ECONOMIC STIMULUS

President Bush is calling on congress to jump start the economy through tax cuts for businesses and rebate checks for ordinary tax payers. Congress is working to fast track an economic stimulus package that could include tax rebates and aid to the poor and unemployed. Our guest is Zanny Minton Beddoes, Economics Editor at the Economist.

BITING THE WAX TADPOLE

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Did you know that the Star Wars’ character Jabba the Hut speaks a language similar to the South American language Quechua? Well, you can learn all about that trivia in a new book about the intricacies and oddities of languages. Elizabeth Little, author of “Biting the Wax Tadpole: Confessions of a Language Fanatic” is our guest.

NEVADA CAUCUSES

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Saturday’s Nevada caucuses are the first test of of Latino’s leanings in the 2008 presidential race. We’ll speak to reporter Ben Arnoldy, who’s covering the caucuses for the Christian Science Monitor.

THE WEEK IN SPORTS

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The NFL conference championships, the Australian Open tennis match, and the legacy of chess master Bobby Fisher are all topics for discussion this week as we review the week in sports with Bill Littlefield, host of Only a Game.

AND THE TRAINS KEPT COMING

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A new work for chorus and orchestra that grew out of the question, “should we, could we have bombed the rail lines on which victims of the Nazi regime were transported to the death camps?” is being premiered by The Canatata Singers of Boston this week-end. The piece sets to music personal notes from people about to die in the gas chambers, bureaucratic exchanges in Germany and the US, and the rail schedules showing all the trains returning empty. Guest: Israeli Composer Lior Navok. .