February 19, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Executive Privilege -- NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports that White House attorneys and Whitewater prosecutors are trying to work out their differences over what questions White House aide Bruce Lindsey will be required to answer before the grand jury investigating allegations of an affair between President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. (4:00)

Trade Deficit -- NPR's John Ydstie reports the nation's trade deficit was up sharply in December. (4:00)

Clean Water -- 25 years after passage of the Clean Water Act -- which has gone a long way toward controlling pollution from factories and sewage plants -- the White House is launching an initiative to address today's big pollution problems. (4:00)

Radon Gas -- A new report today adds to the growing body of scientific proof linking indoor radon gas levels and lung cancer. (4:00)

'Music for Airports' -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with David Lang, Julia Wolfe and Michael Gordon, members of the New York music ensemble called Bang on a Can. The group takes important but not very well-known 20th century compositions and tours the nation performing them. They have chosen to recreate Brian Eno's 1978 landmark, proto-ambient recording called "Music for Airports." This item is unavailable due to copyright issues.

Life on Mir -- U.S. astronaut David Wolf says life on board the Russian space station Mir wasn't all that bad. In fact, he says astronauts should begin preparing go up for long periods of space life, particularly as the construction of the international space station gets underway this summer. But life back home was hard to get used to, Wolf says. As NPR's Joe Palca reports, Wolf had trouble sleeping and readjusting to the rigors of gravity. (4:00)

Life at the Dacha -- Commentator Jeffrey Taylor visits a friend's dacha outside Moscow, where he discovers the difference between American and Russian style weekends in the country. (4:00)

Annan's Trip -- NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan met with French President Chiraq to discuss his last-ditch mission to Iraq to try to gain Saddam Hussein's unconditional cooperation with U.N. arms inspection resolutions. (2:30)

Angry Russians -- NPR's Andy Bowers reports from Moscow that Russian opposition to U.S. policy on Iraq is a sign of the Kremlin's re-emergence into world politics. (5:00)

Ft. Stewart -- NPR's Steve Inskeep travelled to Fort Stewart in Georgia, where Army troops are on their way to the Persian Gulf. (4:30) 11:55.9

Art or Porn? -- NPR's Adam Hochberg reports an Alabama grand jury has indicted the Barnes and Noble bookstore chain on charges of child pornography. The charges against the nation's largest bookseller stem from its sale of two photography books that contain pictures of nude children. (3:00)

Pulitzer Police -- The Boston Globe is protesting the Boston police's mysterious acquisition of the paper's application for a Pulitzer prize -- a series on police corruption -- and posted an objection to the Pulitzer committee. Monica Brady of member station WBUR reports. (3:00)

'Showdowm' -- We examine the many "showdowns" that are making their way into the news these days -- from the showdown with Iraq to the showdown between figure skaters Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski, with a brief look at the history of the word. (1:30)

Russian Skating -- NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that on the eve of the finals in the Olympic women's figure skating competition in Nagano, Japan, Russia's skating dynasty once again seems unable break through to the top in the women's singles. (5:30)

Molson Wake-Up Call -- Noah talks with Sue Farrell, the director of sales at the Universal Teleresponse Corporation in Toronto, Canada. The company was hired by Molson Breweries to take requests for wake-up calls from hockey fans. (3:00)

Ice Hotel -- Linda talks to Eva Lundquist, on the sales staff of the Ice Hotel in Jakkasjaevi, Sweden, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The 37-room facility is built of packed snow and water in molds. The decorations are entirely of ice. There's no heating system, but the place stays at a constant 24 degrees inside -- better than the subzeros temperatures outside most of the winter. (3:00)

ATC Mailbag -- Noah and Linda read from listeners' comments. To contact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20001. To contact us via the Internet, the address is atc@npr.org. (3:30)

Cuban Coffee in Miami -- NPR's Cheryl Devall reports that Florida health officials have backed off in a dispute with Cuban coffee vendors in Miami's Little Havana. The state had threatened to enforce a regulation that requires open-air cafes to separate food-preparation areas from customers. But most Cuban coffee is sold at sidewalk counters, where customers stand while they drink their coffee. They're icons of Miami's Latin culture and the battle reflects the divide between Miami and the rest of the state. (4:00)