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In April of 1943, the body of a British Royal Marine washed ashore in Spain, carrying top secret letters about Allied plans to invade Greece and Sardinia. Or so it seemed. In reality, the body was that of a homeless Welsh laborer, and the letters were fakes designed to direct German attention away from the real Allied invasion target: Sicily.

The humorist, who made his name with personal essays and other nonfiction, tells Steve Inskeep that his return to fiction kept taking him to surprising places. But the unhappy endings? Those he could have predicted.

David Lipsky says that his favorite comic, Runaways, is both a brilliant reading experience — and an embarrassment festival. The tiny digests by Brian K. Vaughan have been a fount of guilt, awkwardness and grave personal doubts, but he still pulls them out on the subway, because they are just that good.

Cookbooks usually come in two varieties: glossy food porn with impenetrable recipes or easy peasy with canned shortcuts. Somewhere in the middle you'll find Pam Anderson's Perfect One-Dish Dinners, a collection that has all the flavor — without skimping on the shortcuts.

The star of NBC's 30 Rock talks to Terry Gross about his tough childhood, how he made the grade in the comedy college that was Saturday Night Live, and why even though he may cry a little on the radio, "the funny bus is still sitting downstairs." (Rebroadcast from Oct. 22, 2009)

In times of great danger, some survivors report encountering a phantom presence, which guides them to safety. Writer John Geiger chronicles the phenomenon in his new book, The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible.

Tensions again increase between the U.S. and Iran, as the first anniversary approaches of the American drone strike that killed an Iran's top military commander.

Thousands of state lawmakers are expected to return to their capitols in 2021 for a new legislative session. But the pandemic and political divisions are making that harder than ever.

Government officials in France are under fire for the slow rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. The country has one of the highest death tolls from the pandemic in Europe — more than 66,000.

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Erin Brodwin of Stat News about why Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP MorganChase health care company Haven is closing.