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NPR Economics Correspondent John Ydstie examines the question of whether the American economy is just cooling off or actually entering a recession. The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates, incrementally, attempting to keep inflation under control. But some analysts are afraid the Fed's monetary policy has done too much to slow the economy.

Host Lisa Simeone talks with Phillip J. Brutus, a newly-elected state representative to the Florida legislature. Brutus, is the first Haitian-American elected to the Florida statehouse; he represents the 108th district in Miami. This week Rep. Brutus may be asked to join his colleagues in the legislature to name Florida's 25 electors.

NPR's Kate Seelye reports from Damascus on a group of African-American Muslims sent to Syria to study Arabic and Islam for two years. The hope is, when they return, they will be able to teach others what they've learned and build community life within mainstream Islam in the United States.

NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports on the new-found political clout of Native Americans. While their votes can decide tight races in a few Western states, it's the money of gaming tribes which is now exercising wider influence. Some tribes are making sizeable donations to presidential and legislative campaigns. Others are using their business profits to both govern themselves and to protect their land and cultural heritage.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports on an American who has lived and worked in North Korea for more than three years. Originally sent to help North Korea build power plants, John Hoag experienced a communist culture of guarded dialogue and secretiveness. Hoag describes a country struggling to balance hard poverty with national pride.

NPR's Guy Raz sends a radio postcard from Berlin on opening day of the NFL-Europe season, and a game between the Berlin Thunder and the Barcelona Dragons.

Vintner Robert Mondavi hopes to begin planting a vinyard in France. But the idea of a California winery isn't going over well in the heart of Gaul. NPR's Sarah Chayes reports.

Time spent behind bars in Mexico can be hard time indeed. Massive overcrowding, corruption and unbearably hot conditions are common. But during a visit to interview American inmates at a prison in Nuevo Laredo, three miles from the U.S. border, NPR's John Burnett discovered visiting families, snack stands -- even pets behind the walls.

Three college professors respond to questions about the evolving challenges of teaching the history of a complex nation.

Host Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Rob Gifford in Beijing and NPR's Tom Gjelten, about this morning's announcement by both the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the White House that they have reached an agreement. This will result in the return home of the 24 Navy personnel held on the southern island of Hainan.