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Linda talks with Erik Larson, a staff writer for Time Magazine, about the illegal firearms market and how Chinese (and other) illegal weapons find a market in the United States. The traders bringing these weapons into the country are selling a large number of them to dealers for the gun shows that tour the nation. Yesterday's seizure of two thousand automatic weapons from China has brought the problem of illegal firearms trading into the national spotlight. (Larson is the author of "Lethal Passage," published in paperback last year by Vintage Books.)

reports that some of the assumptions about corporate downsizing are being re-examined by business analysts. While numerous companies have laid off large numbers of employees, some economists argue that significant numbers of new jobs are being created to offset those layoffs and the new jobs are not necessarily low-skill or low-paying.

to ban carrying oxygen canisters as cargo on passenger plans. Decision comes in wake of the possible link of the of the canisters to the Valujet crash.

In the second part of Robert's interviews with religious Jews about their political leanings for the upcoming elections, he visits the West Bank settlement of Betar (beh-TAR). The residents of Betar are mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews who look to their religious leaders for guidance in choosing candidates. He talks to the Greenwalts, a couple with four children, who say that they will probably vote for one of the religious political parties.

New Congressional Budget Office (CBO) numbers suggests the Medicare may be deeper in the red. They've long said it will go broke sooner -- in the year 2001 instead of 2002. Now, others are saying the same thing. An unexpected increase in hospitalizations is only one possible factor. In an election year, this sort of information gets played by Democrats and Republicans, who offer different solutions to the problem. NPR's Joanne Silberner has this report.

Commentator Alan Cheuse reviews The Book of Secrets by M.G. Vassanji (vah-san-gee). It's the story of a British colonial officer's years spent in East Africa before the beginning of World War I. (Published by Picador)

2: Guitarist RY COODER. In the 60s he collaborated with Taj Mahal, Captain Beefheart, and the Rolling Stones, and became known for his fingerpicking and slide playing. In the 70s he went solo -- putting together ten albums that explored American roots music including blues, vintage jazz, and gospel. In the 80s he wrote the soundtracks for the films "The Long Riders,"The Border," Alamo Bay," "Southern Comfort," "Paris, Texas," and "Johnny Handsome." He also joined up with fellow musicians Jim Keltner, Ry Cooder, and Nick Lowe to form the supergroup-of-sorts, Little Village. (REBROADCAST FROM 5

2: Former film critic for "The New Yorker," PAULINE KAEL. She reviewed movies for the magazine for 25 years, and is the author of 13 books about the cinema, including a National Book Award winner. Her newest book is a collection of more than 275 of her reviews, called "For Keeps: Thirty Years at the Movies" (Dutton).

2: Linguist DEBORAH TANNEN, author of the bestselling, "You Just Don't Understand." She has a new book about communication between the sexes, "Talking From 9 to 5: How Women's and Men's Conversational Styles Affect Who Gets Heard, Who Gets Credit, and What Gets Done at Work" (Morrow).

2: Writer TRACY JOHNSTON. She's written the book, "Shooting the Boh: a Woman's Voyage Down the Wildest River in Borneo," (Vintage Books). The book is not only an account of her adventure going down the river dealing with leeches, waterfalls, foot rot, and moldy clothes, but about her own realization that the hot flashes she was feeling in the middle of the night weren't the steamy jungle but the onset of menopause. One reviewer writes, "A powerful adventure of the head as well as the body: not to be missed," (Kirkus Reviews). REBROADCAST. Originally aired 1/