All Things Considered on NPR News

A curious legal case is playing out in a Cleveland courtroom. Sixteen members of a conservative Amish church group are charged with attacking spiritual transgressors by cutting off their beards. The trial has brought international news coverage to the Amish --- a reclusive population better known as a quaint tourist attraction. So far testimony has mixed allegations of sex and interstate crime, with the religious significance of facial hair.

Audie Cornish talks to regular political commentators, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks of The New York Times. They discuss the Democratic National Convention.

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The U.S. has decided to add one of the main Afghan insurgent groups to its terrorism list. The decision targets the Haqqani network, which has staged many attacks on Western interests in Afghanistan from its bases in northwestern Pakistan. The State Department announcement could also affect relations with Pakistan.

Robert Siegel speaks with Susan Glasser, editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine, about Russia. Speakers at both the Republican and Democratic conventions brought up America's relations with the country.

The normal bike market is pretty straightforward — supplier, middleman and buyer. The market for stolen bikes has the same roles, but different players. Here's a quick look at how it works.

The Supplier

The supplier, instead of Schwinn or Cannondale, is the bike thief.

Hal Ruzzal, a bike mechanic at Bicycle Habitat in Manhattan, describes two types of thieves.

Thief Type 1: "Your standard drug addict."

This summer, All Things Considered has asked listeners and guests to share a personal memory of one song discovered through their parents' record collection.

NPR listener Mel Fisher Ostrowski wrote in to tell us about how Don McLean's "American Pie" helped her "bridge a gap between my long-deceased father and baby boy." Hear the radio version at the audio link above — and read a lightly edited version of Ostrowski's original letter to NPR below.