The final 'cast...of 2008. We have news from North Korea, where a 3G cell phone network has just been launched. We also talk robot ethics, and hear about an interesting Iraqi art project that incorporates the Internet. And we end with a neat little piece on an effort to digitize the novels of Charles Dickens. Oh, and another hidden track at the end. Show notes, links and pics at tinyurl.com/wtpblog.

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Anchor Marco Werman interviews Indian-American saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa about his new CD "Apti" which means "coming together." He performs it with his trio the Indo-Pak Coalition, and believes that after the Mumbai attacks, there needs to be greater understanding and "coming together" between Indians and Pakistanis.

The answer to today's Geo Quiz is Berlin, home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Anchor Marco Werman interviews Olaf Maninger, solo cellist with the orchestra about the "digital concert hall", a new venture that puts the Berlin Philharmonic's live performances of classical music online.

Where will we go today?

Reporter Rob Schmitz updates us on the case of a California man who's been charged with terror offenses in the United Arab Emirates.

A court in Argentina has ordered the release, on bail, of "Dirty War" suspects. Anchor Marco Werman gets background on the story from Ian Guest, author of a book on Argentina's "disappeared."

We listen in on a conversation between two political kidnap victims: the BBC's Alan Johnson, who was held hostage in Gaza, and Ingrid Betancourt, who was held for years by Colombia's main rebel group, the FARC.

Ingrid Betancourt and Alan Johnston

Web extra: long version of the conversation

Anchor Marco Werman has an update on the Iraqi "Shoe Man." His family staged a protest today in Baghdad, in front of the entrance to the Green Zone.

An Iraqi artist in Chicago made himself the human target for a live Internet shooting gallery. People around the globe took aim and fired real paintballs at him, 24 hours a day, for a month. Artist Wafaa Bilal tells Marco Werman why he did it.

Anchor Marco Werman tells of a battle at sea between the crew of a Chinese ship and Somali pirates. The Chinese crew defended itself using homemade weapons.