Recent attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon haven’t come in the form of drones or missile strikes. The weapons were already in the targets’ hands: their pagers and walkie-talkies. We’ll hear how people in Lebanon are feeling and perhaps changing their habits in the aftermath of the coordinated explosion of communication devices. Also, the nations around the globe are nearly evenly split between democracies and autocracies. But the autocracies are home to about 70% of the world’s population. We examine democracy under strain, as dictators consolidate power — and hold onto it. And in Japan, tourists and weather have been blamed for a shortage of rice. But farmers and analysts think something else is going on.

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.