Installation artists Jeanne-Claude and Christo, in New York City last year. (Jonathan Fickies / Getty Images)

By David Gura

Alas, I was out of the country in 2005, when artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude installed "The Gates" -- all 7,503 of them -- in Central Park, in New York City.

I remember the photographs -- of workers installing them, of Michael Bloomberg unfurling the first piece of saffron-colored fabric. There were critics, of course, who thought that the project would look strange, that it was a waste of money. I thought it looked awesome.

A few minutes ago, I learned that Jeanne-Claude passed away today, after a ruptured brain aneurysm. What a loss.

In this photo of a sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed sits during a hearing at the U.S. Military Commissions court for war crimes, at the U.S. Naval Base, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. (Janet Hamlin, Pool / AP Photo)

By Sarah Handel

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's Manhattan Trial
Earlier this week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind behind the 9-11 terrorist attacks, will be tried in a civilian court in New York City. Some argue it will open old wounds, while others say it will offer closure.

Tom Ricks: Read These Books, Understand Afghanistan
The conflict in Afghanistan dominates headlines, but many are looking for a deeper understanding of the country and the war we're fighting there. In the first of a series of suggestions for an Afghanistan "reading list," Tom Ricks joins us. His recommendations range from a collection of Afghan proverbs to a history of the CIA's involvement in the country.

Ken Auletta, 'Googled'
In Googled: The End of the World as We Know It, Ken Auletta, who writes the "Annals of Communication" column for The New Yorker, chronicles the growth of Google, from the brainchild of two computer science graduate students, toiling in a California garage, to the multi-billion dollar multi-national corporation it is today.

Indentured Servitude Still A Reality In Florida
Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, but the specter of slavery persists in Florida's fields -- among tomato and citrus pickers. Reporter Amy Bennett Williams joins Neal Conan in Fort Myers, Fla., to discuss the horrors of indentured servitude, human trafficking, and how prosecutors are fighting it.

By Sarah Handel

Bear with me here, I promise I've got a valid point. So today, I read a short story that made my jaw drop. Under a headline, "Martha Stewart Disses Rachael Ray's Cooking,"

In an interview with ABC's Cynthia McFadden, Stewart criticizes Ray's abilities, saying that she is "not good enough for me," The New York Daily News reports.

Martha, apparently, went on,

"She's more of an entertainer than she is, with her bubbly personality, than she is a teacher, like me. That's not what she's professing to be," Stewart explains in the 'Nightline' segment.

Clearly, PopEater, where I read about it, hopes fervently for a Ray-Ray vs. Stewart smackdown. But here's the surprising part. Rachel Ray responded,

"Why would it make me mad? Her skill set is far beyond mine. That's simply the reality of it. That doesn't mean what I do isn't important, too ... I don't consider it needling. I really just think she's being honest," she tells ABC.

Referring to their food, Ray adds, "I'd rather eat Martha's than mine, too."

What? No jailbird taunts? No cries of "knit yourself a muzzle, Martha?" Nope. Rachel Ray responded with civility, and, dare I say it, grace. Say what you will about EVOO and sammies, Ray nailed this one.

By David Gura

Reading The New York Times and The Washington Post, I always wonder about the photographers charged with taking pictures of everyday life in Washington. You see, everyday life in Washington -- congressional hearings, press briefings, and political speechifying -- is, well, pretty boring. Worse yet, it repeats itself, in all its boringness, day after day after day. What's a photographer to do?

Remarkably, Stephen Crowley, a photographer for The Times, takes wonderful, memorable pictures of politicians. Right now, he is accompanying President Obama in Asia. On the Lens blog, Crowley presents some of the photos he took, in tetraptychs, and provides some interesting commentary. Check it out.

By Sarah Handel

Right now, three books are on my nightstand.

Cherries In Winter by Suzan Colon is the one I dipped into last night. It's the story of how magazine editor Colon is weathering the industry's massive downsizing (which included her losing her own job, and dwindling freelance opportunities) by turning to her grandmother's recipes, and the stories that go with them.

Over the weekend, I dug into Beard on Food, a collection of James Beard's columns. They invite reading aloud, and after a few, my s.o. and I tried his fish poaching method (delicious), failed miserably with his recipe for garlic aioli, and resolved to tackle his oxtails.

And, finally, a remnant from the Julie & Juila insanity, Julia Child's My Life in France, paired with Mastering the Art of French Cooking, of course*. I've just barely cracked the cover on this one. I keep saving it for that perfect rainy afternoon, but somehow, on each rainy afternoon I'm madly running errands or something mundane like that. But soon, Julia, soon!

All this to say: I can't get enough of Adam Gopnik's article in The New Yorker, "What's the Recipe? Our Hunger for Cookbooks." He's got me pinned, and my nightstand library might look a lot like that of the imagined man in his article, reading before bed. Take a look, and while you may take issue with some of his assertions ("Anyone who cooks knows that it is in following recipes that one first learns the anticlimax of the actual, the perpetual disappointment of the thing achieved."), you may also see yourself.

*I know that makes four, but technically, Mastering the Art of French Cooking is on the shelf in the living room, at the moment.

A display at Old Harbor Books in Sitka, Alaska, features Going Rogue, and a note that profits from the book's sale will be given to the Defenders of Wildlife organization in their effort to end aerial wolf hunting. (James Poulson / AP Photo/Daily Sitka Sentinel)

By Sarah Handel

Political Junkie Goes Rogue
It's been all-Sarah-all-the-time since the former Alaska governor rolled out her memoir on Oprah. We'll have our own chat fest with Matt Continetti of the Weekly Standard who has a new book called The Persecution of Sarah Palin. Plus, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd captures Congress's longevity award, and losing Independent candidate Douglas Hoffman of New York's 23rd congressional district "unconcedes." Ken Rudin tells us what it all means on today's Wasilla-to-Washington edition of Political Junkie.

'Doc Ford' Creator Randy Wayne White
Randy Wayne White spent thirteen years as a tackle fishing guide -- before he began to probe the mysteries of Southwest Florida in his 'Doc Ford' mystery series. Rebecca Roberts talks with host Neal Conan and Randy Wayne White from Fort Myers, Florida.

More On Mammograms
New breast cancer guidelines were issued earlier this week by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The panel withdrew its recommendation for mammograms after forty -- saying the average woman can wait until fifty -- and discouraged the teaching of self breast examinations. We'll talk about how the study was made, and what it means for breast cancer prevention, and you.

...Plus a fabulous 4th segment, TBD!

Sarah Palin's book stacked on a pallet in the back room of a Utah Costco. (George Frey / Getty Images)

By Sarah Handel

Where Are The Jobs?
Unemployment numbers in the U.S. are the highest they've been since 1983, but there are still some jobs out there. Businessweek's Dean Foust breaks down where the jobs are, which industries are growing and which states will rebound fastest.

Reviewing 'Going Rogue'
On the day it's released, one-time vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's new memoir, Going Rogue, is already on its way to the bestseller lists. Pundits are combing the book for signs of Palin's political ambitions -- and prospects. But, is the book a good read? We'll ask NPR's Andrea Seabrook.

George Carlin's 'Last Words'
Comedian George Carlin questioned, condemned and confronted what he called "middle class crap." Before his death last year, Carlin spent ten years working on a memoir, Last Words, with his long-time friend, writer Tony Hendra. Rebecca Roberts talks to Hendra about Carlin's life and legacy.

Modern Takes On Blackface
White actors in black make-up, perpetrating black stereotypes. That's the history of blackface. We ask Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice, are modern takes on blackface insensitive, or just irreverent?

...All this, plus your letters!

By Sarah Handel

Sarah's week of doom & gloom on Blog of the Nation continues with this little nugget: The New Oxford American Dictionary's word of the year is "unfriend."

Per the Oxford University Press blog,

unfriend -- verb -- To remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Unfriend. As in, I don't care about what you had for breakfast, I don't like looking at that picture of you in my social networking feed, I'm through, I unfriend you.

In my continuing search for the perfect headline, I came across this gem.

Ham and beans 'good stuff'

In other news, chocolate and raspberries, 'excellent flavor combination.'

Everybody remembers the moment at the United Nations when a translator had to communicate that Hugo Chavez thought, well, that President George W. Bush was the devil. Listening to her -- "It smells of sulphur, still today!" -- it's hard to tell exactly what she's feeling, but there is a bit of surprise in her voice.

It's a special kind of translating -- niche translating -- and in the Los Angeles TImes today, there's a fascinating piece about it. My favorite is the explanation about handling jokes.

...if you're going to make a joke, make sure it translates well, said Kevin Hendzel, an ATA spokesman whose specialty is translating nuclear documents from Russian into English.

In the early 1980s, Hendzel was chief of the White House translation staff responsible for the top-secret hot line used for direct contact with the Kremlin.

He has little patience for high-level linguistic gaffes. If a leader makes a joke that doesn't elicit laughs, Hendzel said, a good interpreter will say in the listening audience's language, "It's a joke that does not translate -- please laugh."

I can't wait to start using that line -- in English.

By Sarah Handel

Lighthearted fun, amazing feat of balance... Or crushing metaphor for life in a swirl of recession/holidays/employment numbers/Black Friday/bailouts/H1N1 madness?

BoingBoing calls it "fun!" I'm taken with the remarkable stunt, but can't help but internalize it.

Happy Monday, all.

Memorial for the fallen soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

By Sarah Handel

What's The Meaning Of Fort Hood?
In the aftermath of acts of violence that appear to defy reason, we search for meaning, and ask if the tragedy can present an opportunity for deeper understanding. Neal Conan will discuss the recent Fort Hood shootings with NPR's Danny Zwerdling, as well as opinion writers Victor Davis Hanson and Asra Nomani, and ask what we should take away from the Fort Hood tragedy.

Looking For Answers In Samarra
The Washington Post's Baghdad Bureau chief, Ernesto Londono, asks about Iraq: Was it worth it? He goes looking for answers north of Baghdad, in the city of Samarra. While that city appears to be a surge success story, it remains deeply divided along Sunni and Shia lines.

'60 Minutes' Correspondent Byron Pitts
When Byron Pitts was twelve years old, a therapist revealed to his mother that he was functionally illiterate. Now the award-winning broadcaster has written a memoir about his journey from illiteracy and a debilitating stutter to CBS news correspondent. Neal Conan talks to Byron Pitts about his book, Step Out On Nothing.

Luna Park
Novelist Kevin Baker's newest book is a graphic novel -- Luna Park. With art by Danieel Zezelja, the book is set in the decaying amusement parks of Coney Island, and profiles a Russian immigrant plagued by nightmares of the Chechen war.

Andre Agassi in 1993, when, odds are, he was wearing a weave. (Doug Collier / AFP/Getty Images)

By Sarah Handel

Somehow, TOTN senior producer Carline Watson, Barrie and I all missed this revelation in the crystal meth-smoke haze: Andre Agassi's famous hair was a weave. As told to 60 Minutes, and re-told by Gawker:

In the early years of his male-pattern baldness, a rabidly narcissistic Agassi took to wearing a flamboyantly high-maintenance weave. As if it wasn't enough that the hair that made him famous was fake, Agassi admits that it was a crappy fake, too: At the 1990 French Open, Agassi's conditioner caused his weave to fall apart, forcing his brother to bobby pin it to his head and the horrified tennis diva to go all sweaty-palmed over whether his scalp pelt would go flying mid-match.

Amazing. Just, amazing. Happy Thursday, people.

By David Gura

When I was pulling clips for our Sesame Street Scandals segment -- I came across possibly the most poignant moment in all of children's television. (It's on par with the death of Bambi's mom.) When the Sesame Street gang explains to Big Bird that Mr. Hooper's death means he isn't coming back, they do it with the kind of honesty that adults rarely find for each other, and almost never for kids. Given we can only play 30 seconds during the show -- here's the whole thing. I dare you not to tear up.

Big Bird and friends pose next to a temporary street sign in New York. (Stan Honda / AFP/Getty Images)

By Sarah Handel

Gay Rights In The U.S.
Salt Lake City has unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment and housing, and a measure legalizing same-sex marriage is moving forward in Washington, D.C. But last week, Maine became the latest state to block gay marriage in a referendum. Neal Conan speaks to the first -- and only -- openly gay Episcopal bishop, New Hampshire's Gene Robinson, about the state of gay rights in America.

Africa Calling
Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR's West Africa Correspondent, joins Neal Conan in studio for a round up of news from Africa, including the stories that she doesn't always get a chance to cover. She'll also share a little music from one of her favorites, Miriam Makeba.

'Fly By Wire'
Last January, after his plane lost both engines, pilot Chelsey "Sully" Sullenberger glided the plane to a safe landing in the Hudson River. He was hailed as a hero. In his new book Fly by Wire, writer and former pilot William Langewiesche argues that it was the engineering of the plane, not just Sullenberger's skill, that made the so-called "miracle on the Hudson" possible.

'Sesame Street' Subversive?
Sesame Street has been enthralling and educating kids for forty years. But it's also had its share of controversy. We'll look back on Sesame Street's subversive history -- from Grover's civil disobedience, to Elmo's bad grammar.