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THINKING -- Commentator Donald McCaig says the countryside can be noisy, with the sounds of thunderstorms or the peeping of frogs and bleating of sheep. But on summer evenings it's quiet enough to hear yourself think. He says that's unlike the city, where the challenge is not so much the din, as knowing what the noises mean. (2:30)NOTE: MUSIC AFTER THIS PIECE WAS HARMONICA VIRTUOSO RICHARD HUNTER, FROM HIS CD "THE SECOND ACT OF BEING FREE" ON TURTLE HILL PRODUCTIONS, PO BOX 651, MONROE, ct 06468-0651. PHONE: 203-459

NPR's Debbie Elliott reports a Florida jury will soon decide how much in punitive damages the tobacco industry should pay to some half-million Florida smokers. The same jury has already found that the tobacco companies made a dangerous and defective product. It awarded nearly thirteen-million dollars in compensatory damages to three plaintiffs. Now, the attorney for the smokers is asking for a judgement of as much as 196-billion dollars to punish the industry for its past conduct. But lawyers for the cigarette companies say that kind of an award would put the companies out of business.

Some of our biggest food producers are now telling grocers to cancel some planned promotions to avoid certain products disappearing quickly from store shelves.

Film director ANG LEE. He grew up in Taiwan, but studied theater and film production in the United States. His second feature film, "The Wedding Banquet," was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, as was his next film, "Eat Drink Man Woman." LEE's films often portray family relationships with poignancy, respect, and a light comic touch. His latest film is "Sense and Sensibility," the film based on the novel by Jane Austen

Actor MORGAN FREEMAN. He's one of stage and screen's most acclaimed actors, for his ability to emerse himself in different roles. He's originated the role of the chauffeur in the Broadway production of "Driving Miss Daisy." Later he revived the role in the movie version, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. FREEMAN's other movies include, "Glory," "Clean and Sober," "Lean on Me," and "The Bonfire of the Vanities." FREEMAN is making his directing debut with the new film, "Bopha," based on a South African play

Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Eric Weiner in Jerusalem about today's peace talks between Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (neh-tahn-YA-hoo) and Palestinian president Yasser Arafat. The talks ended without an agreement. But U-S envoy Dennis Ross said the meeting was nontheless "extremely productive. " At issue is Hebron (HEH-bruhn) - a West Bank town where Jews have settled - and the withdrawal of Israeli troops there.

NPR's Margot Adler reports that an industry is springing from the premise that teenagers are dangerous. There are gadgets that beep if your teen drives over the speed limit; machines to prevent your car from starting if the driver has alcohol on his breath; hair analysis kits that will let you perform drug tests on your kids. All of these products of parents' fears are invasive, and a few may be unconstitutional, but they're proliferating.

. Today, the Ford Motor Company will produce its two-hundred-and 50-millionth vehicle, AND this year marks the one hundredth birthday of automobile production in the U.S. We'll hear from Ralph NAder, New York City's traffic commissioner, a car loving poet, and from Tom and Ray, the hosts of Car Talk.

Some protests are motivated by war, or civil rights violations. Others are sparked by issues of somewhat less dire concern. But that doesn't necessarily lessen the emotion behind them. Witness Paulette Lsyshyn's effort to get the Gem canning jar company to reverse its decision to stop production of a certain size of lid. NPR's Lynn Neary talks with Paulette Lsyshyn of Leoville, Saskatchewan, Canada, about her countrywide petition.

Amid the blizzard of new ads coming on Super Bowl Sunday, Sony tries a new approach. The company will try to sell its electronics products with an ad featuring singer Alana Davis -- and urge viewers to download Davis's version of the Crosby, Stills classic "Carry On" from the Internet for 99 cents. NPR's Laura Sydell reports.

Actor Alfred Molina. Hes starring in the new film, Chocolat, about a mysterious and seductive chocolate shop that electrifies a French village. Molina is a Tony-nominated actor who has played in over 30 films, 30 TV movies, and many theater productions. His Tony nomination was for his role in the Broadway hit Art. His film credits include Boogie Nights, Anna Karenina, Prick up Your Ears, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Molina was born in London, UK, and lives in Los Angeles.

Bundles is former Washington deputy bureau chief for ABC News, and an award winning producer. Her new book is a biographer of her great-great-grandmother Madam C.J. Walker, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, . Walker was the daughter of slaves, and a widow at the age of 20. She built a business empire creating hair products for African-American women, and then turned her wealth into philanthropy. Her friends included W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington.

LA-Z Boy and Microsoft have come together to produce a product perfect for the Web-surfing couch potato in your home. It's a recliner they call The Explorer. It was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday. The chair's arm contains a wireless modem and a 110 volt outlet, and comes with a build-in keyboard. Robert talks with Don Willmott, technology editor for Yahoo Internet Life about it.

Noah talks with James G. Wright, Assistant Metro Editor for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, about aluminum plants on the West Coast, which have discovered they can make more money by shutting down production and reselling the electricity they bought from the Bonneville Power Authority in Washington State. Wright says this is because they locked in the price of electricity with the B.P.A. years ago when natural gas was very cheap. Their contracts allow them to resell the electricity back to B.P.A.

Tanzania hopes to jump-start its agricultural production by dramatically increasing the use of irrigation. But existing schemes have had significant, but unintended, consequences: power outages, dried-up rivers, and little, if any, growth in crop yields.

The Mountain Goats' early albums were recorded on a boombox and released on cassette tapes. While their production values have changed, their evocative, pocket-narrative lyrics are the same. Members of the band join Linda Wertheimer for an interview and performance.

The energy bill signed into law by President Bush offers billions of dollars in tax incentives, loan guarantees and other federal aid to promote energy production. Included in the plan is nuclear power, which supplies 20 percent of the electricity in the United States.

The new film All the King's Men is the latest adaptation of the classic novel about political corruption in Louisiana. The film gets its star power from Sean Penn, Anthony Hopkins and Jude Law -- but James Carville adds a political pedigree to the production.

The incredibly expensive production costs of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a new series on Fox, reflect a trend in the industry: rising costs for producing scripted shows in the face of dwindling audiences. Even when the writers strike is resolved, the television industry will not have solved its problems.

A new film production of the Charles Dickens novel Bleak House will make its debut on PBS Sunday night. Gillian Anderson, of X-Files fame, plays Lady Honoria Dedlock. She tells Scott Simon about her role.