World

North Korean Rhetoric Isn't Out Of The Ordinary

Monday is the birthday of North Korea's founder, and it's always marked by a massive military display. In the run-up to this day, Pyongyang unleashed a round of bellicose military rhetoric, and sparked another round of international anxiety over North Korea's nuclear intentions. Steve Inskeep talks to North Korea scholar Andrei Lankov, a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, South Korea, and author of the new book: The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia.

Week In News: Guns In U.S., Threats Abroad

The gun control debate continued to dominate the news this week with President Obama coming out strongly in support of reforming the current gun control laws alongside the Newtown families. Host Jacki Lyden speaks with James Fallows, national correspondent with The Atlantic, about that story along with the bird flu in China, North Korea and the Postal Service.

How Chavez Changed Venezuela's Telenovelas

Morning Edition has been reporting from Venezuela this week about the legacy of the late President Hugo Chavez. During the two years Chavez spent in prison for an attempted coup in 1992, he never missed an episode of his favorite soap opera. But Chavez had his own drama with the industry.