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Walter Arvinger is a free man after 36 years behind bars. The Baltimore man, arrested for murder in 1968, was recently granted clemency and released with the help of a University of Maryland professor and some of his law students. NPR's Robert Siegel examines the case.

NASA announces it will probably cancel plans to send a robot to fix the Hubble Space Telescope. The president's proposed budget for the agency did not contain funding for the mission. An alternative proposal would send humans to repair the aging Hubble.

The Bush administration has made Social Security reform a top priority in its second term. In arguing for partial privatization of the system, the president and his supporters warn of dire consequences unless something is done. Bush's critics say he is arguing for overly drastic measures. NPR Don Gonyea reports.

Rock critic Ken Tucker gives us his top picks in pop for 2004. He runs down his 10 best albums, and then talks about some trends of 2004, such as the return of punk, the year of the hip-hop producer, crunk music, and the potential end of an era as iPods and single song downloads replace album purchases. Ken Tucker is also a film critic for New York magazine.

Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon's new book follows the sleuthing adventures of an elderly Sherlock Holmes. It's called The Final Solution: A Story of Detection. Chabon explains how the Sherlock Holmes mysteries inspired him as a child and how writing a mystery novel is similar to creating his other works. Hear Chabon and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

World War II paratrooper Joe Beyrle died this week at the age of 81. He has the distinction of being the only soldier in that conflict to fight for both the American and Russian armies. Hear Beyrle's biographer, Thomas Taylor, and NPR's Scott Simon.

Drawing on the centuries-old tradition of female vocal music from Eastern Europe, the women's ensemble Kitka has won wide acclaim for their lush harmonies. Their latest CD, Wintersongs, features Slavic and Balkan carols and hymns. NPR's Jennifer Ludden talks with members of the ensemble.

The multi-talented Mos Def plays a police officer in the new indie film The Woodsman, also starring Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, about a pedophile who moves into a suburban neighborhood. He also talks with Terri Gross about his new rap album, The New Danger.

With guidance from his mother and grandmother, chef Alton Brown developed an flair in the kitchen early. In the final installment of our holiday baking series, he offers some last-minute tips. And NPR's Jennifer Ludden gets some kitchen wisdom from her own grandmother, Marion Otte.

Sidney Jones is the director of the International Crisis Group's South East Asia Project. She has examined separatist conflicts, ethnic conflict, and terrorism in the region, with much of her attention focused on work in Indonesia. We discuss how the Indian Ocean tsunami has affected the already politically unstable Indonesia.