February 16, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Iraq’s Presidential Sites -- Noah speaks with New York Times Correspondent Chistopher Wren about the issue of the closed "presidential sites" in Iraq. (4:00)

Last Ditch Diplomacy -- NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that after all the stalling tactics have been exhausted, the Clinton administration will have to make good on its warnings to Iraq. (3:00)

Taiwan Crash -- We have a BBC report on the China Airlines jet that crashed in a residential neighborhood of Taipei, Taiwan today. (1:30)

Neve Rotem -- NPR's Linda Gradstein visits the neighborhood of Neve Rotem, a small neighborhood in a quiet Israeli town that has become a focus of that country's growing conflict between religious and secular Jews. (6:30)

Prostate Cancer -- The incidence and mortality rate for prostate cancer is much higher among black men in this country. The problem is that there is no agreed upon treatment plan for prostate cancer since the disease varies among different men depending on age and race, and scientists don't know exactly why. NPR's Wendy Schmelzer reports. (8:00)

Northern Ireland Peace Talks -- NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports from Dublin that the political wing of the Irish Republican Army may be suspended from Northern Ireland peace talks. (2:30)

Music Review: A3 -- Reviewer Tom Moon says the British band A3 is creating a new kind of genre by combining old-time gospel music, classic country riffs, and electronic/techno beats. It's an interesting mix of the old and the new that results in an album called "Exile on Coldharbour Lane," that's in a class by itself. (5:00)

Abortion Bombing Suspect -- Alabama Public Radio's Melanie Peeples reports on Eric Robert Rudolph, a North Carolina man who is suspected in the January 29 bombing of a Birmingham women's clinic that provides abortions. (4:15)

Quebec’s Right to Separate -- Carolyn Jack reports from Toronto that Canada's Supreme Court today began hearing a potentially explosive case. The Ottawa government wants the Court to rule that it would be illegal for Quebec to secede. (4:00)

Civic Intervention -- Commentator Leon Wynter finds himself policing his neighbors and making sure they don't throw empty beer bottles into the street or drop wrappers on the ground. He says things like "excuse me, did you mean to drop this?" He is in good company in his task - a group of Mormons patrol the Bronx doing the same thing. (4:00)

Campaign Consultants -- Steven Rosenfeld reports from Sacramento on campaign consultants. (5:30)

Heritage Foundation -- The Heritage Foundation think-tank is having an anniversary, and commentator Jacob Weissberg offers a criticism of the goals and methods of the organization. He calls it "a propaganda mill, focused on selling and promoting its views, rather than developing thoughtful, nuanced ones." (2:30)

Olympic News -- An update of recent Olympic events. (1:00)

Cross-Country Skiiing -- Noah speaks with Paul Robbins, CBS cross-country analyst for the Winter Olympics. He describes the cross-contry course set up in Japan and looks at some of the highlights so far. He also prepares us for the upcoming 30 km Women's cross-country relay. (6:00)

Olympic Classroom -- Nancy Greenleese of member station KPBS in San Diego reports on a program developed by a grade school teacher in Chula Vista. The program takes advantage of the nearby U.S. Olympic training facility to teach young people about Olympic history and sportsmanship. (5:00)

Night of the Lost Knives -- Noah talks with chef Tetsuya Wakuda, who owns the restaurant Tetsuya's in Australia. He is travelling in the U.S. and while visiting Chicago left his knives in a taxicab. Wakuda says that a chef's knives are like a set of golf clubs or a tennis racket -- highly personal tools that become an extension of the user's hand. (4:00)

East - West -- Commentator Andrew Lam considers how much the sensibility of the Far East has slipped into this country's culture. Karate, Asian food, and a sense of spiritualism offer Americans a type of fulfillment they can't find elsewhere. (4:00)