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George Takei famously played Mr. Sulu on Star Trek. These days, his voice can be heard on The Howard Stern Show. More importantly, he's traveling the country to advance gay rights. Takei tells Scott Simon about his latest mission.

The Gourds have been called the best band in Austin, Texas. That's no mean feat in a town awash in music. Band members Kevin Russell and Jimmy Smith tell John Ydstie about their latest release, Heavy Ornamentals.

The World Cup finals feature soccer that is elegant, powerful and artistic. But the quadrennial tourney holds no guarantees for providing music that matches the magic conducted on the pitch. In fact, some of it could only be filed under "A" for awful.

As their country opens up to the outside world after years under the Taliban, Aghans have begun experimenting with new businesses and investments. On a river north of Kabul, one entrepreneur is offering boat rides -- a new form of entertainment and transport for an otherwise landlocked country.

Everyone has heard at one time or another about the old myth that if you dug a hole deep enough, you'd end up on the other side of the Earth, in China. As it turns out, the undertaking is much more complex than it might seem.

Zinedine Zidane led a cohesive French team of various ancestries to a 1998 World Cup title. Now, with French soccer in disarray and ethnic tensions rising, the son of an Algerian immigrant has come out of retirement.

Should immigrants stay away from work and refuse to buy things Monday to show their impact on the U.S. economy? Organizer Juan Jose Gutierrez joins a boycott opponent, Maryland lawmaker Ana Sol Gutierrez, to discuss the issues with Scott Simon.

A new study in the journal Sleep provides the strongest evidence yet that the unregulated dietary supplement melatonin helps people get a good night's sleep. Researchers found that it works as well as prescription sleep aids now on the market. Melatonin is available over the counter.

Tourists and townsfolk alike are dancing to the beats of the Jazz Festival in New Orleans. It's the first major music festival in the city since Hurricane Katrina struck last year. So far, ticket sales have been brisk.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad has acted as a liaison among sectarian interests to help forge a unity government. He talks about Iraq's newly designated prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki of the Dawa Party, and other issues.