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Commentator Judy Muller says there are similarities between Joseph Lieberman, the democrats' vice-presidential candidate, and his predecessor 16 years ago, Geraldine Ferraro. She says Lieberman will be scrutinized as a symbol of American Jews, just as Ferraro was seen as a symbol of American women.

Co-Host Renee Montagne reports on the issue of family values and blues. Montagne talks with guitarist John Cephas, about the lascivious nature of blues music. Party leaders blocked a planned fund-rasier at the Playboy Mansion this week; instead, the Hispanic Unity event was moved to B.B. King's Blues Club in Universal City. Cephas says many blues songs don't seem to go well with the concept of "family values."

Steven Dudley reports from Bogota that Colombia's President Andres Pastrana has ordered an investigation of the military's involvement in an attack that resulted in the deaths of six schoolchildren. It took place 40-miles from Medellin. The children, aged 6-to-12, were on a school hike when gunfire erupted. The regional army commander initially said the children had been caught in crossfire between military forces and guerrillas. But survivors said that there were no guerrillas in the area and the children were pinned down for 45 minutes by military fire. The killings occurred just two months after the U-S Congress approved one-point-three billion dollars of mostly military aid to help Colombia fight the drug trade and guerrilla movements.

NPR's Cheryl Corley reports on racial diversity in the Democratic Party. For more than twenty years Democrats have been showcasing diversity at their conventions, but the nomination of Joseph Lieberman has raised some questions within the African American leaders.

Andy Meyer of member station WBGO reports on continued flooding after last weekend's storms in northern New Jersey. Homeowners and businesses are concerned about the cost of replacing at least three of the dams burst by the floods.

Host Madeleine Brand talks to Ron Davies, curator of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, about Britain and France's decision to ground their entire fleets of Concorde jets.

NPR's Melissa Gray reports on the history behind one of literary America's cult classics... A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole. The book follows the exploits of the over-educated Ignatius J. Reilly as he seeks employment and social revolution in his hometown of New Orleans. The book has been in print for 20 years, but fans still know little about its author or his inspiration.

Commentator Rose Nolan says now that everyone is working they should be happy... or should they?

Commentator Frank Deford points out that despite the hype the Sydney Olympics probably won't be the event of the millennium.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that officials in Poland are trying to come to terms with the truths of their Communist past. The moves come years after Czechoslovakia and Germany barred former high level Communist officials from holding office and opened secret police files to the public.