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On Tuesday, U.S. Senate voted to approve Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a permanent repository for the nation's deadliest nuclear waste. NPR's David Kestenbaum visited the site and talked with a Department of Energy scientist about the biggest threats to keeping nearby areas safe from the threat of radiation: time, and rain.

NPR's Frank Browning reports from Barcelona on the 14th International AIDS Conference. Former presidents Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela addressed the conference on Friday. They warned that though the epidemic is growing faster in developing nations, the spread of HIV also threatens industrial nations.

Lucy Kaplansky is a folksinger turned clinical psychologist turned folksinger again. She talks the about similarities between her two careers and about her new album, Every Single Day.

Chocolate comes from the cacao tree Theobroma cacao, meaning the food of the gods. While today chocolate is often considered common, chocolate connoisseurs are trying to elevate the cacao bean back to its former elite status. Joanne Silberner reports on their progress for Morning Edition.

Are you tired of resuscitating limp plants? Is schlepping hoses around the yard getting a little old? Maybe it's time to crib from nature herself and take a more ecological approach to your garden. Join Ketzel Levine and Talking Plants for a look at permaculture.

The late architect Samuel Mockbee chose Hale County, Alabama, as a place to teach his students how to "provide a decent community for all citizens." Hale County is one of the poorest counties in the United States, but thanks to the Rural Studio students and teachers carrying on Mockbee's legacy, it's home to some of the most innovative buildings in the nation. View a photo gallery of some of the Rural Studio's work.

Tammy Faye Bakker and her ex-husband Jim once sat atop the Praise the Lord broadcasting empire, with a theme park, lavish homes and even a satellite. Now the remarried Tammy Faye Messner has become a remarkably popular performer with gay audiences. NPR's Neda Ulaby charts Tammy Faye's unlikely rebirth after a spectacular fall from grace.

Brooklyn artist Nina Katchadourian has a novel solution to noise pollution caused by the tones of common car alarms. She's created a new kind of alarm that blares bird songs that more or less follow the same familiar sonic pattern of most alarms, but with a "natural" twist. NPR's Rick Karr reports.

A long, hot summer and a big, fat novel -- two things that just go together, says All Things Considered book reviewer Alan Cheuse. Cheuse offers his annual summer reading recommendations, including novels, short story collections and a non-fiction book. Get the full list online, with brief comments on each book.

Guest host Renee Montagne talks with NPR's Ketzel Levine about a prehistoric plant that's being threatened by wildfires in Oregon.