Search results for

Drawing on the centuries-old tradition of female vocal music from Eastern Europe, the women's ensemble Kitka has won wide acclaim for their lush harmonies. Their latest CD, Wintersongs, features Slavic and Balkan carols and hymns. NPR's Jennifer Ludden talks with members of the ensemble.

She is former partner-in-charge of Ethics & Responsible Business Practices consulting services for Arthur Andersen, Barbara Ley Toffler. She's the co-author of the new book, Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed, and the Fall of Arthur Andersen (with Jennifer Reingold, Broadway Books). Toffler writes about life inside the firm which she left before it collapsed in the wake of the Enron scandal. Toffler now teaches at Columbia University's business school.

The Pentagon reports U.S. forces are rolling through key areas in Iraq with little sign of Republican Guard units. A week of heavy bombing has weakened some guard divisions, but military officials say they've seen few surrenders. The Pentagon says it's not clear what Iraq's strategy is, and warns again that the toughest fighting lies ahead. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden.

U.S. officials say Saddam Hussein's regime appears to have lost hold of Baghdad. Security forces desert the streets, replaced by looters, and government officials have disappeared, though some fighting continues. From Qatar, U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks says the regime "is in disarray and much of Iraq is free from years of oppression." Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden.

Actress Jennifer Garner appeared last week on the Web site of the Central Intelligence Agency. Garner plays a CIA case officer in the ABC show Alias. Her video encourages people to consider a career at the CIA. NPR's Robert Siegel takes us on an audio tour of the CIA's recruitment Web site where, with the help of NPR's Frank Tavares, we hear about exciting job opportunities at the agency.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that the state of West Virginia has abandoned plans to erect a monument honoring women veterans, because of objections from some female vets that the proposed statue looked too "masculine." Ludden speaks with one of the female vets, former Marine Dottie Alderman, and sculptor P. Joseph Mullins.

N-P-R's Jennifer Ludden reports from Kinshasa that Zaire's six-month-old civil war is likely to continue. President Mobutu Sese Seko [moh-BOO-too seh-say SAY-koh] refuses to resign while rebels prepare to attack the capital. Despite the President's resolve, he has little real power, and the rebels may soon unseat him. They control almost half the country, and the remnants of Mobutu's army guarding Kinshasa will probably not offer much resistance.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Kinshasa on the surprisingly strong rebel movement which has emerged in eastern Zaire in the past two months. Led largely by ethnic Tutsis, the force is also made up of various Zairean tribes, and led by a Zairean opposition figure who helped lead a rebellion in the 1960's. The rebels have so far had a lot of success, easily capturing towns from the undisciplined Zairean army, which has devoted most of its time to retreating and pillaging.

Several Palestinians working for a Texas computer firm face charges of money laundering and exporting computers to Syria and Libya. A leader of the Palestinian group Hamas is also indicted. The Justice Department says the case represents a major success in its efforts to stem the flow of money to terrorist organizations. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports.

When legendary bluesman John Lee Hooker died in 2001, he was working on songs for what would be his last recording, Face to Face. His daughter, Zakiya Hooker, produced the album after his death and talks with NPR's Jennifer Ludden about his musical legacy.