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Blues harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite has played with some of the biggest legends of the genre, at a crucial time in the history of the blues. Now young lions such as Ben Harper are contributing to his latest CD, Sanctuary. Hear live tracks of songs the two musicians recorded at NPR West, and hear an extended version of the interview.

The American intelligence community was sharply criticized at recent hearings of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. CIA Director George Tenet conceded his agency failed to translate knowledge of the dangers posed by al Qaeda to an effective defense of the nation. He also said it will take five years to develop a clandestine service capable of fully dealing with terrorist threats. NPR's Brian Naylor speaks with Daniel Benjamin, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

U.S. troops in Iraq have some tasks that aren't in line with traditional warfare -- establishing checkpoints and searching for improvised explosive devices. These often require soldiers to be out in the open and vulnerable. NPR's Anne Garrels profiles the soldiers who protect their fellow soldiers: snipers.

Hoping to end a tense stalemate in Iraq's Sunni Muslim stronghold of Fallujah, U.S. Marines and a representative of the U.S. occupation authority hold direct talks with a delegation of insurgents. Marines maintain their one-sided cease-fire, and continue to surround the city. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and embedded KPBS reporter Eric Niiler.

Five Marines die Sunday in fierce fighting near Iraq's border with Syria. And Spain says it will start bringing its 1,300 troops home from Iraq as soon as possible. Spain's prime minister says he does not believe the United Nations will be able to take over the occupation of Iraq. Hear NPR's Cheryl Corley and Jerome Socolovsky.

Shadid is Islamic affairs correspondent for The Washington Post. For more than a year now he has reported from Baghdad and has just returned to the United States. He just received the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. Before working for the Post, Shadid was a correspondent at The Boston Globe's Washington bureau. He spent nine years with The Associated Press, five of them in Cairo. He is the author of Legacy of the Prophet: Despots, Democrats, and the New Politics of Islam. In the spring of 2002, he was shot by Israeli troops in Ramallah while covering a story for the Globe.

In the 1950's and 1960's, South Africa's National Party developed apartheid into an increasingly repressive political philosophy. The African National Congress was forced underground. Part Two of Joe Richman and Sue Johnson's series "Mandela: An Audio History" recalls the political history of the period, culminating with the arrest, trial and conviction of Nelson Mandela.

Scientists have developed a new type of refrigeration system for Ben and Jerry's. It chills ice cream using sound waves, rather than with gases that may contribute to climate change. The "thermo-acoustic" chiller is a pricey prototype, but its creators hope the device can be produced for the commercial market. NPR's Robert Smith reports.

Many consider the 26-mile men's marathon to be the Summer Olympics' most grueling event. Olympic race walker Curt Clausen -- an athlete who must push through 50 kilometers in about four hours, without breaking into a run -- would disagree. NPR's Tom Goldman profiles Clausen.

Former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev once loomed large over America, a symbol of the Cold War menace. Former CBS-TV anchorman Walter Cronkite recalls the rise and fall of the once-fearsome Kremlin leader. See photos from Khrushchev's historic 1959 visit to the United States.