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Attorney General John Ashcroft took office amid controversy over his hard-line social conservatism. But events have conspired to give him unusual public exposure -- and popularity. NPR's Mara Liasson reports for All Things Considered. Also, in a Web-exclusive analysis, NPR Washington Editor Ron Elving puts Ashcroft's remarkable tenure into a historical context.

A decade after Los Angeles erupted in the wake of the Rodney King verdict, a four-part NPR series examines how the city has changed -- and how it hasn't. As the LAPD works to remove the tarnish from its image, L.A.'s minority communities are changing in ways that couldn't have been predicted in 1992.

Satirist Al Franken has a new book that spoofs how-to-succeed books. His new book is Oh, The Things I Know! A Guide to Success, or, Failing That, Happiness (Dutton). Franken is former co-producer of Saturday Night Live where he created the self-help guru Stuart Smalley. He's also the author of Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations.

In 1924, a star-studded cruise on William Randolph Hearst's private yacht ended with a murder, and became a true Hollywood scandal. Now that scandal is the subject of a new film by Peter Bogdanovich. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review of the film, and Bogdanovich talks with All Things Considered guest host John Ydstie about Tinseltown history.

Texas native Sally Semrad always dreamed of being a musician. So several years ago, she packed up her red guitar and moved to Los Angeles to follow that dream. Her debut CD Left of Me is a fusion of Texas-style country and California roots-rock. Listen to tracks from the CD, and hear her conversation with All Things Considered guest host Liane Hansen. (8:00) The CD is on Stanley Recordings, available from http://cdbaby.com. More information about Sally Semrad is at http://stanleyrecordings.com.

On Mother's Day weekend in 1977, NPR broadcast the first two hours of what would become one of the most popular weekend news and information shows in the nation -- Weekend All Things Considered. Listen to those first broadcasts and read about some of the important news that broke on "quiet" weekends in recent years.

The Imperial Sand Dunes is a 40-mile-long corridor of wind-swept desert in the southeast corner of California -- a place treasured by off-road vehicle enthusiasts and nature lovers alike. But a proposed plan to manage the dunes is making both groups unhappy. Erik Anderson reports for Weekend All Things Considered.

Actor Michael J. Fox got his start acting as a teenager in the popular sitcom Family Ties. He has appeared in many movies, including Back to the Future, The Secret of My Success, and Doc Hollywood. In 1998 he announced that he had Parkinson's disease and he now heads The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. He has a new memoir, Lucky Man, (Hyperion).

Star Trek boldly went from a "space western" that lasted just three television seasons in its original form to the most successful science-fiction franchise of all time. On Morning Edition, NPR's Margot Adler tells the story of Gene Roddenberry's visionary series, as part of Present at the Creation.

Scott Simon considers the sharp divide in Los Angeles between rich and poor. He then visits a Korean-American liquor store owner, just north of Watts. Fires and looting closed many liquor stores in 1992. Government and community efforts have attempted to convert many of those liquor stores into different kinds of businesses. Scott also looks at efforts of the Los Angeles Police Department to become more community friendly.