Emmett Public Library

It took over five years for Nathaniel Rich to finish his first novel — maybe because he was writing The Mayor's Tongue secretly, first as a college student, and then while writing film criticism during the day.

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Abortion-rights backers want quick action from the president-elect, although they may not press for sweeping changes. Obama has said he is looking to find common ground on reproductive health issues.

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Veterans of the war in Iraq experience effects that are not always obvious. Sometimes their problems are only visible to doctors like Natalie Mariano, who for the past five years has worked at the Veteran Affairs Primary Care Center in Hyannis, Mass.

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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks are to be transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York for prosecution. The city may be prepared to tackle the security and logistics of the trial, but emotions will present a challenge.

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President Obama is vowing to strengthen U.S. ties to Asia in an effort to address global challenges such as climate change and the spread of nuclear weapons. Speaking in Tokyo Saturday, Obama also tried to sell renewed relations with Asia as a key to job growth here at home.

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Tammy Duckworth has felt the effect of war. Five years ago she was flying combat missions in Iraq when her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. She lost both of her legs and partial use of one arm. But she didn't lose her will; after recovering from her injuries, she ran for Congress and served as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs. Today she's assistant secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Host Scott Simon talks to Duckworth about the mental health of returning soldiers and her own experience coming back from combat.

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More than 63 million people play the Facebook game called "Farmville" every month, and some even shell out real money to get ahead in the virtual reality. Host Scott Simon speaks to Dean Takahashi, who writes about gaming for the technology news blog VentureBeat, about why the game is so popular.

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This week saw charges for the man alleged to have gone on a shooting rampage at Ft. Hood. President Obama headed to Asia and the House passed health care legislation. Host Scott Simon reviews the week in the news with NPR Senior News Analyst Dan Schorr.

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed some difficult news this week. The Hall of Fame basketball star disclosed that almost one year ago he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. He talks to host Scott Simon about his decision to go public with the news.

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One year ago, 170 people were murdered when 10 terrorists set off a barrage of gunfire and grenades in Mumbai, India, at two hotels, a railroad station and a Jewish center. Those harrowing hours are recounted in a new HBO documentary called Terror in Mumbai. Host Scott Simon speaks with CNN host and Newsweek international editor, Fareed Zakaria, who narrates the new documentary.

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The college football regular season will close out soon, and that means the Bowl Championship Series bids are starting to shape up. Who do we expect to see? Who are the surprises? Plus, the NBA season is in full swing. Who's hot and who's not? Host Scott Simon talks with our man in the stands, Howard Bryant.

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President Barack Obama pressed on with his mission to repair America's global standing, telling Asians he was determined to engage them as equal partners in the economy, diplomacy and security.

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Ohio's death chamber is set to resume executions next month using a single drug that has been used in the U.S. to euthanize pets but never to put condemned prisoners to death.

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As Bernard Madoff sits in a North Carolina prison serving a 150-year sentence, remnants of the fallen financier's once lavish lifestyle are going on the auction block at a Manhattan hotel.

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Observers say the ultimate impact of the House abortion amendment could be to change abortion from being a procedure routinely covered by most private insurance plans to a procedure routinely excluded — even in cases of medical emergency.

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Warren Buffett's decision to take full control of the nation's second largest railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., suggests the billionaire investor sees new potential in freight transport, economists say. Trains often carry coal or containers filled with imported goods.

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The Soldiers Project, founded by clinical psychiatrist Judith Broder, provides free counseling not only to service members returning from war — but to their families as well. The private service also offers a way for troops to get help if they're reluctant to seek it within the military system.

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Topping the list: Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, Kathryn Stockett's The Help and Dan Brown's Lost Symbol. And making their list debut: John Grisham's Ford Coutnty and Kurt Vonnegut's Look at the Birdie.

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Moving beyond traditional superheroes, two new graphic novels recount the epic tales of scientists and the research that made them famous. Ira Flatow talks with authors Michael Keller and Apostolos Doxiadis about their graphic novels on natural selection and logic.

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One person who plans to meet with President Obama during his trip to China is his half-brother, Mark Obama Ndesandjo, who lives in China. Ndesandjo has recently released a semi-autobiographical novel, revealing the abusive nature of their father.

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