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Dorie McCullough Lawson's new book features letters to children written by John Adams, Barbara Bush, Eleanor Roosevelt and Harriet Beecher, among others. Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children, written by the daughter of historian David McCullough, spans three centuries of letters from famous parents. Hear McCullough Lawson and NPR's Bob Edwards.

The Showtime cable series Dead Like Me, about the Grim Reapers who live among us to escort the newly dead to their reward, has returned for a second season on Sunday nights. NPR's Liane Hansen talks to the show's executive producer, John Masius, about the evolution of the series and future story lines.

Camp Alpha, a U.S. military base in Iraq, was built directly on top of the ancient temple area of Babylon. The base's location was chosen to protect the archeological site from looters. Instead, the base has resulted in damage that some antiquities experts characterize as "horrifying." Hear NPR's Renee Montagne and archeologist John Russell.

From the comedy Scrubs actor Zach Braff and producer-creator Bill Lawrence. Braff plays medical resident John "J.D." Dorian. Lawrence previously worked on Spin City. Braff made his feature film writing and directing debut with Garden State which opened last fall. It's now out on DVD. (This interview was originally broadcast on Oct. 4, 2004.)

Attorney General John Ashcroft says the United States has credible intelligence that al Qaeda operatives are planning an attack inside the U.S. within the next few months, though a specific time, place or method of attack isn't mentioned. Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller re-release photos of seven suspected al Qaeda operatives and ask the public's help in finding them. Hear NPR News.

This week, the Sept. 11 commission is expected to call for a new chief to coordinate the nation's intelligence agencies, including the CIA. The panel's report has not been released yet, but acting CIA chief John McLaughlin has already criticized the recommendation. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR News Analyst Cokie Roberts.

The great apes of Africa and Asia have long been threatened by hunters, loggers and farmers. But scientists say another threat is rising fast: infectious diseases carried or spread by humans and livestock. NPR's John Nielsen reports.

Two memos prepared by Bush administration lawyers and high-ranking officials suggest the president cannot be held to federal and international rules prohibiting torture. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to turn over the documents or say whether President Bush has authorized force or other techniques in interrogation. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

Attorney General John Ashcroft refuses senators' demands for copies of legal memos, prepared by Bush administration lawyers in 2002 and 2003, that reportedly state the president has the right to order torture in his role as commander in chief. Ashcroft said his advice to the president must remain confidential.

The debate within the Catholic Church over politicians who disagree with church policy -- specifically, the church's opposition to abortion -- could have an affect on the campaign of Sen. John Kerry, a pro-choice Catholic and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and Peter Steinfels, a religion and ethics columnist for The New York Times and author of A People Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America.

NPR's Ina Jaffe reports on the battle for New Mexico's five electoral votes. That's not a lot when it takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency, but in a close election -- as the battle between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry is shaping out to be -- it could be crucial. Four years ago, former Vice President Al Gore won the state by just 366 votes.

Republicans had their turn last week in South Carolina. On Saturday, the Democrats have their say. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are making last-minute appeals to the voters of the Palmetto State, but the stakes are perhaps higher for Obama and Edwards.

Sen. John McCain's iconoclastic views on immigration policy have made him an unpopular member of his own party in his home state of Arizona. But his stand comes out of long experience in the state most affected by illegal immigration, and he has managed to champion immigration reform despite Arizona GOP opposition.

The House of Representatives will be under new management in 2007, but leadership posts within each party are undecided. Maryland's Steny Hoyer wants to be Majority Leader, but Nancy Pelosi backing Rep. John Murtha. Republican Speaker, Dennis Hastert, says he won't run for a leadership post, creating room at the top for the new minority party.

A poll of likely caucus voters in Iowa indicates Republican Mike Huckabee has opened up a lead over Mitt Romney. On the Democratic side, the poll gives Barack Obama a slight edge over Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, but that race is still very close.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. PARK DIETZ. He has served as an expert witness for the prosecution in the murder trials of John Hinkley, Joel Rifkin, Jeffrey Dahmer and others. In each case he presented evidence against the defense of insanity, saying that these men knew that they were committing terrible crimes. DIETZ also has a consulting firm, Threat Assessment, which focuses on workplace violence. He is a consultant to the HBO special "Murder 9 to 5," which examines murder at work. (REBROADCAST from 12/

NPR's John Burnett reports on a Colorado ballot initiative which has attracted the concerned attention of non-profits around the country. Dubbed "Murphy's Law" for the man who has made its approval his personal mission, the measure would end property tax exemptions for churches, religious organizations and other non-profits in the state. The prospect has mobilized powerful opposition and started fierce debates about the cost of privilege and the value of service organizations.

Almost three years ago, National Public Radio moved its headquarters to the Gallery Place neighborhood of Washington, DC. Since then, we've noticed that this historic neighborhood is changing more rapidly than any of us could have imagined. We talk with architectural historian Linda Lyons about the neighborhood's past and its plans for its future. We also talk with John Stranix, contruction project manager of the new MCI Center, a retail complex and future home of the Washington Wizards basketball team.

GEORGE FORMAN continued. Film critic JOHN POWERS 12:58:30 NEXT SHOW PROMO (:29) PROMO COPY On the next archive edition of Fresh Air. . .a 1995 interview with former heavy weight champ GEORGE FORMAN. The new documentary "When We Were Kings" tells the story of the famous fight between FORMAN and Muhammad Ali in Zaire in 1974 when Forman, the odds-on favorite was defeated by a boastful Ali. That and more coming up on today's Fresh Air.

NPR's John Burnett reports on the on-going controversy over a Southern Baptist Convention resolution to evangelize Jews. Many Jewish leaders consider the Baptist mandate to convert them arrogant and ominous. Southern Baptists believe they are under orders from God to bring the Jews to Jesus. Recently, at a meeting of the Anti-Defamation League in New York, a Southern Baptist representative tried unsuccessfully to convince an angry Jewish audience of the rightness of his denomination's course. It's the latest round in a debate as ancient as Judaism and Christianity themselves.