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An article in this April's Atlantic Monthly makes the argument that the quest for genetic perfection through bioengineering may degrade the human will and the appreciation of life itself. NPR's Liane Hansen speaks with the article's author, Michael Sandel , professor of government at Harvard University.

Researchers proclaim that a new drug tackles two nagging health issues at once: smoking and obesity. The drug, still being studied, appears to double the chances of quitting smoking while also allowing people to lose weight. The medicine controls the urges by blocking the same circuits in the brain that make pot smokers hungry. NPR's Patricia Neighmond reports.

Clarke is the former national coordinator for security, infrastructure protection and counterterrorism. He held the position in President Clinton's administration and continued for President Bush. He resigned in March 2003. His new book is Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror. In the book he criticizes the Bush administration for failing to heed warnings about al Qaeda before Sept. 11, and for invading Iraq without evidence of a connection to al Qaeda. Clarke also worked for the Reagan Administration and the first Bush administration.

NPR's Martin Kaste continues the week-long series on Latin American cities with a report on Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since Argentina's economy collapsed in 2001, there have been great disparities in wealth and widespread corruption throughout Buenos Aires.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports that despite all the missed signals, poor intelligence and lousy communication between counter-terrorist agencies, politics did play a role in early 2001 in the inability of the U.S. government to anticipate al Qaeda attacks in the United States. Testimony before the commission investigating the government's actions before and after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks paints a picture of an incoming Bush administration unwilling to see the threat from al Qaeda as urgently as the outgoing Clinton administration did.

NPR's Liane Hansen talks with Scott Billington of Rounder Records. Under the name Tangle Eye, Billington and producer Steve Reynolds have released a CD that puts a modern spin on the archival tapes of late folklorist Alan Lomax.

Continuing a week-long series on problems common throughout Latin America, NPR's Martin Kaste reports on the prevalent black market economy in Caracas, Venezuela. Confronted with a shortage of jobs and economic hardship, many residents of the metropolitan capital area have resorted to joining the so-called "informal economy" in order to make ends meet.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has refused to disqualify himself from a case involving Vice President Dick Cheney, a good friend. Though apparent conflicts of interest have occurred repeatedly throughout the high court's history, recusals remain rare. Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg.

After months of delays due to sabotage and looting at oil installations, Iraq is exporting oil again -- more than two million barrels of crude each day, worth about $1 billion a month. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry collects lopsided wins in Tuesday's primaries in four Southern states, edging closer to clinching the Democratic nomination for president. Turning his attention to the November election, Kerry ratchets up his attacks on President Bush and steps up efforts to raise $80 million in campaign funds. Hear NPR's David Welna.