Laotian bomb hunters

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When you have no money and no opportunity to make any, you’ll do just about anything to survive. That can include risking your life for a few dollars a day. This is what many kids and adults do in the southeast Asian country of Laos. They trek into the forest to look for scrap metal they can sell for cash. The danger is that that scrap metal consists largely of bombs left over from the Vietnam War. And many of those bombs never exploded. Mary Stucky reports from Laos’ Boualapha Province on this deadly business.

• People of Laos suffer bomb legacy
• The Mines Advisory Group

The violence behind Congo’s mineral trade

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The World’s Jeb Sharp reports on how the trade in minerals used in cell phones and laptops fuels the conflict in eastern Congo.

Mikhail Gorbachev sings

He’s been sampled in dance tracks and he’s recorded an introduction to Peter and the Wolf. But former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev has never sung on an album. Until now. The World’s Marco Werman tells us about Gorbachev’s CD for his late wife Raisa.Listen

Drug cartels and corruption in Mexico

The World’s Lorne Matalon reports on the Mexican government’s battle against drug traffickers and official corruption in the central state of Michoacan. Listen

Green Homes in Canada, and New Fuel Efficiency Standards in the U.S.

Jason Margolis assumes command of the podcast this week. We take you north to Canada to hear about an effort to “green” a million wartime-era homes. Then, we offer a global assessment of the new fuel efficiency standards announced by the Obama Administration. Listen