Terry Gross

Richard Mkhondo is a black South African who reports on his home country. He says the government's recent legislation to roll back apartheid will have minimal impact on blacks, and does nothing to to address the issue of restitution.

Jodi Jacobson is senior researcher at the World Watch Institute. Her report, "The Global Politics of Abortion," examines how various countries handle the issue of reproductive rights, and the affect that can have on the global scale. She's discovered that more restrictive policies did nothing to curtail abortion -- in fact, they increased the chance of maternal death.

In the 1970s, both Sitkovetsky and his mother emigrated to the U.S. In 1988, he became the first post-war Soviet emigre musician to be invited back to USSR to perform. He comes from a family of accomplished musicians; his mother is pianist Bella Davidovich, and his father is Julian Sitkovetsky.

Joe Stork discusses how the region's political powers have shifted since conflict in Iraq has ended.

Author Franz Lidz. His new book, "Unstrung Heroes," is a memoir growing up with four crazy uncles. He writes regularly for Sports Illustrated.

We talk with Gerd Leipold of the the Free Seas Campaign of Greenpeace. Leipold's group is calling for another Geneva Convention, this one to establish environmental rules for war.

Foreman faces federal felony charges for allegedly plotting to blow up power lines leading to a nuclear power plant. His organization Earth First! has been praised and vilified for its use of "monkey wrenching" -- acts of sabotage and civil disobedience against organizations that are hurting the earth. Foreman, who has since distanced himself from the group, has a new book, called "Confessions of an Eco-Warrior."

Professor Thomas Naff of the University of Pennsylvania and head of the Middle East Water Project. He discusses the overwhelming importance of water in the Middle East; water beneath the Ocupied Territories may be a factor in the Israeli government's refusal to cede lands to the Palestinians.

Oz talks about the postwar discussions toward an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He and Terry also discuss Oz's latest novel, "To Know A Woman."

Current budgets are proposing massive cuts in the arts funding of many states. We examine this issue with Stephan Salisbury, arts reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer. We'll also have reaction from two officials in Michigan, where the cuts have been especially drastic.