share similar eating disorders -- and word has it the food's not bad, either.

Iraqi expatriates living in the United States are excited to finally cast ballots in their native land's election. But turnout is slow on the first day of voting.

Daniel Serwer, vice president and director of Peace and Stability Operations for the U.S. Institute of Peace, explains the complex process of electing a 275-member national assembly for Iraq. The assembly's first job will be to write a constitution by Aug. 15, 2005.

The soldier who asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the shortage of armored Humvees is a national guardsman from Nashville. Tennessee residents talk about Army Spc. Thomas Wilson, and what people there think about his audacity. Hear NPR's John Ydstie.

Despite a fierce firefight early Sunday, no major violence occurred in the Sunni Triangle. In northern Iraq, Kurdish voters cast two ballots: one for the National Assembly and one for the creation of an independent region Kurdistan. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

Historian and theologian Arthur Green has long studied Jewish religion and culture. Author of many books, his latest is A Guide to the Zohar, an overview of modern studies of kabbalah's origins.

NPR's Tony Cox speaks with Michele Cecere, team leader for CARE in the Darfur region of Sudan, and Salih Booker, executive director of Africa Action, on the recent treaty aimed at ending Sudan's bloody civil war. They also discuss the ongoing genocide in Darfur and the effect the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster could have on other humanitarian crises around the world.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu used to be philosophically opposed to golf, but now he is thinking of taking it up. The Kabul Golf Club formally reopens next year, and then there's the thrill of the Prison View golf course, near Louisiana State Penitentiary.

In northern Sri Lanka, tsunami survivors are going back to their regular jobs, schools are reopening, and people are struggling to resume normal lives. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

A reputed Ku Klux Klan member is charged with the murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. NPR's Michele Norris talks about the case with Jerry Mitchell, a reporter for the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Kristin Kobes Du Mez, professor of history and gender studies at Calvin University, about how evangelicals shaped the debate over abortion in the United States.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich talks about the rift between the president and House Republicans over the proposed intelligence reform bill. Hear Gingrich and NPR's Renee Montagne.

Bosch: Legacy, which premiered Friday, and The Lincoln Lawyer, which starts next Friday, exemplify a certain kind of show. They fall within well-established genres, but have a little creative heft.

NPR's Madeleine Brand talks to Tess Vigeland of Marketplace about the latest turn in the WorldCom accounting scandal. Ten former WorldCom board members reportedly have agreed to pay millions of dollars out of their own pockets to settle some pending lawsuits.

NPR's Madeleine Brand talks with Slate legal analyst Dahlia Lithwick about the legal career of U.S. Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales, the White House chief counsel who begin two days of confirmation hearings before a U.S. Senate panel on Thursday.

Brands are now offering the option of opting out of Mother's Day e-mails. NPR's Michel Martin reflects on this new trend.

In recent months, eight journalists who refused to disclose confidential sources have been found in contempt of court in the United States. Tom Rosenstiel, vice chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, and Steve Chapman, columnist and editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune, join NPR's Tavis Smiley to talk about what these and similar cases mean in the context of press freedom.

Correspondent Cheryl Devall talks with New York Times reporter Jason DeParle about the struggles of women who have gotten off welfare — a seven-year odyssey he chronicles in his new book American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare.

The discovery last month of a tiny skeleton dubbed "Hobbit" was proclaimed by its discoverers as part of a newly discovered human species. But that claim has met with skepticism from others in the scientific community. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

NPR's Tony Cox speaks with CNN correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault, reporting from the network's Johannesberg, South Africa bureau, about the impact of the announcement by former president Nelson Mandela that his son has died of AIDS-related complications. South Africa is ravaged by AIDS, and the announcement could have a huge impact in a nation where families feel ostracized for admitting a family member is stricken with the immune system disease.

Secretary of State Colin Powell has resigned from President Bush's Cabinet, according to State Department officials. Powell is said to be planning to stay at the agency until his successor is confirmed.

NPR's Madeleine Brand talks with Tim Redman, director of the chess program at the University of Texas at Dallas, about the life of Arnold Denker, a former U.S. chess champion and major benefactor of the game. Denker died this week in Florida at the age of 90.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat remains in critical condition at a military hospital outside Paris, amid disputes over the specific nature of his illness and the status of his health. Scores of well-wishers continue to wait outside the hospital, while Palestinian officials pledge unity. Hear Eleanor Beardsley.