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The bacterium D. radiodurans can survive thousands of times more radiation than any other living creature -- because it has a unique ability to repair genetic damage extremely efficiently. Scientists have been trying to discover how the bug pulls of this nifty trick for 40 years. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports.

In the middle of a flat stretch of Ohio farmland resides one of the largest collections of holy relics in the United States -- at the convent of the Sisters of the Precious Blood in Maria Stein, Ohio. Independent producer Aileen LeBlanc reports on this unlikely gathering of religious items. View photos of items from the collection, and learn more about the convent and its history.

In her 40 years of public service she worked for civil rights, helped write the guidelines that are now established in the Sexual Harrassment Act, worked for reform in South Africa and has argued before the Supreme Court. She has been the Commissioner on Human Rights in New York, the first woman appointed to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a law professor. Holmes Norton is the subject of the new biography Fire in My Soul, written by a long-time friend, Joan Steinau Lester.

The U.S. government offered former Panamanian Gen. Manuel Noriega exile in Spain before his 1990 surrender to U.S. authorities and arrest on drug trafficking charges, a former high-ranking State Department official tells NPR. NPR's Bob Edwards talks to former Assistant Secretary of State Bernard Aronson, who reveals that Noriega rejected the offer.

The Gardens of Remembrance, blocks away from the former site of the World Trade Center, will be designed by Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf. NPR gardening expert Ketzel Levine speaks with NPR's John Ydstie about Oudolf's way with plants. View an online photo gallery of Oudolf's work at Talking Plants.

In 1995, in the wake of two shootings at women's health clinics in Boston, a group of leaders from opposing sides of the abortion debate agreed to hold four secret meetings to prevent further acts of violence. The meetings continued for seven years. NPR's Margot Adler visits the women at the Public Conversations Project offices, located in a small home in Watertown, Mass., to talk about the effect of their conversations. Online, hear the women's stories and read more about the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

He directed and choreographed the new film adaptation of Chicago. It stars Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Queen Latifah. Previously, Marshall won an Emmy for Best Choreography for his work on the movie-musical Annie. He also directed and choreographed the acclaimed revival of Cabaret.

Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian singer-songwriter who pairs stark lyrics with instrumentals that are sometimes surprisingly upbeat. Meredith Ochs reviews her debut album Failer.

Next year, 2,500 contemporary artworks owned by multimillionaire Friedrich Christian Flick will go on display in Berlin. The collection was rejected as "Nazi blood art" in Flick's native Switzerland.

Bruce Kluger and David Slavin poke a bit of musical fun at the six announced candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination. TV's Friends has six fun folks -- could this be the start of something big?