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Seventy-five years ago this week, William Faulkner's first novel was published, called Soldier's Pay. It was inspired by his World War I service in the Royal Canadian Air Force. But it was another war that brought commentator Fred Woodress to Oxford, Miss., and an afternoon with Faulkner. Having learned about Faulkner in the Army's college program at Ole Miss, he asked a waitress about him in a local restaurant. She was Faulkner's wife, and told Woodress to go see him. He describes the afternoon smoking and rocking on the the Faulkners' front porch, and another visit several years later.

Ninety years after a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York killed 146 workers, host Lisa Simeone talks with Dana Walden, the granddaughter of one survivor of the fire. Rose Freedman was the oldest living survivor of the fire until her death in Februrary. We hear clips of Freedman from a documentary series, The Living Century, which aired on PBS stations in December and January. More information about the documentary and Freedman can be found at http://www.thelivingcentury.com or http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire.

With 100 mile-per-hour fastballs hurtling through the air, you might not always be thinking about how it feels to take one of those to the face.

In the Japanese anime series Death Note, high school student Light Yagami is in possession of a super-powered notebook that allows him to kill anyone, simply by writing down the victim's name. Critic-at-large John Powers offers a commentary.

Iraqi citizens with television sets now can watch Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings every night, along with Fox Network news and the PBS NewsHour. The networks agree to let their news programs be aired on a television channel being established by the U.S. government in Iraq. Critics say the broadcasts will do little to enhance America's image or to improve local journalism. NPR's John McChesney reports.

In this week's on-air Puzzle, every answer is the name of a famous writer. Given rhymes for the first and last names, you name the writers. For example: given "Wet Start," you'd say "Bret Harte."

His debut novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, received critical acclaim and is now out in paperback. The main character of the book, like Shteyngart, is a Russian-American Jew who emigrated to the United States as a child. In a New York Times Magazine cover article, Daniel Zalewski wrote, "Gary Shteyngart has rewritten the classic immigrant narrative -- starring a sarcastic slacker instead of a grateful striver. And after all his parents have done for him!" This interview first aired July 2, 2002.

U.S. air and ground troops attack what military officials call a suspected guerilla training camp, killing about 70 anti-U.S. forces. In a separate incident, 27 Iraqi fighters die when a U.S. armored patrol returns fire after coming under attack north of Baghdad. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Stuart Bowen is the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. His office has just released its seventh Quarterly Report to Congress. The report documents how $30 billion set aside for Iraqi reconstruction was spent -- and how to prevent waste and fraud.

In 1966, Neil Young joined L.A. rock band Buffalo Springfield; they split up three albums later due to inter-band fighting and their lack of commercial success. Young's new album is Praire Wind, considered a follow-up to his Harvest records.