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A very full program this week. First, we look at the International Olympic Committee's test for EPO, a performance-enhancing drug. The test for EPO may not be very effective. Also, a card used for travel on the London Underground appears vulnerable to hacking and cloning. Then, we hear about plans to build giant solar farms in the Sahara desert, and also how Finns are using a wiki to convert gas-powered cars to electric vehicles. And we end with a look at efforts to save Bletchley Park, sight of some of the most important code-breaking work during World War II.

The World's Alex Gallafent and Clark Boyd tell you what's probably coming up later today on the program. The World is a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI, and WGBH Boston.

Garden correspondent Paul Epsom answers a viewer's question about the health of her weeping birch tree.

Harvard University sociologist Orlando Patterson places Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign in the context of Democratic Party history.

Harvard University sociologist Orlando Patterson places Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign in the context of Democratic Party history.

The World's Marco Werman and Clark Boyd preview this afternoon's edition of the program. The World is co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI, and WGBH Boston.

Certain that physical fitness produced citizens better prepared for the managerial revolution in America business, the Victorians promoted revitalization through sports. Harvey Green explains how this focus on social and individual health led to the now familiar emphasis on physical fitness in sports and games. Harvey Green investigates the cultural history of the United States. He teaches courses on that general subject as well as courses in the history of sport, the material culture of the U.S., public history, and the history of western North America. He is currently working on a book on the development of popular historical consciousness in the U.S. between 1820 and 1920, emphasizing the intersection of popular historical fiction and domestic material culture. He has also published articles and essays on the history of photography, the history of health and fitness, the craft revival movements in the US in the 1930s, and everyday life in the U.S. between 1915 and 1945. Visit us at www.wgbh.org/forum to explore our entire collection of lectures.

The World's Alex Gallafent and Clark Boyd give the preliminary rundown for our program this afternoon.

The World's Alex Gallafent and Clark Boyd show you what can hear later today on PRI's The World

[This episode first aired April 12, 2008.] There's a frisson you get when you meet a word for the first time--feeling pleasantly stumped in between wondering, 'What the heck does that mean?' and hurrying off to find out. Martha and Grant talk about some terms that had just that effect on them: 'ucalegon' and 'cacoethes scribendi.' A recent college graduate from Portland, Oregon, calls to ask about a term popular on her campus. She and her classmates use 'sketchy' to mean 'creepy, shady, possibly dangerous,' as in 'a sketchy part of town' or 'that sketchy guy over there.' Grant and Martha discuss this term and how it lends itself to such variations as 'Sketchyville' and 'Sketchy McSketcherson.' In San Diego, a man says increasingly he hears the phrase 'down the pike' at work but suspects it was originally 'down the pipe.' Martha discusses another word she happily tripped over in the dictionary: 'spanghew.' Quiz Guy John Chaneski tries to stump the hosts with a puzzle called 'Cryptic Crosswords.' How about this one: 'Do-re-mi-fa follower + sneaker feature = comfort.'? Why are cave explorers called 'spelunkers'? How do you pronounce the word? A naturalist at Mystery Cave in Minnesota wants to know and in return she tells us how to 'tell a stalactite from a stalagmite.' A listener from Texas heard an NPR report from Asia in which an interpreter translated a speaker's words into English as 'a whole new ball game.' He wants to know if that's a literal translation from an Asian language, and if so, is it a reference to baseball or some other sport? Grant shares a strange word from the fringes of English: 'mofussil.' This week's 'Slang This!' contestant is asked to guess the meanings of the slang terms 'gauge' and 'head-up.' A California caller is curious about the words 'Shia' and 'Shiite.' Is there difference between them or are they interchangeable? A Michigan woman working a study-abroad program at a large university is bemused by the many applicants who write that they want to study overseas so they can be 'submerged in the culture.' She thinks there's a difference between 'immersed' and 'submerged' but wants to be sure. Are more and more people talking about 'standing behind a podium?' A San Diegan says the traditional rule has been that one stands behind a lectern and stands on a podium. Has this traditional rule changed? --- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC.

Network glitches force a rethink of the World's Tech Podcast this week. We've got everything from selling a serious public health issue, to the latest in hydrogen vehicles. In between, we'll talk biosolids (yes, it's what you're thinking), and about running cars on cooking oil. Oh, and this just in -- the Internet is killing newspapers.

Host Jamie Durie discusses maintenance of this popular indoor plant.

If you feel that your documentary project is almost there but don't know what would make it great, watch documentary story consultant Fernanda Rossi analyze Gino Del Guercio's work in progress Abandoned in the Attic. With this real life "before and after" example, Fernanda Rossi (known as "the Doc Doctor") will explain story structure models and what to look for to make your film excellent. This event is part of the 2008 Making Media Now conference, presented by the Filmmaker's Collaborative. More information about Fernanda Rossi, Story Consultant can be found at http://www.documentarydoctor.com Visit us at www.wgbh.org/forum to explore our entire collection of lectures.

At the height of the Great Depression, more than 250,000 teenagers were living on the road in America.

At the height of the Great Depression, more than 250,000 teenagers were living on the road in America.

Garden correspondent Paul Epsom answers a viewer’s question about hypertufa (faux stone) containers.

Onward and upward. A French court tells auction giant Ebay to fork over 60 million in damages over the sales of fakes. Also, a major flaw in the Web is discovered. Then, two Knights for the price of one -- we have interviews with Sir Clive Sinclair and Sir Tim Berners-Lee. All that, plus an anecdote to the cynicism which runs rampant on the Tech Podcast.

Musician and educator Emmett Price III examines the connections between jazz, hip hop and other music forms. Price discusses the importance of music as a means of communication and its capacity to bridge generational and other interpersonal gaps. Visit us at www.wgbh.org/forum to explore our entire collection of lectures.

[This episode originally aired March 15, 2008.] Unless you've been hiding out in a galaxy far, far away, you know that this is an election year. Grant and Martha talk about current political slang. Ever hear of 'glass pockets'? Or 'horseracism'? Is there an etymological connection between 'caucus' and 'Caucasian'? A caller wants to settle a friendly argument: Is something not worth debating called a 'moot point' or a 'mute point'? A listener calls from in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to say that in her native Spanish, she can use several different words for 'love' to denote a whole range of feelings, depending on how close she is to the other person. She's frustrated that English seems to lack that same spectrum of words meaning various degrees of love. What's a 'barbecue stopper,' and how does it differ from a 'marmalade dropper'? Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water--Quiz Guy John Chaneski presents a quiz about punny taglines from famous movies. For example, which Johnny Depp film's tagline is 'His story will touch you, even though he can't'? Back to political talk: Is there an etymological connection between the words 'caucus' and 'Caucasian'? A caller wants to know. Grant explains what politicians and watchdog groups mean by the term 'glass pockets.' A California man complains that the expression 'grow your business' grates on his nerves. A San Diego woman who's homeschooling her children wonders if there's a formula that explains why nouns like 'teacher' and 'writer' end in '-er,' while others, like 'professor' and 'conductor,' end in '-or.' She suspects it has to do with whether the words come from Latin roots or Anglo-Saxon roots. This week's 'Slang This!' contestant shares his favorite slang term, 'teho,' (To Each His Own), then tries to puzzle out the meaning of the terms 'karzy' and 'low-bush moose.' An upstate New York listener of Italian descent is curious about two favorite expressions: 'fuggeddabouddit' and 'bada-bing, bada-boom.' A Texan says his grandmother used to refer to the thigh of a chicken as the 'second joint.' Martha and Grant discuss whether it's a regional term. By the way, if you want to know the French term Martha mentions that roughly translates as 'only a silly person won't eat it,' (literally, 'the idiot leaves it') it's 'le sot-l'y-laisse.' -- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC.

Host Jamie Durie answers a viewer's question about the use of botanical names in Latin.

The Atlanta History Center presents John Ferling as he discusses this chronicle of America's struggle for independence, an eight-year conflict filled with heroism, suffering, cowardice, betrayal, and fierce dedication. As Ferling demonstrates, it was a war that America came much closer to losing than is now usually remembered. General George Washington put it best when he said that the American victory was "little short of a standing miracle." John Ferling has appeared in four television documentaries devoted to the Revolution and the War of Independence and has written nine books including John Adams: A Life, The First of Men: A Life of George Washington, Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, and Jefferson and the American Revolution, and A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic. Visit us at www.wgbh.org/forum to explore our entire collection of lectures.

Host Jamie Durie answers a viewer's question about what his own garden looks like at home.

Bill Gates steps down from the day to day management of Microsoft. We find out what people aroudn the world make of his legacy. Then, Icann decides to expand the Domain Name System. Good idea? Pandora's Box? Both? Also, how much would you pay to take a tour of Chernobyl, site of the world's worst nuclear disaster? And we end with Nol -- think of it as a text-message version of Esperanto. And yes, a tribute, of sorts, to the advent of podcast 200. Yeah, rah.

Historian Dan Carter places John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign in the context of the American conservative movement.

Historian Dan Carter places John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign in the context of the American conservative movement.

China Galland author of Love Cemetery: Unburying the Secret History of Slaves, reads from her work, the story of a Texas town's reconciliation with its slave-owning past. China Galland is a professor in residence at the Center for Arts, Religion and Education at the Graduate Theological Union in California. Visit us at www.wgbh.org/forum to explore our entire collection of lectures.

A very full show this week, and a day early. We start with some new athletic technologies that might be on display at the Summer Games in Beijing. Then, we hear about how Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan might have sold digital blueprints for a nuclear weapon to interested parties. Then, a sequence that highlights Honda's fuel-cell vehicle, the Tata Nano from India, and a Zeppelin for a new millennium. We end with Paul Otlet's proto-Internet, and what's believed to be the first ever computer generated music. Great fun.

Garden correspondent Paul Epsom, an Englishman himself, discusses why he believes people are so keen on gardening in the UK.

The English country house style was largely created and promulgated by interior decorator John Fowler and his later partner Nancy Lancaster. During the course of his career, Fowler was responsible for transforming some of Britain's important historic interiors, including more than 20 National Trust properties such as Sudbury Hall, as well as private residences such as Chequers and Buckingham Palace. In 1938 he founded Colefax and Fowler with the designer Lady Sibyl Colefax. Fowler sought to create visually successful rooms, rather than to replicate earlier interiors, but his guiding philosophy was always to 'do right by the house'. Although he was aware of historically accurate decoration, and indeed can be considered a pioneer in the early field of preservation, Fowler often altered the colors or added non-historic details to make a visually coherent composition for the visitor. Using research from his recently published monograph on John Fowler, author Martin Wood sketches Fowler's career from his early work to the last major country house he decorated, showing the development of his style and taste. Martin Wood is a textile and garden designer and interior decorator. He has written extensively on garden design and is co-author of Gertrude Jekyll at Munstead Wood, Nancy Lancaster: English Country House Style, and most recently, John Fowler: Prince of Decorators. He has led exclusive travel programs to Nancy Lancaster's English properties for The Institute of Classical Architecture. Visit us at www.wgbh.org/forum to explore our entire collection of lectures.

[This episode first aired February 23, 2008.] Sharpen those pencils! Martha and Grant are doing crossword puzzles on the air again, preparing for their appearance with NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in New York City. http://www.crosswordtournament.com/ An Atlanta native wants to know why she and her fellow Southerners grew up using the word 'plum,' as in 'plum tuckered out.' Martha explains the connection between that kind of 'plum' and 'plumbers.' Which is the correct form: 'driver license,' 'drivers' license,' or 'driver's license'? An Austin teenager wants to know why we refer to a girl who behaves boyishly as a 'tomboy.' This week's 'Slang This!' contestant tries to guess the meaning of the terms 'beano' (no, not the anti-gas treatment) and 'macing' (no, not the stinging defensive spray). A teacher discusses whether the correct form is 'feel bad' or 'feel badly.' By the way, the Latin proverb Martha mentions here is, 'Qui docet, discet.' Why do we use a capital letter 'I' for the first person singular pronoun, but don't capitalize any other pronouns? A caller from Maine says she was taught to say 'bunny, bunny' at the first of each month for good luck. Then she met someone who says 'rabbit, rabbit' for the same reason. What's the superstition behind these lagomorphic locutions? In honor of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Quiz Guy John Chaneski presents a puzzle about--what else?--crossed words. A caller wants to know why those deep-fried balls of cornmeal and spices are called 'hush puppies.' An ESL teacher puzzles over how to explain to his students the proper pronunciation of the word 'route.' He asks whether the pronunciation 'root' has been 'routed' by 'rowt.' A caller is curious about an expression her father liked to use 'off in the giggleweeds.' What's a giggleweed? And no, he didn't mean marijuana. More next week. Notice how we didn't say, 'Well, weed better be going'? ---- Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write 24 hours a day: (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673, words@waywordradio.org, or visit our web site and discussion forums at http://waywordradio.org. Copyright 2008, Wayword LLC.