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During World War II, the British government built a gun platform in the North Sea to defend against German attacks. Twenty-five years later, a British businessman declared that platform the sovereign Principality of Sealand. Today, Sealand is used for secure computer data storage. Scott Simon visits the platform.

NPR's Joanne Silberner reports on the dangers of multitasking. While working on several projects at once has become a workplace standard, experts now say that multi-tasking actually takes longer than doing things one at a time.

Host John Ydstie visits with workers of Scranton, Pennsylvania, laid-off and left behind by a television-tube factory that's being moved to Mexico. For some, the lay-off is breaking up marriages and worrying their children. But others say they're glad--- that the closing means they're on to more fulfilling jobs.

NPR's Allison Aubrey examines the danger that common food allergies pose to some Americans. Common allergens, such as peanuts and certain grains, are often unlisted as ingredients on food packaging, or contaminate other food prepared in the same factory. Such problems lead to product recalls every year and have prompted the Food and Drug Administration and food processors, to find ways to test for allergens.

NPR's Van Williamson reports on the declining blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay. As this regional symbol grows scarce, Marylanders may have to change more than their eating habits. (6:52 -

Scott remembers the late British pop star Kirsty MacColl. She died last December at the age of 41. Her last album is a mix of English wit and Latin rhythms. It's called Tropical Brainstorm on Instinct Records (INS557-2).

In the final installment of the favorite summers series, NPR Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg talks with a kayaking couple, Jason Hale and Dixie-Marie Prickett, who are taking this summer to fulfill a dream -- paddling some of America's most challenging rivers.

Scott talks with author Michael Azerrad about the indie rock movement. Mr. Azerrad's book is Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 (Little, Brown).

U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins is a professor of English at Lehman College of the City University of New York. Collins' latest work is called Sailing Alone Around the Room.

Scott talks with Jeffrey Flax, a true fan of Cal Ripken.