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Many of us can sing along to "Loch Lomond," the old Scottish tune. For the series "What's in a Song," pianist Leslie Howard notes that the lyrics were inspired by a dark chapter in Scottish history.

Bernard Ebbers, who as the once-swaggering CEO of WorldCom oversaw the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history, wept in court Wednesday after a judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison -- the toughest sentence yet in the string of recent corporate scandals.

President Bush's first term brought some of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. In his second term, he wants to revamp the tax code altogether; some in Congress favor a tax based on what people spend, not on what they earn. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

In 1924, a star-studded cruise on William Randolph Hearst's private yacht ended with a murder, and became a true Hollywood scandal. Now that scandal is the subject of a new film by Peter Bogdanovich. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review of the film, and Bogdanovich talks with All Things Considered guest host John Ydstie about Tinseltown history.

Since they were first noticed by European explorers in the 1700s, totem poles may have been misunderstood as frightening statues worshipped as gods. But some say early totem poles were actually billboards for powerful native families, announcing the privileges they enjoyed. NPR's Robert Smith traces the history of totem poles for the Present at the Creation series.

Otis Taylor plays a style of music he calls "drone blues," a hypnotic, loosely-structured form of guitar meandering. A former antiques dealer, he writes lyrics based on themes of injustice informed by his love of history. Guest host John Ydstie speaks with Taylor about his new CD, Truth Is Not Fiction (Telarc Records, catalog # 83587).

Arlington National Cemetery gets most of the attention on Memorial Day. But the older, smaller Congressional Cemetery -- burial place to veterans, congressmen and other Washington, D.C., residents -- is also full of history. NPR's Susan Stamberg reports.

Massachusetts will make history Monday, when it becomes the first state in the nation to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. Couples formed a line Sunday night at the City Hall building in Cambridge, Mass., waiting for one minute past midnight, when clerks will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Choreographer Martha Clarke's dance theater piece Vienna Lusthaus debuted 15 years ago, and recently made a brief return. It's a dreamlike work that draws on Vienna's violent history. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with Clarke about the impact of the performance.

An exhibit called "Petra, Lost City of Stone" is opening at the American Museum of Natural History. The city of Petra, cut into the cliffs of what is now Jordan, was a great trading crossroads of the ancient world. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Craig Morris, co-curator of an exhibit.