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Bolivia has the highest infant mortality in South America, far worse than its neighbors. NPR's Joe Palca explores the reasons for this depressing statistic, and also looks into what both governmental and non-governmental organizations are doing to address the problem.

Culinary anthropologist Vertamae Grosvenor recalls how food figured in slave life. "Imagine planting, harvesting, cooking, curing, canning, smelling, serving foods that were not for you," says Grosvenor. And then, thanks to Juneteenth, "Imagine freedom -- after centuries of stirring the pot for others, you could do it for yourself."

The United Nations begins a special session on AIDS Monday in New York. The conference will call for governments and NGOs to contribute $10 billion annually to AIDS treatment and prevention programs. Lisa Simeone speaks with Thoraya Obaid, head of the U.N. Population Fund, about cultural considerations that come into play when dealing with reproductive and sexual activity.

NPR's Liane Hansen is joined by two members of President Clinton''s seven member advisory board on race, attorney Angela Oh and former Mississippi Gov. William Winter. This past week, members of the board ventured outside Washington to Phoenix, Arizona, where they heard from residents in an open forum.

Folklorist Nick Spitzer tells the story of Woody Guthrie's leftist national anthem.

All Things Considered book reviewer Alan Cheuse's picks list of summer books.

In the first of a two-part series, NPR's Madeleine Brand reports on the new "Supermax" prison in Boscobel, Wis., built to house the most vicious criminals from other prisons. It cost $44 million to build, and yearly operating costs are projected at $10 million. It appears that economic and political considerations played an important part in the decision to build the facility, which has room for 500 inmates.

Comments by a German Bishop on a talk show over the weekend have fueled debate about whether Pope John Paul II might retire his post before he dies. Robert talks with Father Thomas J. Reese, Editor in Chief of the Roman Catholic magazine America, and author of Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. They discuss church canon, which does allow a Pope to retire if he feels he cannot fulfill his duties. Few have taken such a step. Reese explains what happens if a Pope becomes incapacitated before retiring. Reese's book, Inside the Vatican, is published by Harvard University Press, 1998.

Comic Judy Carter explores how American stand-up and situation comedy has changed in the last few years.

U.S. News and World Report senior writer Joseph Shapiro reports on a new model of providing government assistance for the severely disabled. Called self-determination, it allows disabled people a much greater role in making decisions about their own care. Find out how a pair of twin sisters used self-determination to reunite after years of separation.