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It will be very difficult for Sunnis to support the constitution as it is, according to Ghassan Attiyah, director of the Baghdad think tank the Iraq Foundation for Development and Democracy. But Attiyah also predicts Sunnis may not be able to muster the votes to defeat it in the coming referendum.

The Media Lab at MIT has turned a PDA into the Jerk-O-Meter. The device analyzes voice patterns and other verbal cues, then offers callers advice on how they're holding up their end of the conversation.

Research suggests that gossip -- even around the water cooler or at the corner bar -- can be very good for groups of friends, colleagues or simple acquaintances. Gossipers, experts and listeners discuss the good, and not so good, of scuttlebutt.

Scientists said this week that they've reprogrammed adult stem cells to their embryonic state. If they can perfect this technique, it might provide an alternative to creating stem cells by therapeutic cloning, a technique at the center of the current political and ethical debate over stem cell research.

Fomenting and glorifying terrorism are among the "unacceptable behaviors" that could lead to deportation according to new rules unveiled by Britain's Home Office. Robert Siegel talks with John Prideaux of The Economist magazine.

More women today are studying science and getting advanced degrees. But the picture changes in the working world: the higher the position, the fewer the women. A recent study in the journal Science documents the obstacles that hold women back. We'll talk with women in the sciences about their experiences climbing the career ladder.

Google's expansion into instant messaging and a web-based calling opens another field of competition with Microsoft and Yahoo. Robert Siegel talks with Scott Cleland, CEO of Precursor, an independent investment research firm tracking technology and telecom sectors.

His role as David Fisher, the gay brother who co-runs a funeral home on Six Feet Under, is Michael C. Hall's first television part. On Broadway, his roles have included Billy Flynn, an oily attorney in the revival of Chicago, and the emcee in Cabaret. (This interview originally aired March 26, 2002.)

Robert Walker, a retired congressman from Pennsylvania who served as chairman of the Science Committee, responds to allegations that the Bush administration has mishandled scientific issues. Walker now serves as chairman of Wexler & Walker, a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C.

We hear readings from When I Knew, Robert Trachtenberg's colorful collection of vignettes from gay men and women about coming to terms with their sexuality. And Andrew Sullivan discusses the subject of gayness with Linda Wertheimer.

Sunday marks the last episode of the HBO show Six Feet Under. In five seasons, the series introduced viewers to the Fisher clan and their funeral business. The show's creator, Alan Ball, speaks with Susan Stamberg.

Steven Bochco is co-creator and executive producer of Over There, a new FX drama about U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Bochco has won 10 Emmy awards for creating and producing Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue.

Slate contributor Daniel Engber explains the legality of random searches of riders on U.S. subways.

Before his own rise up the music charts, Kanye West spent his time producing hits for other top rappers, including Jay-Z. Convinced of the need to display his own unique skills, he released the hugely successful disc College Dropout in 2004.

In his new book The Republican War on Science, journalist Chris Mooney contends that the Bush administration has distorted research and misinformed the public on issues ranging from stem-cell research to global warming. The motivation, Mooney argues, is political power.

Reconstructing the damaged infrastructure of the Gulf Coast is a focal point for the Bush administration. Mark Schleifstein, staff writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, says many who lost their homes or saw severe damage are still unclear on how much of the city can be saved.

Guy Goodson, mayor of Beaumont, Texas, discusses the mandatory evacuation order there and other preparations. Naomi Rodriguez, a clerk in a liquor store on the outskirts of downtown Houston, says she and others are going to stick it out through Hurricane Rita.

Human egg donation has become a regular business, thanks to decades of developments in reproductive technology. But some say donation is a misnomer, since women are paid for giving up their eggs -- sometimes as much as $50,000, if desirable traits are in evidence. But some are calling for egg donation to be regulated -- and they question the effects of financial incentives.

At least 26 people die in a suicide bombing in the northern Iraqi town of Rabia, west of Mosul. Officials say the victims were members of the Iraqi security services. Officials said the attack occurred in the midst of recruits who were training in a security-controlled area, and that some of the guards may have knowingly allowed the attacker to enter.

As residents flee the Gulf Coast region, the governors of Texas and Louisiana ask President Bush for federal troops as they prepare for Hurricane Rita. The Category 4 storm is expected to make landfall by Saturday, and officials have urged coastal residents to evacuate far inland.

London police take five suspects in the July 21 transit bombings into custody at locations across the city. And Italian police arrest another man in Rome. British media report that police have now arrested all four suspects in last week's failed attacks.

Some doctors have hoped that heroin addicts could break the habit more easily if they were given a drug-blocking agent while under general anesthesia for about six hours. But a new study suggests this approach is more dangerous than other drug replacement therapies.

Around the country, buyers are scooping up real estate, knocking down old houses, and building grand new mansions. It's a trend that's finally coming to Cape Cod, birthplace of the original summer cottage. Some residents worry the demolitions are slowly erasing the cape's traditional character. From member station WBUR, Monica Brady-Myerov reports.

Five years ago, independent producer Dan Collison chronicled his mother's move into a retirement home in California. Now, Collison updates his 84-year-old mother's story as she faces another move to a section of a retirement community where she'll receive more assistance.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal talks about the state's lawsuit against the federal government. The state contends that the "No Child Left Behind" legislation amounts to an unfunded mandate.