On March 27 at the Y, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, currently serving his second term, sat down with WNYC's Leonard Lopate to talk about his new book, America: Our Next Chapter: Tough Questions, Straight Answers. In the audio clip above, Senator Hagel discusses the great transformation of an American populace disconnected with its politicians, the rise of Independents and the self-correcting mechanism of democracy.

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The full program will be broadcast on the weekly From New York’s 92nd Street Y program this Saturday at 7, 8 and 9AM ET on the SIRIUS STARS Channel. If you're not a subscriber, go to www.sirius.com/freetrial for a 3 day free trial.

Related: A Conversation with Ted Sorensen on the Legacy of JFK and Politics Today (May 6), Senator Harry Reid in Conversation with Jeff Greenfield (May 8) and Andy Borowitz, Jonathan Alter, Susie Essman, Calvin Trillin & More: Countdown to the Election (May 13)

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The video above features violinists Anastasia Chebotareva and Jennifer Koh playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in the final round of The Tchaikovsky Competition in 1994. The intensity is hard to match. No first prize was given so they shared second prize, though many have said the 17-year-old Koh’s performance was superior, even more remarkable given that she was sick at the time.

Koh has enjoyed an active and highly praised career ever since. She is increasingly in high demand as a guest soloist with important American orchestras and in recital at several of the country’s most prestigious venues. In December, you can catch her in the Chamber Music at the Y series.

Want to start practicing for the next quadrennial Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011? Music classes are available at the Y for both adults and children.

From a Life magazine gallery of Classic Pictures: May Day in Moscow:

Although America observes its Labor Day on the first Monday in September, most other nations honor their working men and women on May 1. In the former Soviet Union it became a national festival of communist kitsch as the Red Army preened on parade and the party faithful proclaimed the new order.

Join Georgetown professor Ori Z. Soltes this weekend for a look at Soviet and Post-Soviet History and Culture: From Past to Future.

Related: Russian Sundays at the 92nd Street Y and Ori Z. Soltes on the Jewish Abstract Expressionists After the Holocaust