January 21, 1998

All Things Considered
(entire program)
Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

STARR INVESTIGATION -- Justice Department officials confirm that Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr is investigating allegations that a former White House intern had an affair with President Clinton and then was asked by the President and close friend Vernon Jordan to lie about it. Clinton says he is outraged by the allegations and he denies "improper relations" with the woman... Monica Lewinsky. Linda talks with NPR's Nina Totenberg and Martha Raddatz about the investigation. (9:00)

SEX & POPULARITY -- NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that although President Clinton faces new sexual misconduct allegations, his popularity rating remains high among Americans. (2:30)

RUBIN & ASIAN ECONOMICS -- NPR's John Ydstie reports that Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin called for a sweeping modernization of what he termed the "architecture" of the international financial market. Rubin told a Georgetown University audience that the impact of Asia's crisis on has been modest thus far, but that Asia's troubles carried real economic and security risks for the U.S. (4:00)

SHOCKUMENTARIES -- Commentator Brett Leveridge says that the success of so-called television "shockumentaries" like "When Animals Attack!" or "World's Scariest Police Chases" tells us a lot about our society. He says it's either a way for viewers to exorcise their fears about the modern world... or it means that we're all really, really bored. (4:00)

NETANYAHU & ARAFAT -- NPR's Ted Clark reports on the visits of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat. Netanyahu is scheduled to leave the United States today, as Arafat arrived this afternoon. The Clinton Administration has committed to present its ideas for a resumption of the Middle East peace process to both. American officials would like to see the Palestinians do more to fight terrorism, and the Israelis cede more territory in pursuit of peace in a phased arrangement that would reward both parties. There has been no breakthrough in negotiations, as Netanyahu has not indicated how far Israelis would be willing to withdraw from contested territories. (4:50)

BUTLER -- NPR's Eric Weiner reports from Baghdad. United Nations chief weapons inspector Richard Butler left Baghdad empty-handed today after two days of talks aimed at getting Iraq to agree on unrestricted access to suspected weapons sites. The Iraqis instead today called on the U.N. to freeze its inspections for two months; the U.S. today called the Iraqi request unacceptable. (4:00)

FETUSES DESERVE PROTECTION -- Commentator Frederica Matthewes-Green says that for her, personhood begins at conception---and therefore deserves protection from violence. This week on ATC we're airing a variety of perspectives on the question of when life begins---Matthewes-Green says we must recognize life from the start and make abortion, at any stage, equal to murder. (4:00)

OTHER NEWS -- In other news we're following today: Starr Investigation and Papal Arrival. (1:30)

UNABOMBER ON THE WWW -- NPR's Margot Adler reports on the proliferation of Internet sites devoted to anti-technology messages in the wake of the trial of accused Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski. From screen savers that go boom to serious discussions of the effect of industrialization and technology on society, the Unabomber trial has led to multitudes of Internet websites consuming gigabytes of space. (7:00)

CLINTON INTERVIEW I -- Robert and NPR's Mara Liasson talk with President Bill Clinton about issues of the day. (22:00)

PAPAL ARRIVAL -- Linda talks with NPR's Phillip Davis in Havana about today's arrival of Pope John Paul the Second in Cuba. The Pope will spend five days on the island, celebrating mass in four different cities. On Sunday he will say mass in Havana's famed Plaza of the Revolution, with Communist President Fidel Castro in attendance. Castro's opponents hope the Pope's visit will undermine his regime. For his part, the Cuban leader has enthusiastically endorsed the papal trip, calling on Communist Party members to attend the masses. We'll hear an excerpt of both Fidel Castro's and the Pope's remarks upon this occasion, and then Linda will talk with both Phillip Davis and Father Thomas Reese, a Senior Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University about the significance of this visit. (13:00)

TOMBS & BUILDINGS OF HAVANA -- Commentator Andrei Codrescu finds that the beautiful but decaying buildings of Havana tell a story that is as much about people in exile as architecture. He visits a city planner who has dreams of luring money to the city to restore buildings, and visits a cemetery that is considered among the world's finest. While at the cemetery, he comes upon a monument built by a family just before they fled to Miami...a tomb they cannot return to use. (7:36)