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President Bush's public approval rating lags those of other recent second-term presidents, a new pre-inaugural poll shows. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Continuing our series on summer reads, we check in with Michelle Carr, the founder, director and producer of the Velvet Hammer Burlesque in Los Angeles. She offers her recommendations, including a historical look at burlesque.

Taipei 101, the world's tallest building, will be officially inaugurated in Taipei, Taiwan, on Dec. 31. Designing the 1,666-foot skyscraper in the earthquake- and typhoon-prone region presented engineers with quite a challenge. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and structural engineering consultant Dennis Poon.

Students in the United States trail many of their peers in Europe and Asia in math and science scores, according to the newly released results of an international standardized test.

President Bush says Social Security is in "crisis," but polls show a majority of seniors think the system needs only minor fixes. Retirees in Arizona and Pennsylvania weigh in on the issue.

With her deep and smoky alto, singer-songwriter Dayna Kurtz defies the boundaries of blues, jazz and folk. Her eclectic new album, Beautiful Yesterday, evokes feelings of nostalgia.

India must cut back its imports on Iranian oil by June 28 or face U.S sanctions. A new law targets Iran's central bank, which is used for oil transactions, and it penalizes foreign countries that ignore the sanctions.

They're an odd couple. Angel-voiced Scot Isobel Campbell and gravelly grunge rocker Mark Lanegan of Seattle combine their talents on the CD Ballad of the Broken Seas. Campbell tells Liane Hansen about life after Belle and Sebastian.

DI Neville Parker and the team have to investigate the murder of a hairdresser who was killed in her salon.

The British music press is hailing a new band, the Arctic Monkeys, as being as big as the Beatles — or at least as big as Oasis. The first-week release of the band's debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, sold over 118,000 copies.

The National Security Archive is a repository for intelligence documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Its contents include papers related to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Iran-Contra affair --and, more recently, to pre-9/11 warnings about Osama bin Laden. It is led by Tom Blanton.

Michele Norris speaks with BBC disc jockey Charlie Gillett, who hosts a world music program in London. He's put together a two-CD set offering a sample of the most exciting music he's found during the past year

The crew of a U.S. Navy submarine that crashed into an undersea mountain in the Pacific was relying on a chart that did not indicate the mountain was there, according to an investigative report.

Laurel Lee, a former Hillsborough Circuit Court judge, is reportedly considering a run for Congress.

Liliya Karimova is a young Tatar woman from Kazan, Russia, currently living in the United States. A graduate student in Kansas, she has been struggling to understand her ethnic and religious background.

John Williams' score was, true to form, unforgettable — as Jeff Goldblum remembers in an interview with NPR.

Snoop Dogg had previously been paying the blunt man $40,000 to $50,000 a year, but he tweeted last week that he's upped the salary to an undisclosed amount.

Actors Sigourney Weaver, Justina Machado, and Amy Ryan unearth surprising revelations about their family histories on "Finding Your Roots".

The company unveiled the new version of its 1960s era compact car Monday. Chrysler's hoping the Dart will keep the reinvented car company on a roll. The company has started regaining some traction after a near collapse and a government bailout. It's now part of the Italian car company Fiat.

The Alt.Latino crew stops by Weekend Edition Sunday to talk about one of Latin music's most pervasive rhythms.