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Today President Bush was called upon for the second time to comfort a nation in mourning. He telephoned the families of the lost astronauts and then addressed the nation from the cabinet room. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

Host Steve Inskeep reviews what is known so far about the Columbia disaster.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden profiles the seven astronauts who perished aboard the space shuttle Columbia. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

NPR's Jackie Northam reports on the disaster's impact on America's contribution to the international space station. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

Lt. Col. Dan Biggie, an Air Force chaplain, joins host Steve Inskeep from Cocoa Beach, Fla., where spectators had been waiting for the shuttle Columbia to land. He discusses the role of chaplains and how astronauts deal with the danger of their occupation. (This is a repeat from earlier in the show.)

NPR's John Burnett rejoins Steve Inskeep from the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, where NASA missions are directed and its people are considered to be friends and family. The front gate of the space center there has become a place to gather and mourn, as Ground Zero did after Sept. 11.

Robert Siegel and Lynn Neary read from some of this week's letters from listeners. Among this week's topics: our series on prayer, a report on water-efficient appliances and a religious sect's claim of human cloning.

South Korea offers to mediate the standoff between the United States and North Korea over North Korea's plan to restart a nuclear weapons program. South Korea has dispatched envoys to Russia and China in an effort to resolve the dispute through diplomacy. NPR's Eric Weiner reports.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) will propose that the military draft be reinstated so that every American must consider the human cost of ousting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Rangel, a military veteran, opposes a strike against Iraq. There appears to be little support in Congress for his draft plan. Rangel speaks with NPR's Juan Williams.

NPR's Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg speaks with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu about whether there is such a thing as a "just war." He says modern weapons of mass destruction make just war impossible, and that war should be outlawed. Tutu is the recipient of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize. He adds the gross inequality in the world of health care, food, and education are the biggest sources of global instability.