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Four days after a powerful earthquake struck China's Sichuan province, survivors are still being located, freed from rubble by rescue teams. Days after the quake, a search party found and rescued a survivor in a devastated village in Sichuan. But getting the man out of a collapsed factory was no simple matter.

The Iraqi government has banned the distribution and public broadcast of a popular genre of war-like songs that praise the fighters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr. Supporters say the music is patriotic; the government says it incites terrorism.

The Botticellis take as many cues from '60s surfer pop as from 21st century art rock. The San Francisco quintet's music is radiant and lushly orchestrated. Guitars shimmer with ringing flourishes. The glowing harmonies and melodies are timeless. But the songs are as wistful as they are celebratory. Sun dappled afternoons aren't without their shadows, and singer Blythe Foster's lyrics are, at times, foreboding, all of which keeps an otherwise precious album from veering too far into mawkish romance.

How do yeast, water, hops and grain combine to form a lager, pilsener or ale? The process requires careful supervision and tightly controlled conditions. Expert brewmasters explain how temperature, timing and ingredients all factor into making an excellent beer.

The five Great Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior are said to hold one-fifth of the world's surface fresh water. The lakes are threatened by fluctuating water levels, invasive species and pollution and nearby communities are looking for ways to help.

Today we are learning how to build a curry with award-winning teacher Raghavan Iyer author of 660 Curries. Jane and Michael Stern have found pecan pie worth the trip at the Texas Pie Company in Kyle, TX. Wine wit Joshua Wesson brings us wines for the picnic basket and we look the misunderstandings behind MSG with The New York Times' Julia Moskin.

As part of our series on city parks, today we ask the question: When is a park not just a park? When it's a schoolyard. John KixMiller, director of the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park's Neighborhood Center, talks about the role that the schoolyard plays in his community.

If you’ve ever dreamed of leading an orchestra on stage, there's a new video game to satisfy your urge. The UBS Virtual Maestro allows would-be Leonard Bernsteins to lead their own "virtual orchestra" via an electronic Wii controller. As the game currently tours concert halls across the U.S., we hear from one of its developers, Yuri Ivanov. And there's another reason for conductors to be concerned for their job security: On Tuesday night, Asimo, a 4-foot-3-inch Hondo robot led the Detroit Symphony in a performance of "The Impossible Dream" from "Man of La Mancha." Detroit Free Press music critic Mark Stryker tells us about it. Our blog: John Schaefer on "toying" with musical skills Tell us: Are music simulators good or bad for music? Can they spark new interest, or do they "cheapen" the study of music?

Mike Birbiglia is a standup comedian. His new special What I Should Have Said Was Nothing: My Secret Public Journal Live adapts stories from his popular online diary.

Even when you buy pairs of jeans, get your hair dyed, or rent a car, you can make an environmentally informed decision about when choosing a company. But how? Enter Greenopia, a guide to living green in New York. Gay Browne, founder of Greenopia, and Ferris Kawar, Greenopia's vice president of sustainability, talk about the guide and how they researched it.

Storycorps founder Dave Isay talks about the end of an era: the closing of one of the project's flagship recording booths in Manhattan. Annie Perasa and her husband were one of the first interviews in the booth. Together they share how it's possible to change lives just by being yourself.

Congress has passed a new $300 billion federal farm bill with a veto proof majority -- and it includes major new money for California agricultural initiatives. We talk with some of the stakeholders.

The nation's foreclosure crisis is causing property values to drop across the nation, and California is one state that is taking it hard. It is bad not only for homeowners, but also for local governments like Stockton, Calif. that depend on property taxes.

We discuss the ramifications of Thursday's California Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

Politico.com's Ben Smith discusses some of the latest news from the campaign trail.

Local business analysis, from KNPR's resident expert Ian Mylchreest.

Beware of stolen gas... Cancer drug market growing... It must be all the chutzpah

Developer Armon Bar-Tur has proposed a $200 million Bible theme park on 280 acres in Rutherford County, Tenn. Not everyone is convinced it will benefit the county.

Even as President Bush tries to boost prospects for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, optimism on both sides is dwindling. Many moderate Palestinians now question the basis of the process: the idea of Israel and Palestine living side by side.

It's been a strange ride for singer Rachel Taylor Brown: a nervous breakdown, eight years of solitude as a hermit, an endless struggle with both loving and hating humanity. It's the kind of fear and anguish that can drive someone deep into their own mind. But Brown looked outward at a troubling world and discovered some the haunting, humorous and ultimately beautiful songs that appear on her latest CD, Half Hours With the Lower Creatures.

In today's podcast, you'll hear how right-wingers are lying about Democratic tax plans. You'll be treated to clips of Monica Crowley, Sean Hannity, John McCain. The results of a recent poll about taxing the wealthy may astound you. And what does Martin Luther King, Jr. have to do with all this? Just listen to today's show, and find out! (PS: Right-wingers, if you want to write in to me, fine, but at least do me the courtesy of listening to the podcast first. Please don't respond just on the basis of the brief preview above. Thanks!!)

This year marks the 100th anniversary of that staple of baseball’s seventh-inning stretch, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Tim Wiles, director of research at the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, shares the history of a hit song that somehow lost two verses on its way to the stardom in the big leagues. Wiles is co-author of the book "Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game.'" Our blog: John Schaefer on "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

As China prepares for the Olympics, it must also consider its approach to the foreign press. Minky Worden, media director at Human Rights Watch and editor of China's Great Leap, and Ian Buruma, journalist, author, and professor of Democracy, Human Rights & Journalism at Bard College, discuss China's changing media strategy and other issues surrounding the games. Event Ian Buruma and Minky Worden are participating in a panel tomorrow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Details can be found here.

The polar bear is now listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to projections of melting sea ice at the pole. Is this a sign of a changing government position on global climate change? Andrew Wetzler, Director of the Endangered Species Project at the National Resources Defense Council, explains the significance.

Wendy Perrin, consumer news editor at Condé Nast Traveler, joins us every Thursday this May as part of our month-long series on travel. Today's topic: weak-dollar travel strategies. French Riviera too expensive? Consider laying your towel on a Croatian beach! Have any questions for Wendy? Comment below! Travel was the #1 suggestion in our Word of Wisdom segment.

In honor of the It's My Park! Day, a semi-annual Parks & Recreation Department event highlighting New Yorkers' local neighborhood parks, we'll take time in each the next five shows to appreciate a park in every borough. To start us off, Alexie Torres-Fleming, founder and executive director of Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, talks about the brand-new Concrete Plant Park in the South Bronx.

"Never tell your editors what your real plan is," says NPR reporter Laura Sullivan, as she and fellow Dart Award winner Rachel Dissell explain how to get approval for ambitious, difficult stories. Get full coverage at DartCenter.org.

WNYC reporters Bob Hennelly and Andrea Bernstein discuss the week's developments in the presidential campaign, including John McCain's recent visit to New Jersey and John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama.

We invite poets -- including Pulitzer Prize winners and a national poet laureate -- to read from some of their work and to discuss the state of poetry.

Dart Award-winning reporter Laura Sullivan tells the story behind the story, "Sexual Abuse of Native American Women": a groundbreaking NPR investigation of an ongoing epidemic of sexual violence on Native American reservations.