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Beyond the glamour of Hollywood and the romance of the Golden Gate Bridge, there is another California -- and it's home to the greatest garden in the world. The 400-mile-long Central Valley supplies fully one-quarter of the food America eats. Now the region faces huge changes. In the second of a four-part series on the future of the valley, NPR's John McChesney reports on the benefits and pitfalls of pesticide use, and the pressure on farmers to "go organic."

In his new book, The End of the American Era: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Geopolitics of the Twenty-First Century, Kupchan argues that the era of American dominance may be coming to an end. This demise will not be brought on by the Islamic world or China, but from an integrated Europe. He says that as Europe's political and strategic goals continue to diverge from those of the United States, Europe will rise as a new rival. Kupchan served on the National Security Council during the first Clinton administration. He is a professor of international relations at Georgetown University and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The frontier is long gone, but the American West clings to some of its roots. Morning Edition presents a series of profiles of people who are inspired by the region's landscape, resources and culture. The series concludes with Montana writers Judy Blunt and Rick Bass. NPR Online offers excerpts of their works.

Joe Palca speaks with Donna Sheehan, who organized a group of 50 women this week to demonstrate in the nude against the war in Iraq. Using their bodies, the women formed the word "peace" in the grass in Point Reyes Station, Calif.

His popular show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was the longest-running program on public television. It ran 33 years and ended its run in 2001. Rogers is the author of the new book, The Mister Rogers Parenting Book: Helping to Understand Your Young Child. (Running Press). Earlier this year, Rogers was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor the nation can bestow.

In the latest installment of NPR's series on finding homes for people who need support and services, NPR's Joe Shapiro reports on the problem elderly residents of so-called assisted living facilities have when they are forced into nursing homes because of their special medical needs and government regulations.

Charles de Ledesma reviews 1 Giant Leap a multimedia project that combines documentary film, recorded music, and spoken word, all compiled on a CD and a DVD. Two producers spent six months traveling to more than 20 countries, recording musicians, writers, and storytellers. Featured on the project are readings from Kurt Vonnegut and Dennis Hopper, and performances by Michael Stipe, Nenah Cherry and Baaba Maal, among others. All of the audio corresponds with short films, with themes like time, death, happiness, money, and God. The CD 1 Giant Leap is from Palm Pictures, catalog # PALM CD 2077-2.

Four years after the last round of weapons inspectors left Baghdad, chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix arrived in Baghdad Monday, along with International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei and advance inspection teams that the two men will oversee. NPR’s Vicky O’Hara profiles Blix.

It's the most-played board game in the world. Though it's considered the ultimate contest of money and power, it started out as a cautionary exercise to make Americans aware of the excesses of capitalism. On Morning Edition, NPR's Juan Williams reports on Monopoly's humble roots, as part of the Present at the Creation series. (8:38)

We hear more communications from the plane carrying newly sworn-in President Lyndon B. Johnson and the White House Situation Room as the plane returns to Washington, D.C., from Dallas.