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Robert Siegel talks to MIT professor Marvin Minksy about Dr. Claude Shannon, a mathematician who wrote about communications theory. Shannon died Saturday. Shannon's theories led to "packet" switching, which makes the Internet possible. Minsky says Shannon ranks on a level with Einstein. The two worked together years ago. Shannon did his work at AT&T Labs in the 1940s and '50s.

More people look to the Web for information about religion than for auctions or online banking. Commentator Steve Waldman thinks that this is because the Internet offers anonymity.

Commentator Matthew Rothschilde says the battle over the estate tax is just a money grab for the wealthiest Americans. He says repealing it will create an "aristocracy of wealth." Rothschilde is editor of the Progressive Magazine in Madison, Wis.

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports on today's Supreme Court decision upholding the Clean Air Act. The justices unanimously rejected industry arguments that standards must be tempered by the cost of compliance. The law only requires the government to consider public health in setting air-quality standards.

Eliza Carthy and Moreno Veloso are children of somewhat well known musicians. Eliza is the daughter of Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, two British folk greats, and Moreno is the son of Caetano Veloso, Brazil's living music legend. Both offspring have new recordings. We have a review from Will Hermes. Eliza Carthy's CD is called Angels and Cigarettes on Warner Brothers records. Moreno Veloso's CD is called Music Typewriter and it's on the Hannibal record label.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Jerusalem. Israel's Labor Party has voted to accept Prime-Minister-elect Ariel Sharon's invitation to join a national unity government. The decision clears the way for Sharon to start coalition talks with other parties.

Arguments began yesterday in Microsoft's appeal of the court order that the company be split apart. NPR's Larry Abramson reports on the proceedings.

Called one of the greatest improvisers in the history of jazz, Jarrett was famous for his wildly passionate solo recitals. In 1996, Jarrett came down with a mysterious illness- an interstitial bacterial parasite-- that caused him to stop performing for about two and a half years. Jarrett has started performing and recording again, but he still keeps a low public profile, so his condition will not worsen again. His newest CD is Whisper Not (Universal Classics). His other recent CD, Melody at Night, With You, was a solo album Jarrett recorded at his home studio in rural New Jersey.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Brussels that Secretary of State Colin Powell wrapped up a foreign tour with a stop at NATO headquarters today. He reassured allies that the United States has no plans to withdraw prematurely from the Balkans. When Powell arrived, plans for missile defense and a European rapid reaction force were high on the agenda. But the allies decided to focus on events in the Balkans -- particularly attacks by ethnic Albanian rebels in southern Serbia and Macedonia.

Host Bob Edwards talks with William Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International. He says the United States is a leading exporter of devices of torture, and calls for an end to the export of thumbscrews, serrated handcuffs, stun belts, and other instruments.