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His debut novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, received critical acclaim and is now out in paperback. The main character of the book, like Shteyngart, is a Russian-American Jew who emigrated to the United States as a child. In a New York Times Magazine cover article, Daniel Zalewski wrote, "Gary Shteyngart has rewritten the classic immigrant narrative -- starring a sarcastic slacker instead of a grateful striver. And after all his parents have done for him!" This interview first aired July 2, 2002.

Journalist Joyce Davis is deputy foreign editor at Knight Ridder newspapers and former Mideast editor at NPR. She's the author of Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East. Davis conducted interviews with Islamic scholars to try to understand the teachings about martyrdom and how those teachings had been twisted by extremists. She also conducted interviews in the Middle East with the families of both martyrs and victims.

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Mike Watchmaker of the Daily Racing Form ahead of Saturday's Belmont Stakes. They discuss whether Funny Cide will win and clinch horse racing's Triple Crown.

American forces in Iraq capture Abid Hamid Mahmud, Saddam Hussein's security chief and No. 4 on the U.S. list of 55 most-wanted Iraqi leaders. And U.S. troops raid farmhouses near the northern city of Tikrit in an effort to root out supporters of the former Baathist regime. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

The New Leviathan Oriental Fox-Trot Orchestra may sound anachronistic, that's what it's all about. This 18-piece New Orleans group is dedicated to playing and preserving the music of the early 20th century. Host Bob Edwards talks with one of the orchestra's founding members, George Schmidt, about its latest CD, Burning Sands. It's a tongue-in-cheek collection of Middle Eastern songs, including "Rebecca Came Back from Mecca" and "Lena the Queen of Palestina."

While Capitol Hill is consumed with debate over the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, public opinion seems less vocal. NPR asked three reporters to ask three groups of people whether it matter if weapons of mass destruction are found in Iraq. Russell Lewis of member station KPBS reports that to a group of vets in San Diego, finding the weapons is something they believe will happen, and their faith that they exist in Iraq is unshaken. NPR's Tom Goldman found a group of people in Portland, Ore., who are much more skeptical of U.S. officials' claims that the weapons exist -- and believe lies may have been told to build support for the war. And Nancy Solomon found a group in New Jersey who have mixed feelings about finding weapons of mass destruction.

A growing market for foods and other consumer products colored with "natural" red dye has sparked a booming industry in Peru. NPR's Martin Kaste reports that thousands of families make a living harvesting the source of the dye -- tiny insect called cochineals. See photos of the insects being harvested, and discover the true source of the red dye. (Please note this correction which aired in 'All Things Considered' on June 19, 2003: ..."my description yesterday of the Cochineal insect as a Peruvian beetle. While we could claim that this is a vague layman's usage of 'beetle' that would include even certain Volkswagens, that would not wash with Dr. Paul Johnson, professor of entomology at South Dakota State University in Brookings. He calls it, 'a serious entomological faux pas.' In a further unkind cut, Professor Johnson writes: 'I would expect such cavalier biology from your colleagues at Fox, but factual inaccuracies on NPR?! ... Beetles are exceedingly distinctive insects that are well-known and well characterized in any novitiate-level biology book, as well as advanced entomology references... Cochineal insects are not beetles and not even closely related, let alone not even similar in appearance (but rather) a species of scale insect. Shame on NPR for allowing Western entomo-phobic disregard for insects to influence the misrepresentation of biological facts.")

Film Critic David Edelstein reviews The Hulk, directed by Ang Lee.

Fifty years ago Thursday, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for selling America's nuclear weapons secrets to the Soviet Union. In his new book, An Execution in the Family, the Rosenbergs' son, Robert Meeropol, revisits the much-debated case against his parents. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Meeropol.

A rocket-propelled grenade is fired at a U.S. Army ambulance south of Baghdad, killing a U.S. soldier traveling inside. The attack is one of at least four launched against U.S. targets Thursday, killing two Iraqi bystanders and wounding at least a dozen others. NPR's Tom Bullock reports.