Over 60 Years Later, Hope for Peace on Korean Peninsula

Here’s what you’ll find on today’s show:

— This week, the South Korean government and President Trump confirmed news items that seemed out of the realm of possibility just one month ago: a prospective meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, and talks to formally end the over-60-years-long Korean War. President Trump also confirmed on Wednesday that C.I.A. Director and Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo secretly met with Kim Jong-un during Easter to lay the groundwork for the president’s own meeting in May or June. North and South Korea have technically been in an armistice since 1953, creating a demilitarized zone and a de facto border that has split the two Koreas, and along with it, the families who live on either side.

— On Thursday, Raúl Castro stepped down as Cuba’s president, ending the Castros’ 60 year rule on the island. Stepping in as president is the Communist Party’s hand-chosen successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel. While Díaz-Canel is known as a loyal party figure, he’s managed to stay out of the spotlight during his career, leaving much speculation as to how the country will be governed going forward.

— A federal jury Wednesday brought about the end of a trial that has rocked the Somali community in Garden City, Kansas. Three men were convicted on all counts of plotting to bomb an apartment complex where Somali immigrants lived and worked; it was a thriving community center for the Somali community. We’ve been following that case, and now with a verdict, we turn to a member of the impacted community. Ifra Ahmed is a Somali community leader in Garden City, Kansas, and she shares her reflections on the verdict, the trial, and how the Somali community is feeling today.

— In “Baskets,” comedian Louie Anderson plays the eccentric mother of main characters Chip and Dale Baskets. It is a persona heavily influenced by Anderon’s own mother, whom he invokes in a wry fashion as Christine Baskets. In Anderson’s new book, “Hey Mom: Stories for My Mother, But You Can Read Them Too,” he revisits his relationship with his mother and childhood, exposing adolescent challenges and noting later-in-life realizations about the wisdom of maternal influence.