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Once political enemies, President Obama and Bill Clinton have established a partnership that's becoming a cornerstone of the Obama campaign. Clinton exemplifies perhaps the most crucial political gift that Obama seems to lack.

Melissa Block speaks with Scott Robb of Palmer, Alaska, who has grown a world record-setting giant cabbage. It weighed in at 138.25 pounds at the Alaska State Fair. Robb has been nurturing a variety of world-record setting giant vegetables — including turnips and kale — for more than twenty years.

Among the dozens of athletes hoping to leap, throw or run their way to London as part of the U.S. track and field team is St. Louis native Shannon Leinert. The 24-year-old runner has dreamed of the Olympics since she was 10. If that weren't enough, Leinert is also working on a doctoral degree.

With only a couple of months before the election, authorities are putting out word that federal employees need to beware of the line between protected political activity and prohibited electioneering. A few high-profile dustups have attracted attention already this year and watchdogs are investigating 168 possible violations of the Hatch Act.

In this hourlong special, wistfulness, joy, doubt, hope — all the emotions we feel at this time of year — are summoned up in memorable stories from the NPR broadcast archives.

The task of choosing the next pope falls to 115 red-robed cardinals, known by the faithful as the "princes" of the Catholic Church. Their average age is 72 — and they are all men. We examine how they came to have this massive responsibility, and how some Catholics resent their exclusive monopoly over electing pontiffs.

About 50 years ago, the native Alaskans were forced to leave their ancestral home on King Island, in the Bering Sea. Now, an Anchorage poet has crowdsourced enough money to bring a group of former King Islanders and their descendants back for a visit.

The Greeks have been eating octopus since ancient times, but there's an art to grilling these tentacled sea creatures. An octopus has to be dried in the sun for at least a day first. Otherwise, the flesh just steams and turns into "a rubbery mass."

There's a spirited debate going on between GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. A Super PAC called Restore Our Future is running negative ads against Gingrich on Romney's behalf. Gingrich called on Romney to get the ads off the air. Romney responded by saying the law does not allow him to communicate with a Super PAC.

Summer is the time to eat. There's no better opportunity to make the most of what the season — and your local farmer's stand — have to offer. Cookbooks can help. Food writer Bonny Wolf rounds up 10 to take you through the season.