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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Imagine a place on earth where there's been no light, no wind for millions of years. Lake Vostok is one such place. The world's third largest lake, in terms of amount of water, has long been hidden, buried beneath two miles of ice until, perhaps, this coming week. Russian researchers are about to break through that ice.

I would like to rise up today in defense of Diet Coke. All diet sodas, in fact. But Diet Coke happens to be my favorite.

I like the stuff.

Cracking open a can of it, or pouring some over ice, helps me survive a long work day.

This love of Diet Coke is one reason my re-entry into the United States has been a little rocky. When I moved back recently after a reporting assignment in Russia, nobody warned me that war had been declared on Diet Coke.

The artillery was fired by Men's Health magazine.

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This week, a small fishing village in China held an election. By normal standards it wasn't a very big deal. Residents in the village of Wukan were simply voting for members of a new election commission. But consider this: the election was organized because it was demanded by residents who took to the streets in a mass protest last year.

The Chinese automaker JAC unveiled their latest design this week, and it bears a rather notable resemblance to the Ford F-150. Though the engine is much smaller, the JAC 4R3 will go on sale across China and in Africa and Latin America, after its debut at the Beijing motor show in April.

One employer just starting to come back from the brink is Majestic Yachts Incorporated, a houseboat manufacturer in Kentucky. Guest host David Greene checks back in with the CEO, Jim Hadley. He last spoke to Hadley in February 2009 as part of NPR's First 100 Days Project about the impact of the recession.

The top 10 teams in men's college basketball are mostly the usual suspects, Kentucky, North Carolina and the like. One team no one expected has snuck into the polls this week: the Murray State Racers. Guest host David Greene is joined by Ricky Martin, the sports editor of the Murray Ledger-Times.

Opponents of Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin marched through the streets of Moscow Saturday in another large demonstration against alleged voting fraud. The protest is seen as a test both for the opposition and Putin, ahead of March's presidential election. Guest host David Greene gets the latest from NPR's Corey Flintoff in Moscow.

Tom Brady will lead the New England Patriots into Super Bowl 46 in Indianapolis on Sunday. He´s already won the Super Bowl three times before. Standing in the way of yet another Patriot victory are Eli Manning and the New York Giants. Manning has been superb this season, but is he elite?

Sturgeon have been swimming around for more than 200 million years, but their eggs are sought after for caviar. This week, the National Marine Fisheries Service placed the Atlantic sturgeon on its endangered species list. Guest host David Greene speaks with Dr. Ellen Pikitch, executive director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University.