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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Now for nightmare bacteria. They defy all our antibiotics, even our latest drugs. This week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that strains of these completely drug-resistant bacteria have quadrupled in the last decade or so, and the bugs have been lurking around in hospitals, hundreds of hospitals around the nation.

Oz the Great and Powerful. Say that name aloud and you will smile, I guarantee you: It will conjure up so many images, characters, actors, songs. Then hold that smile as long as you can, because you won't be doing much smiling at the movie called Oz the Great and Powerful, the so-called "prequel" to The Wizard of Oz from Disney Studios.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It is International Women's Day. To mark that occasion, First Lady Michelle Obama joins of Secretary of State John Kerry to recognize women around the world who have shown exceptional courage, as they put it, in advancing women's rights. The nine honorees include the 23-year-old Indian woman whose brutal gang-rape last December inspired a movement to end violence against women in India.

From New Delhi, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Leader from around the world have arrived in Venezuela to pay their final respects to President Hugo Chavez, who used his country's oil wealth to put in place his vision of socialism during 14 years in power. And this larger-than-life leader presumably will continue to inspire his followers. The Venezuelan government plans to embalm his body and keep it on display in a glass coffin.

Seventeen year-old Kelly Talim, a finalist in the 2012 Stulberg International String Competition, will present a solo recital at Kalamazoo College this Sunday. 

She remembers  the competition in Kalamazoo last May as a positive experience, and says while she works hard on technique, it's also important to her that she have "something to say" musically. Her program features works of Robert Schumann, J.S. Bach, and Eugene Ysaye.

Was Senator Rand Paul's 13-hour filibuster a smart political move or a total disaster? The Barbershop guys weigh in on that — and how Major League Baseball could be affected by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's death. Host Michel Martin checks in with writer Jimi Izrael, civil rights attorney Arsalan Iftikhar, sports writer Dave Zirin and columnist Mario Loyola.

It's been 10 years since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. That conflict drastically changed the lives of Iraqi women. On International Women's Day, host Michel Martin talks with Iqbal al-Juboori, about how the war affected her personally, and what it's like for women to live in a conflict zone. al-Juboori works to provide job training and life skills to women and their families in rural parts of Iraq.

Catholicism is reaching further into the developing world. Will the Church shift its focus to new concerns in those regions — like poverty, education and rural development? Michel Martin talks with Sister Simone Campbell, Father Patrick Ryan and Yale Divinity Professor Lanim Sanneh about whether the Church's priorities are changing.

U.S. Senator Carl Levin's decision not to seek re-election next year means a wide-open field in next year's election. Western Michigan University Political Science Professor John Clark discusses the political landscape with WMUK's Gordon Evans. 

The city of Battle Creek's efforts to lure new businesses has been aided by a workforce development program. Battle Creek Enquirer reporter Jennifer Bowman discussed the issue with WMUK's Gordon Evans.