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Robert talks to Jack Randorff, the acoustical engineer in charge of sound at the Republican Convention. It's Randorff's job to make sure everyone at the convention -- and perhaps more importantly, the broadcast audience -- can hear the sounds of the gavel, and the voices of the speakers. (2:30)NOTE: MUSIC HEARD HERE WAS THE ESKIMO "MOUTH BOW" VERSION OF THE "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED" THEME, PLAYED BY JOHN PALMES OF JUNEAU, ALASKA

JP Manoux (mah-NOO) is a professional commercial actor. At least he was until May 1st, that's when the Screen Actors Guild went on strike. It's a strike that continues with no end in sight. He offers his musings on the business of commercial acting and what the strike means to him and for his craft.

Jackie Northam of Chicago Public Radio reports one of Chicago's oldest and most influential radio stations has gone off the air today. Once the home of such radio shows as "Amos and Andy" and "Fibber McGee and Molly," WMAQ will cease transmissions, and its frequency will now be used by an all sports station.

Linda reads letters from All Things Considered listeners. (3:15) {STATIONS NOTE:} To contact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20001. The e-mail address is atc@npr.org.

Fires continue to rage across the west - the nation's worst fire season in more than ten years. This morning Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck met with fire strategists at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. He is now touring fire lines and assessing the situation. From KBSX in Boise, Sadi Babits reports.

A paper in today's Science magazine reports the discovery of a new material that may be able to with stand irradiation for a thousand years. At present, nuclear waste is stashed away in containers that will start to break down after only a 100 years. Scientists are in a race against time to discover ways of building nuclear trashcans that can survive for much longer. And this new material could - at least in theory - be part of the answer. NPR's John Nielsen reports.

NPR's Debbie Elliott reports Mississippi has a new take on the reality TV craze: It's a Website where the world can watch four young smokers living for a week in an apartment trying to quit. The state is offering a cash prize to each member of the group who makes it through the week without lighting up. And the web audience gets to vote on activities that will make it harder or easier for them.

Robert Siegel is at the Republican convention in Philadelphia, where he talks with Marvin Olasky, an occasional informal advisor to George W. Bush. He also coined the phrase Compassionate Conservatism, a phrase that is also the title of Olasky's new book. Olasky is a University of Texas journalism professor, and also senior fellow of the Acton Institute for the study of Religion and Liberty. He talks with Robert about how Bush's Christianity could infuse his presidency and his policies.

Commentator Rebecca Flowers says all this diversity at the GOP convention made her wonder about the dream republican ticket---Bush and Puff Daddy. The gangsta rapper is black, musical and rich -- all the things the GOP seems interested in this week. They probably share similar views on gun control---and Puff Daddy's girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez is Hispanic.

Just hours before his acceptance speech to the Republican National Convention, George W. Bush attended a luncheon honoring his wife Laura. The program was sponsored by the National Federation of Republican Women, a group that says the Texas governor can end the Democrat's two-decade dominance among women. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.