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Almost a year since former Beatles guitarist George Harrison died of cancer, his final studio album, Brainwashed, hits the record stores Tuesday. NPR's Bob Boilen talks to longtime collaborator Jeff Lynne and Harrison's only son, Dhani Harrison, about putting the finishing touches on George Harrison's swan song.

In the latest installment of NPR's series on finding homes for people who need support and services, NPR's Joe Shapiro reports on the problem elderly residents of so-called assisted living facilities have when they are forced into nursing homes because of their special medical needs and government regulations.

Charles de Ledesma reviews 1 Giant Leap a multimedia project that combines documentary film, recorded music, and spoken word, all compiled on a CD and a DVD. Two producers spent six months traveling to more than 20 countries, recording musicians, writers, and storytellers. Featured on the project are readings from Kurt Vonnegut and Dennis Hopper, and performances by Michael Stipe, Nenah Cherry and Baaba Maal, among others. All of the audio corresponds with short films, with themes like time, death, happiness, money, and God. The CD 1 Giant Leap is from Palm Pictures, catalog # PALM CD 2077-2.

Four years after the last round of weapons inspectors left Baghdad, chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix arrived in Baghdad Monday, along with International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei and advance inspection teams that the two men will oversee. NPR’s Vicky O’Hara profiles Blix.

It's the most-played board game in the world. Though it's considered the ultimate contest of money and power, it started out as a cautionary exercise to make Americans aware of the excesses of capitalism. On Morning Edition, NPR's Juan Williams reports on Monopoly's humble roots, as part of the Present at the Creation series. (8:38)

John Ydstie goes to a club called the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., to hear the opening act, Mary Gauthier. Gauthier was an adopted child, a troubled teen, then a philosophy student, and later a restaurant owner. Now she writes and sings songs. Mary Gauthier talks about songwriting and how it relates to philosophy. (12:30) Mary Gauthier's new CD is called Filth and Fire It's on the Signature Sounds label.

Congress returns Tuesday for a lame-duck session with several must-pass items on the agenda, ranging from spending bills to the new Department of Homeland Security. Also on the list is fixing a glitch in Medicare that's cutting fees to doctors. For Morning Edition, NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

On Capitol Hill today, politicians are holding yet another hearing about the risks of mercury. It's part of the latest wave of concern about mercury, which also turns up in fish, air pollution and in some vaccines. As NPR's Jon Hamilton reports, these fears have been around for hundreds of years.

The frontier is long gone, but the American West clings to some of its roots. Morning Edition presents a series of profiles of people who are inspired by the region's landscape, resources and culture. The series concludes with Montana writers Judy Blunt and Rick Bass. NPR Online offers excerpts of their works.

In Anouar Brahem's native Tunisia, the oud is known today mainly in the context of loud and large ensembles that leave it all but buried in a dervish of sound. But Brahem highlights the stringed instrument in a delicate, often introspective context. On his new CD, Le pas du chat noir, the oud is part of an unlikely trio including piano and accordion. He talks with Liane Hansen on Weekend Edition Sunday.