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A cheery story by Franz Kafka about an executioner called In the Penal Colony has been turned into a pretty opera by Phillip Glass. It's being directed by Glass' former wife, celebrated theater director Joanne Akalaitis. The work is premiers in Seattle tonight at ACT Theater. It travels to Chicago in November. Marcie Sillman, of member station KUOW, reports.

Linda talks with sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about this year's close race in baseball for the pennant. All in all, it's been an exciting season for baseball fans -- so many teams have a chance at winning their division. And in other good news for baseball fans -- players and owners have struck a deal that means no strike next season.

Robert talks to ABC News reporter Robert Krulwich, about his 3-part series airing next week on Nightline, called "Hip Hop." Before beginning his research, Krulwich professed to be no expert on the subject of hip-hip culture, but wanted to understand why it was so compelling to kids, like his son, and millions of other teens and 20-somethings. In the first segment he profiles Russell Simmons, a hip-hop executive and record producer -- a household name to many hip-hop lovers, but previously unknown to Krulwich. Krulwich comes to understand that hip-hop is music, clothing, image, attitude -- a collage of ghetto and street, and the aspirations and signs of wealth and success. And he also discovers that the business of hip-hop is unlike any model he'd seen before, where music and fashion executives hold no distinctions between race, gender, or sex. He found it refreshing.

Minnesota Republican Rod Grams is considered one of the most vulnerable US Senators facing re-election this fall. He's a staunch conservative in a state with a long history of progressive politics, but he's also a maverick in a state known for its independence. Anemic poll numbers and a modest legislative record brought lots of challengers into this month's Democratic primary, but the big field may prove to be Grams best defense. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Jason Beaubien reports on tensions between teachers unions and school districts in Boston and Philadelphia - tensions that could lead to teachers' strikes in those cities. One issue is that teachers' hard-won rights regarding seniority are clashing with attempts to make poor-performing schools better.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports traditional Indian medicine men in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico, are trying to stop transnational companies from what they call bio-piracy -- making off with medicinal plants from the region and then taking out patents for any pharmaceutical potential. The Mayans say that such drug prospecting does not benefit Indian communities. The companies and some scientists say they stand to lose billions of dollars and perhaps the chance to cure deadly diseases.

Robert talks with Barry Eisenstein M.D., Vice President of Science and Technology for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, about his hospital's participation in creating an international tissue bank. They will be asking patients for permission to sell tissue left over from surgery. The tissue will be used by scientists worldwide for genetic research.

Alison Richards of NPR News has the third part in her series on Osteoporosis. Patients with osteoporosis now can be diagnosed with a bone density scan, and there are more drugs and therapies to treat it. But that wasn't always the case. Because osteoporosis -- meaning porous bones -- develops in silence, doctors needed a way to detect the disease. They were helped by research done in the 1950's by the old Atomic Energy Commission. The commission was looking at ways to prevent atomic fallout from getting into bone. That early work on bone biology was dusted off to help 21st century sufferers of osteoporosis.

Commentator Lenore Skenazy has some thoughts on the history of wine and beer inspired by a museum visit.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports officials in Sydney, Australia hope the upcoming Olympic Games will boost tourism and investment for years to come. Despite the excitement, Australians are not nearly as enthusiastic about the games as they were seven years ago when Sydney won its bid to play host. Cost over-runs and scandals involving Olympic officials have taken a toll.

Alex Trebek, host of the game show Jeopardy. He's been hosting the show for years. And he's played himself as host of Jeopardy in a number of TV shows including, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Ellen, The Larry Sanders Show and many others. (REBROADCAST from 9

Novelist James Welch has a new novel called The Heartsong of Charging Elk, based on an Oglala Sioux Indian who was part of the cast of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. From this historical incident novelist James Welch has made his new work -- (1:30) The Heartsong of Charging Elk is published by Doubleday.