A leaked White House memo lays out a legal defense for “targeted killings” – including drone strikes. Omar Shakir, co-author of Living Under Drones, talks about why he objects to the U.S. strikes. Then, Laura Seay, professor at Morehouse College, explains why the conflicts in Mali and Afghanistan should not be compared. Plus: Nobel prize-winning Wole Soyinka on his new book about Africa; a February series on fashion kicks off with Parsons Professor Hazel Clark; and the end of the New Jersey jughandle, and that odd left turn.

The White House has been trying to codify drone strike policy. Scott Shane of The New York Times talks about his reporting on why the Obama administration has recently been keen on creating a rule book. Plus: Neil Barofsky on the change of leadership at the SEC; what’s behind a spike in traffic-related deaths in New York City; WNYC’s Beth Fertig on this year’s report cards for NYC high schools; Stephen Dubner of Freakonomics; and a new book examines American culture at the Renaissance Faire.

Listen to acoustic drones, electronic drones, overtone singing and sometimes even words for this New Sounds program. From New York-based composer Kitty Brazelton, hear music from her work, "Ecclesiastes: A Modern Oratorio," containing texts from the Book of Ecclesiastes, re-translated from the Hebrew and Latin by Brazelton herself. Also, hear music from the late William Duckworth, both acoustic and from the ginormous, innovative web-based piece, "Cathedral," incorporating the pitchweb from the turn of the century.

Hear drones from across the world and recent recorded history on this New Sounds. Listen to instrumental melodies over drones, vocal melodies and vocal drones, and sometimes the drone of the Earth.  To that end, there's music from guitarist John Abercrombie, something from the band Ergo, and a piece from Norwegian saxophone player Jan Garbarek accompanied by a wind harp.  All that and more.