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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with a mega-return.

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INSKEEP: OK, last year, the United States government shut down the file-sharing website Megaupload over charges of copyright infringement. That was a popular place for users to share pirated films and music. Over the weekend, the founder of Megaupload, the New Zealand tycoon Kim Dotcom, launched a successor to the site. It's called simply Mega.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And we're in the midst of year-end earnings announcements. This week, companies including Apple, Lockheed-Martin, Microsoft and Starbucks will announce their final 2012 results. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has a preview of the corporate earnings season.

All eyes will be on the First Lady Michelle Obama's fashion choices at Monday's inaugural events. Presidential fashions do make history — think Ronald Reagan's brown suits, or Jimmy Carter's cardigans.

President Obama will be sworn in for a second term with fanfare at noon Monday, but the official swearing in was Sunday. Obama's second inauguration is a smaller affair than four years ago. But hundreds of thousands of people have come to Washington, D.C. nonetheless.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

President Obama is the third president in a row to face the challenges of a second term, on the heels of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The last time there were three in a row, their names were Jefferson, Madison and Monroe. In the modern era, second terms have become notorious for getting derailed.

To find out what history may teach President Obama about navigating the next four years, we reached presidential historian Michael Beschloss. Welcome.

MICHAEL BESCHLOSS: Thank you, Renee.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

A second term for Barack Obama, of course, always means four more years in the spotlight for his wife Michelle. The first lady's time in the White House has involved work focused on children and military families, as well as plenty of focus on her fashion, which was evidenced over the last few days with the reaction to her new hairdo, which included bangs.

President Obama's second inauguration is not expected to have record-setting crowds. Also, the president is not the same man as he was four years ago.

Piano Trios of French and Spanish Influence
Turina: Trio No.1 in D Major for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op. 35
Ravel: Trio in A Minor for Piano, Violin and Cello

Keith & Russ talk with Allan J. Jacobson, Professor of Chemistry, and Director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity, at the University of Houston.  Jacobson briefly explains the nature of superconductivity - when certain materials are cooled below a certain temperature, they lose all resistance to electricity, they repel magnetic fields, and become perfect conductors of electricity.  Though it's not fully understood how these superconducting materials work, the Texas Center for Superconductivity is looking into ways to get materials to become superconductive at higher temperatures.  http://tcsuh.com/  Aired Jan. 20, 2013.