The world is getting smaller - and in a lot of ways that's good news. To read American newspapers, though, you might not know it. Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the foreign stories U.S. editors ignore. Also, what happens when business goes global. And the world- wide fallout from Chernobyl.

SEGMENT 1

Barry Shelby, senior editor of World Press Review, tells Steve Paulson that American editors counted no news from abroad among their top ten stories of 1996 and says that it's in our interest to become better informed about global affairs.

SEGMENT 2:

Medea Benjamin is executive director of Global Exchange, a non-profit organization that promotes fair trade around the world. She tells Judith Strasser about her recent investigations of the athletic shoe industry in Asia and explains how American consumers are forcing multi- nationals to behave responsibly. Benjamin is the author of "Don't Be Afraid, Gringo." Listeners who want to know more about Global Exchange can call 800-497-1994. Also, Serguei Martynov, Belorusian Ambassador to the United States, and Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, curator at the Chicago Athenaeum and organizer of an exhibit of children's drawings called "The Children of Chernobyl," tell Judith Strasser about the on-going and devastating effects of the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl on neighboring Belorus, making the point that radiation recognizes no boundaries.

SEGMENT 3:

Columbia University musicologist Timothy Taylor is working on a book called "Global Pop." He talks with Jim Fleming about the world music phenomenon and the dilemmas it creates both for the industry and the musicians.

Distribution dates:

• week of 02/16/97 - hour 1