NPR News

Host Scott Simon talks with Rep. Steve King (R-IA) about the Conservative Principles Conference being held Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. Several 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls — including Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann are expected to attend. King's political action committee is sponsoring the event.

Republicans hoping to win New Hampshire's 2012 presidential primary will find that the landscape in that state has changed dramatically. New Hampshire Public Radio's Josh Rogers reports the Tea Party has lots of new clout with the state's GOP.

March Madness is in full swing, and host Scott Simon talks with NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman about the latest in men's NCAA basketball.

Host Scott Simon talks with artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel about his new movie, Miral. The drama is centered on an orphaned Palestinian girl, who grows up in the wake of the first Arab-Israeli war. Schnabel also directed Before Night Falls and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, host:

Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest, is home to an estimated 200 of the world's 700 remaining wild Mountain Gorillas. The park straddles parts of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. And, of course, was featured in Dian's Fossey's book, "Gorillas in the Mist."

But Virunga has been targeted by a British oil company, SOCO International, as an area for oil exploration. The Congolese government rejected their bid, but SOCO says it got the okay from Uganda to explore its side of the park.