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Commentator Andrei Codrescu explores the twisted qualities of health care in the age of HMO's. He talks about the absurdity of insurance companies that put financial profits before human life.

A massive irrigation and hydropower project in Turkey is alarming Syria and Iraq. They fear that around half their current supply of fresh water could be cut off by their neighbor. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Turkey that its plan to build 22 dams has the region realizing that water is as strategic a resource as oil has been to the area's politics and economies.

Julian Crandall Hollick reports on the Shidhis, Pakistanis whose skin color and features are distinctly East African. Many are descended from slaves that were brought across the Arabian Sea to Pakistan. They say they are discriminated against because of their color; they say they are treated as second-class citizens in Pakistan. And many, still, are essentially slaves, sold as parts of dowries from family to family.

about the current status of relations between Israel and Syria, as well as the proxy war in South Lebanon.

NPR's John Ydstie reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan encouraged the Congress to move forward on efforts to revise the nation's main inflation guage, the consumer price index. Greenspan reiterated his view that the CPI overstates inflation and forces the government to overcompensate retirees and others for the effect of inflation.

with more than 30 states to stave off legal action over its unlimited Internet access package. The company will refund subscribers who haven't been able to log-on because the system became overloaded.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Belgrade on a change in the protest movement against the government of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. The daily street demonstrations haven't stopped since last November. They've given birth to new initiatives to change the political, civic and economic landscape in Serbia.

Dan Schorr discusses the wages of celebrity fame, in this case, Bill Cosby, who lost his son recently. Dan's guests are Alvin Poussaint, Harvard Medical School psychiatrist and Jonathan Alter, media critic at Newsweek.

Next week is the 75th anniversary of the first publication (in Paris) of James Joyce's masterpiece of modern literature, "Ulysses." The book's American obscenity trial resulted in a landmark court decision, and the hype surrounding the book raised issues that remain relevant today. The story of "Ulysses" is as much a story about savvy marketing and art as investment as it is about the First Amendment and a discerning readership. NPR's Dean Olsher reports.

Linda talks with Ed Ulbrich (ULL-brick), the vice president and executive producer of Digital Domain, the largest visual effects studio in Hollywood. With a re-release of the movie "Stars Wars" today, we are reminded that this film brought Hollywood into the computer age with its special effects. We look ahead at what's next. Digital Domain is developing computer technology that can replace human actors with cyber-stand-ins, create sets and crowd scenes, and other technological visual wizardry.