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It's a point of pride for electronic musicians to come up with novel sounds. So I was duly impressed to hear that one of my favorites had made a new record in which his laptop plays second fiddle to an ancient instrument he'd heard ringing out from the city hall in Oslo, Norway.

Hendrik Weber, who records under the name Pantha du Prince, collaborated with the percussion ensemble The Bell Laboratory for his latest album, Elements of Light.

President Barack Obama's election in 2008, sparked many discussions about how race relations would change in the United States. Many Americans hoped that the election of a black man to the highest office would provide opportunities for breakthroughs in racial equality and understanding.

Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Celeste Headlee in Washington. The anxious eyes of world leaders are now focused on three areas. In Mali the French continue their airstrikes in the northern part of the country in hopes of stopping the advance of armed Islamist rebels. In Syria, the death toll rises, and the conflicts between the government and opposition enter what the International Rescue Committee calls a staggering humanitarian crisis.

NPR's Celeste Headlee reads listener comments on previous show topics, including accidental deaths from prescription drug overdoses and the rise of Twitter's hashtag.