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Chicha is a corn-derived liquor native to the South American Andes since ancient times. It's also a quirky style of pop music that developed in the Peruvian Amazon in the 1960s and '70s. All of that provides inspiration for the Brooklyn band Chicha Libre, which has just released its second album, Canibalismo.

Founder Olivier Conan developed a passion for chicha music while crate-digging through old vinyl in Peru. He says all pop-music innovators are really sonic predators.

As if further proof were needed that the Republican primaries are essentially dead and buried, here's another piece of firm evidence: Mitt Romney praised former President Bill Clinton in a speech in Michigan Tuesday, and not once but twice.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments about previous shows including living with cancer, mainstreaming special education kids, and advice for new graduates. And "Zuul the Terrordog" sings along to the Talk of the Nation theme.

For more than 30 years, Henry Louis Gates Jr. has been an influential public intellectual with a distinct style, who makes complex academic concepts accessible to a wider audience.

Gates — known widely as "Skip" — may be best known for his research tracing the family and genetic history of famous African-Americans. "There are just so many stories that are buried on family trees," Gates tells host Neal Conan. "My goal is to get everybody in America to do their family tree."

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Over the past few weeks, our colleagues at MORNING EDITION have been telling a series of stories called "Family Matters," about the challenges that over 50 million of we Americans now face: multigenerational households, homes where two or more generations of adults live under one roof.

FBI bomb experts continue to study the device involved in the latest al-Qaida plot to bring down a U.S.-bound airliner. U.S. officials say the explosive is a more advanced version of the underwear bomb that malfunctioned aboard a jet in 2009.

May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and all month long, Tell Me More will be speaking with game changers who trace their heritage to that part of the world. They're people who have made a difference in politics, culture, science and sports.

When you go to the hospital these days, chances are good that it will be affiliated with a religious organization. And while that may might just mean the chaplain will be of a specific denomination or some foods will be off limits, there may also be rules about the kind of care allowed.

I recently had a brief conversation with Ronald Coase.

"I'm 101 at the moment," he told me. "I get older by the minute."

An Albanian man who more than a decade ago agreed to help the U.S. Justice build a case against a mobster accused of human smuggling has finally won his long-sought quest for asylum in the U.S.

Edmond Demiraj, his wife and adult son have been granted full asylum, NPR's Carrie Johnson reports.

As Carrie reported last year:

The death of children's author Maurice Sendak has brought back many memories for many of us.

This blogger remembers nephew Ben reading Where the Wild Things Are back in the late '60s and being fascinated by what seemed to be a very different, much more interesting, kind of book than I'd been used to as a kid just a few years before.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, we know that minorities have been hard hit by the effects of the recession in everything from employment to foreclosure rates. There's a new office within the agency that's been charged with looking out for consumers that's supposed to take a look at how financial practices affect minorities and women. We'll speak with the new head of that office in just a few minutes.

With same-sex marriage back in the news because of Vice President Biden's comment that he's "absolutely comfortable" with equal rights for partners in such relationships, the pollsters at Gallup are out with this report:

Maurice Sendak, the well-known children's book author and illustrator, has died. He was 83. Sendak is widely known for his book Where the Wild Things Are. Steve Inskeep has this remembrance.

He made this decision before scientists told us that, back in the prehistoric day, dinosaur farts likely contributed to climate change:

Tyler Gold of York, Neb., is now officially named Tyrannosaurus Rex Joseph Gold, the local York News Times reports.

What if how much you paid for a drug was based on how much it might help you, instead of the sticker price?

While initial headlines that said a man jumped into a vat of acid to rescue a co-worker at at New Jersey construction site may have overstated what happened just a bit, there's still a dramatic tale to tell.

According to NorthJersey.com:

Sun, salt and lime sounds like the beginnings of a cocktail recipe, but for some, it could mean cleaner, life-sustaining water.

In many developing countries, the only source of water is contaminated with viruses and bacteria. In fact, the United Nations estimates that 1 in 6 people don't have access to enough fresh drinking water.

Voters in Indiana, Wisconsin and North Carolina on Tuesday will decide the outcome of battles many see as proxy wars going into the fall elections.

-- In Indiana, voters will determine the fate of six-term Republican Sen. Richard Lugar, 80, a respected legislator who has run afoul of Tea Party activists.

-- In Wisconsin, they'll pick a Democrat from a field of four whose aim it will be to oust anti-union Republican Gov. Scott Walker in a June recall election prompted by his slashing of collective bargaining rights.

A 19-year-old University of Iowa student paid $20 for a stolen driver's license and debit card. He took the ID to a bar. But the bouncer instantly recognized the ID was stolen. Because it belonged to him.

An L.A. County detective testified that he gave a suspect the Miranda warning. But a TruTV reality show was following him around. Video shows the detective actually said, "You watch TV. You know your rights and all that?" Prosecutors say that's not close enough.

Saying that "above all else, we both agree that President Obama must be defeated," Rick Santorum on Monday evening endorsed former Republican rival Mitt Romney's presidential bid.

In an email to supporters, the former Pennsylvania senator said that:

The joint venture will create a multi-platform news service for English-speaking Hispanics. The venture will feature a 24/7 cable channel, as well as digital media platforms.

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It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

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