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Linda talks with the author, A. S. Byatt, about her latest book, "Babel Tower" (BAY-bl). This is the third novel in an ongoing series, and Byatt says she had intended to write a novel about family life and group behavior, but the novel also became a portrait of swinging London in the 1960s. There are myriad literary and popular culture references, and there are other narratives and fictional works embedded in the novel -- including another novel called Babble Tower, trial transcripts, poems and fairy tales.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports that President Clinton's proposal today of a fifteen-hundred dollar tax credit for students who attend two years of college. There's an argument among politicans and others over whether a tax cut should be targeted to a narrow group of taxpayers, like this one proposed by Clinton, or be aimed at a more general group of people, affecting a much wider population.

The government's worst-kept secret is being released today. The Medicare Plan A trust fund -- which is used to pay hospital and home health bills for more than thirty-seven million elederly and disabled people -- will go broke in 2001 instead of 2002, unless something is done to fix it. NPR's Joanne Silberner looks at the Medicare Trustees report and what it means for the future of the program. Most economic analysts find very little difference in the Republican or Democratic proposals to make it solvent.

Commentator Donna D'Amico Mayer (duh-MEE-koh MAY-ur) tells the story of her father, whom she describes as a cross between Lenny Bruce and Archie Bunker-- a man who was anything but politically correct. He was orphaned as a young child, but somehow managed to be an incredible father.

one who waited for hours to see Garth Brooks, one who has decided to abandon her career as a dental hygienist and move to Nashville to sing, and another who has been collected hundreds of photos, ticket stubs, and guitar picks for years.

Noah talks to Matt Wald, aviation correspondent for the New York Times, about developments in the investigation of the causes of the crash of Valujet Flight 592. Investigators are now looking at the possibility that oxygen generators were mislabeled or mishandled and caused the fire on board the aircraft.

Robert talks to 2 former students of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas; Elizabeth Eckford and Kendall Rhinehart. Eckford, a Black woman, was one of the Little Rock Nine who integrated the school in 1957. Rhinehart is a white man who was among the few who treated her as an equal in the classroom. They recall the harassment that they both withstood, and reflect on the ways their friends and families reacted at the time. The two have been reunited as part of a student history project.

A new study by researchers at Duke University and the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs Medical Center found that television medical programs such as "ER" and "Chicago Hope" give viewers an overly optimistic impression of the effectiveness of certain medical procedures...particularly cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The percentage of people who survive cardiac arrest after receiving CPR is far lower than represented on television programs. Linda talks with one of the authors of the study, Dr. James Tulsky, about how the portrayal of miraculous recoveries on television may ultimately undermine trust in doctors and scientific data.

A study released today suggests that the risk of becoming infected with the AIDS virus through oral sex may be higher than previously realized. The study, being published in the journal Science, found that monkeys exposed orally to the monkey equivalent of the AIDS virus became infected surprisingly easily. Experts say that while transmission of the AIDS virus through oral sex is probably relatively rare, the findings underscore the need to practice safe sex. NPR's Joe Neel reports.

on the showdown that's expected at the Republican convention in August over the issue of abortion. Several Republican governors already have promised they will fight to keep anti-abortion language out of the party platform. But Patrick Buchanan and his followers have threatened to walk out of the convention or even launch a third party candidacy, if the platform does not include a strong stand against abortion.