April 21, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

New Solar System -- NPR's Richard Harris reports a new family of planets may be forming around a distant star, possibly creating a new solar system. Astronomers say the planets may be common throughout the universe. And it's possible the planets have atmospheres conducive to life. (4:00)

Neurolab -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with Michael Wiederhold about animal experiments in space. With the aging process, the function of the human body that controls balance often deteriorates. Wiederhold, a scientist at the University of Texas, is trying to find out why. He is the principal investigator for development of vestibular organs in space and believes that a change in gravity may improve balance. Wiederhold is studying snails and fish on the space shuttle now in orbit to see what implications his results may have for humans. (4:30)

Walt Whitman & Bill Clinton & Emily Dickinson & Al Gore-- Commentator Andrei Codrescu talks about poetry and the body politic. Codrescu says the Lewinsky flap has made politicians leery of earthy imagery, like that in the poetry of Walt Whitman. (3:00)

Microsoft Appeal -- A U.S. Circuit Court heard arguments today in the battle between Microsoft and the federal government over alleged anti-competitive practices by the software giant. NPR's Dan Charles reports on Microsoft's argument that a lower court judge erred in interpeting a 1995 consent decree that barred Microsoft from tying one product to purchase of another. Microsoft is arguing that a federal judge overstepped his authority when he required Microsoft to separate its Internet browser from its Windows software. (2:00)

Creatine Vox -- Michael Henessey of Hugo's Market in Washington, D.C., talks about the increased sale of creatine and who's buying it. (1:00)

Creatine -- All Things Considered host Noah Adams speaks with Sports Illustrated writer Michael Bamberger about creatine, an unregulated dietary supplement that is becoming increasingly popular among professional athletes and teenagers. Bamberger says it helps build muscles and cuts recovery time after a workout -- allowing the user to get bigger, faster, and stronger. Combined with rigorous training, creatine can increase strength by at least five percent. Although no major side-effects have been detected, many caution that we don't know enough to be sure that it is safe. (4:30)

The Half-Life of Happiness -- Noah talks with writer John Casey, whose new book is The Half-Life of Happiness (Knopf). Casey has taught English at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where his new novel takes place. In the novel, Mike Reardon is a middle-aged lawyer whose run for Congress is a bit of a farce. While his restless wife falls for another woman, his two young daughters supply much of the comment on the unfolding drama, in which one parent is a public joke and the other is a private scandal. Casey talks about one of his inspirations for the novel, a writer and a former student at UVA, Breece D'J Pancake, who killed himself in 1979. Casey also talks about how he writes, how he hears the words, or senses them. When he is writing he finds himself in a half-hypnotic state with his senses open to the flow of words and ideas. (12:30)

Newt on Tobacco -- NPR's Brian Naylor reports House Speaker Newt Gingrich today said Congress would pass tobacco legislation this year. He also said he is not against raising cigarette prices to cut teen smoking so long as the tax hike is refunded in a tax cut. (3:00)

New Newt -- Commentator Jacob Weisberg says Speaker of the House Newt Gringrich is a changed man. But Weisberg finds the change disappointing. He says the old Newt was a compelling meanie, whereas the new one offers only empty uplift. (3:30)

The Handsome Sailor -- Herman Melville is the topic of the latest book from novelist Larry Duberstein. Reviewer Alan Cheuse says this work of biographical fiction does a good job emulating the mannerisms and speech of the late 19th century, and provides a credible insight into the mind of one of the greatest American authors. (The Handsome Sailor by Larry Duberstein is published by Permanent Press.) (2:00)

U.N. and Cuba -- Imogen Foulkes reports from Geneva that the United Nations Human Rights Commission has failed to endorse a resolution condemning rights abuses in Cuba. The vote was seen as a defeat for the United States, the sponsor of the resolution. (2:40)

Helms Burton -- NPR's Ted Clark reports from Washington the European Union is dropping its legal challenge to the Helms Burton Act. That's the law that imposes penalties on companies that use U.S. properties in Cuba seized by the Castro government. While tensions over the bill have been eased for the time being, the E.U. could file a new complaint with the World Trade Organization if the United States ever decides to enforce the law and take action against a European company. (3:30)

Nuke Fuel -- Linda speaks with Michael Gordon, New York Times Moscow Bureau Chief, who reported on a joint U.S., British, and Georgian effort to safely remove several pounds of enriched uranium and spent nuclear fuel from a facility in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. There was fear the material, unprotected in Georgia, could fall into the hands of people capable of turning it into a weapon. (5:00)

Meanwhile in Ann Arbor -- Noah talks with Holly Myszenski, a student at the University of Michigan, about the tradition of seniors running naked on the last day of spring classes. After a banquet tonight, Myszenski and other students will run a mile, naked, through the campus. (4:00)

Toys -- Commentator Marion Winik talks about her kids and their appetite for TV commercials, especially late breaking news from the world of toys. She thinks buying toys is more meaningul to them than playing with them. (3:30)

Funeral in South Africa -- NPR's Charlayne Hunter-Gault reports on the funeral today of a six-month-old black girl allegedly killed last week by a white farmer. The killing has brought into sharp focus the simmering remnants of apartheid in a nation still trying to heal centuries-old racial wounds and divisions. (5:30)

France and Rwanda -- NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Paris on testimony today by prominent former members of the French government on the nation's role in, and knowledge of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. (4:00)

Cynthia Robbin -- Commentator John Rosenthal has a story about an old neighbor who was a little crazy -- neighborood kids called her "dog lady." The dogs did love her, and always surrounded her. She even painted the dogs' nails. Eventually Cynthia died, very alone. (3:30)

Memoirs -- Linda talks with Jill Ker Conway, author of When Memory Speaks: Reflections on Autobiography (Knopf). Conway talks about the history of memoirs and autobiographies. She says what writers omit often tells as much about them and their societies as what they include. (7:30)