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A new poll delves into the problems Americans face with their health care. Four out of 10 families report trouble paying their medical bills. NPR's Patricia Neighmond reports that most Americans are against what are called "defined contribution" health plans -- where employers give employees money to pay for health care benefits they find themselves. Find the complete poll results online.

All Things Considered is taking questions from listeners about the conflict between India and Pakistan. If you want to know more about the history of the conflict, the geography of the region, the military capabilities of the two countries or anything else about this story, share your question with the NPR community.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says he thinks a military conflict between India and Pakistan can be averted. "There's nothing inevitable about war," he tells NPR's Juan Williams in an interview for Morning Edition. When it comes to Iraq, Powell is less adamant about the hopes for a political solution.

Music commentator Marika Partridge reports on singer Pat Humphries and an extraordinary song. Humphries isn't well-known outside folk music circles, but "Swimming to the Other Side" is becoming something of an underground anthem. Listen to three versions of the song online, and hear what Humphries fan Pete Seeger has to say about it. (10:00) The song is on a CD called Hands, and Pat's website is www.pathumphries.com.

Ten years after fire and violence rocked Los Angeles, Weekend Edition looks back on what happened and how the city has tried to recover. Scott Simon opens the hour from the corner of Florence and Normandie in South Central Los Angeles. A montage follows as Angelinos describe the events of ten years ago in their own words. Scott then explores the economic realities of south Los Angeles.

Jockey Jimmy Winkfield was the last African American to win the Kentucky Derby, 100 years ago this year. For Weekend Edition Saturday, NPR's Howard Berkes reports on Winkfield's legacy and the history of African Americans in horseracing.

At 17, Jesse Jean was a failing student in danger of falling victim to Washington, D.C.'s, street crime.

If Cole Porter and George Gershwin provided a soundtrack for the city, then Hoagy Carmichael was the voice of America's heartland. A new Carmichael biography and song collection — both called Stardust Melody — lead a resurgence of interest in the prolific songwriter's work. Sing along Wednesday on All Things Considered

Turns out Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk has a secret passion for bonsai and magnolias in addition to carburetors and exhaust systems. On Morning Edition Ketzel Levine of Talking Plants takes us on a tour of Ray's Massachusetts garden. Hear excerpts of their rainy-day conversation and view a collection of photos online.

Thomas Keneally talks about his new book examining the life of the rakish congressman who beat a murder rap after killing his wife's lover -- then went on to gain fame (and lose a leg) as a Civil War General. And let's not forget the affair with Queen Isabella of Spain. (American Scoundrel: The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles {Doubleday; ISBN: 0385501390}).

Science fiction writer Sheri S. Tepper is the author of over a dozen novels including, The Fresco, The Family Tree, Grass and her newest, The Visitor. (Harper Collins).

An expert in climate change research, Paul Mayewski led the National Science Foundation's Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2. The project extracted ice cores chronicling 100,000 years of climate history. Mayewski, with co-author Frank White, writes about their expeditions in the new book, The Ice Chronicles: The Quest to Understand Global Climate Change (University Press of New England). Mayewski is also co-director of the Institute of Quaternary and Climate Studies at the University of Maine.