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As the coronavirus spreads and claims more lives in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro — who has consistently downplayed the threat — finds him in a precarious political position.

Traditional baby products have skyrocketed in price, with some strollers and cribs retailing for thousands of dollars. Pamela Paul's new book, Parenting Inc, describes how companies convince parents to pay so much for baby goods that end up cluttering their homes.

Danny talks with Willie Morris about his book, MY DOG SKIP (Vintage Books), a memoir of growing up in Yazoo City, Mississippi in the 1940's. Always by little Willie's side was Skip, an English smooth-haired fox terrier. Skip was a special dog: With a little help from his master, Skip could drive a car or play football - he could even pick up supplies at the grocery store. Willie Morris now lives in Jackson, Mississippi (about 40 miles from Yazoo City). He is the author of two novels, and the memoirs NORTH TOWARD HOME and NEW YORK DAYS.

Carolyn Jack reports from Toronto on a proposed law in Canada which would give Loyalists who fled to Canada during the American Revolution the right to sue for compensation for property seized by George Washington's army. The legislation is a tongue-in-cheek response to the Helms-Burton Law passed in the US this year. Helms-Burton gives Americans the right to sue foreign firms which invest in Cuban property expropriated by Fidel Castro's revolution. While the Canadian bill is satire, it is meant to drive home a point about the anger at Helms-Burton in Canada, which is one of Cuba's largest trading partners.

Critic Bob Mondello reviews two films that have just arrived in the United States from Eastern Europe. "Prisoner of the Mountains" is set in Chechnya, and tells the story of two Russian soldiers camptured by Chechen rebels. It's based on a 150-year-old story by Leo Tolstoy, also set in Chechnya. The second film, "Kolya," is set in Prague, during the Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia. But it's not a war movie: it deals with a playboy who ends up caring for a five-year-old boy. Mondello says that while these films aren't likely to be box office hits in the U.S., they have both already had a big impact in their home countries.

Five Hollywood studios launch an online movie rental service called Movielink. It's a bid by the studios to avoid becoming the next major victims -- after record companies -- of Internet piracy. If it's successful, Movielink could eventually compete with cable TV. NPR's Andy Bowers reports.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from Moscow that a Russian court today convicted American Edmond Pope of spying and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors said Pope, a retired naval officer, tried to buy classified technology for the Squall torpedo, a weapon which moves with lightning speed through the water. Pope's supporters say he was a legitimate businessman, and the Russian technology involved had already been sold abroad. Pope battled a rare form of bone cancer several years ago, and the Clinton administration says he should be allowed to return home for medical treatment.

Whether you ventured out to a theater or stayed at home to watch via streaming, there were a bunch of good movies that came out this year.

With home environments and family situations often contributing to their problems, poor children get sick far more often than better-off kids. Doctors at one hospital in Boston are teaming up with unlikely allies to help their patients. NPR's Daniel Zwerdling reports.

The U.S. Justice Department has subpoenaed two reporters to find out how they got grand jury testimony surrounding the BALCO laboratories performance enhancing drug investigation. Michele Norris talks with NPR's David Folkenflik.