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Noah Adams talks to author Mary Cable about the 1888 storm that closed down the East Coast and taught the nation about the vulnerability of telegraph wires and trains to severe weather. The storm led to the building of New York City subways and the concept of buried cables.

Daniel talks with Kevin and Todd Berger. They've written two books about why Americans are becoming increasingly hostile while out driving in their cars. They say that one of the reasons is that while commuters in general are travelling shorter distances to get to work...they're spending more time doing so.

occurring in Austin, Texas this weekend at the National Issues Convention, where presidential candidates will have to answer to the average voter.

Commentator Alan Cheuse reviews Jamaica Kincaid's fourth novel, Autobiography of My Mother, which is set once again in her native country of Dominica in the Carribean. (publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux)

Film critic Bob Mondello takes a look at a new Italian movie by the same director who made "Stolen Children". In this film, director Gianni Amelio explores the dire effects of the coming of capitalism to Albania.

Producer Ginna Allison sends us this story of one of the most famous of American folk songs, "John Henry", and of the man and community behind it. John Henry was a black railroad worker who's said to have died after outperforming a mechanized railroad spike driver back in the 19th century. He is said to have come from Talcott (pronounced: TALL-cut), a small town in West Virginia. Allison brings us the voices of Talcott's people...and the music of Doc Watson and John Cephas...which echo the exploits of John Henry, and reveal how the racially diverse community views the song, the town's history, and each other.

In the runup to Saturday's Palestinian elections, NPR's Eric Weiner profiles the Islamic group, Hamas. Hamas has decided not to participate in the elections, opening the way for further tensions with Yasser Arafat.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports on a new book that contains information for parents who are looking for quality alternative schools for their children.

Jacki talks with Aziz Abu-Hammad of the Middle East Human Rights Watch about the potential for political instability in Saudi Arabia. The bombing of an American run military training facility a few weeks ago has raised eyebrows and created a sense that opposition to the Royal family in Saudi Arabia may be growing.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu has a story about a bear named No Neck, who walked across the Florida Panhandle and three states until he got to Baton Rouge. Why Baton Rouge? Only No Neck knows.