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In softcover fiction, Tracy Chevalier follows an English Quaker across the Atlantic, Herman Koch serves a meal with a hefty helping of unease and Peter Sis brings an ancient flock of birds into the 21st century. In nonfiction, Jared Diamond mines lessons from traditional societies.

For young Cambodians, the promise of modernization comes paired with a threat: the rapid erasure of traditional ways of life. In A River Changes Course, filmmaker Kalyanee Mam follows three young Cambodians, finding in their stories a set of questions and challenges that are surprisingly universal.

When you fall in love with science, ordinary, everyday stuff can suddenly seem extraordinary. That's how NPR Blogger and astrophysicist Adam Frank sees it — today he sees it in dust.

Widening revelations about NSA spying now include allegations that the U.S. is collecting data on millions of citizens in countries such as Spain and France and has spied on the leaders of some 35 allies. The scandal is drawing attention to an intelligence-sharing agreement known as Five Eyes between the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Audie Cornish speaks with ambassador John Negroponte, chairman of the board of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance and the former director of national intelligence under George W. Bush.

The resurgence of diplomacy in the Iranian nuclear standoff has generated hope in the West for a peaceful solution to the long-running crisis, and hope in Iran for the lifting of painful economic sanctions. But the new opening has also invigorated hard-line opponents in Israel, Washington and Tehran. Analysts say pressure from these conservative critics could derail the talks as they enter a particularly difficult phase.

With just a hundred days to go before the Winter Olympic Games open in Russia, even many gold medalists are still fighting for a place on Team USA. Justin Olsen, a bobsledder from San Antonio, Texas, helped the U.S. win a historic gold medal four years ago in Vancouver, but he's struggled to overcome injuries in the lead-up to Sochi.

It's a happy ending for Neil the potbelly pig, who faced eviction from his California home. Pigs are allowed as pets in Sierra Madre, but not hogs. An animal control officer suspected Neil was a hog — that is, a pig weighing more than 120 pounds. But a protest rally turned into a party when Neil was designated a legal pig by the city.

Rebecca Walker's debut novel, Adé: A Love Story, is a whirlwind tale of romance and tragedy in Kenya. A biracial American college student falls in love with a Kenyan man, but their relationship is complicated by illness and government brutality. Reviewer Richard Torres says Walker rushes the romance and skimps on character development.

The Boston Red Sox took the lead in the World Series with a 3-1 win Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Red Sox now have a 3-2 edge as the Series moves back to Boston.

For the first time since James Madison was president, surveyors have finished demarcating the border between North Carolina and South Carolina. Now, the…

Forty percent of food in the U.S. goes uneaten each year. The major problem is also a major opportunity for startups like Food Cowboy and CropMobster, which are trying to cash in by connecting sellers of excess food to people in need of it.

"I have so many Bluetooth speakers, it's ridiculous," Amazon's top reviewer says. He's also received headphones, laser printers and a spin bike.

Prosecutors say the Moldovan dancer's presence on the ship at the time of its crash may have been a distraction to the captain.

"In Lou Reed's world, when you were Lou's friend you knew it," his longtime publicist Bill Bentley tells Terry Gross. Fresh Air dedicates an entire hour to the transgressive and transcendent Velvet Underground co-founder, with music and commentary by original Velvets John Cale and Maureen Tucker.

In a vote that has become something of a tradition, only one country in the U.N. General Assembly agreed with the United States that its embargo of Cuba should continue. The final count in the vote was 188-2.

Some new housing is popping up in the university area of Charlotte. It’s geared to students. So you might think cheap rent, cramped kitchens, shared…

Audie Cornish talks with Aryn Baker, Middle East bureau chief for Time magazine, about her recent article on the use of illegal drug Captagon in the Middle East and its role in the Syrian civil war. Different groups involved in the conflict have been selling the amphetamine to fund their respective operations.

The head of the NSA testified on Capitol Hill Tuesday. General Keith Alexander disputed news reports that the NSA collected the phone call data of citizens in France and Spain. The NSA is facing tough criticism over its extensive surveillance efforts, including the apparent monitoring of phone calls of the leaders of countries that are close U.S. allies. The NSA controversy has also prompted legislators to change the way the agency conducts surveillance. Two reforms aim to limit the NSA's ability to collect the phone records of U.S. persons in bulk.

A year ago, a conservative British cabinet minister was forced to step down after being publicly excoriated for dismissing a pair of police officers as 'plebes', or commoners. Now, a new version of events is beginning to emerge.

Secretary of State John Kerry says Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have met 13 times — that's a hair over once a week if you count from August 13, the first day they sat down together in this part of the world since Kerry announced the restart of talks. What true progress has been made is difficult to judge, but some things are clear. Settlements are a continuing sore point for Palestinians. The Jordan Valley will be fought over for both its economic and security value. Some Israeli lawmakers are trying to tie the government's hands, while others have gone to Ramallah to show support. And nobody knows what to do about Hamas.