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Robert Siegel talks with Mamoun Fandy, an Egyptian political scientist and expert on Islamic fundamentalists, about the language of the alleged bin Laden audio tape released yesterday.

Burmese writer Pascal Khoo Thwe has written his autobiography From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey. (HarperCollins). Thwe grew up part of a tiny remote tribe in Burma which practiced a combination of ancient animist and Buddhist customs mixed with Catholicism. He was the first member of his community to study English at University. When a brutal military dictatorship took over Burma, Thwe became a guerrilla fighter in the movement for democracy.

Well to the east of Hollywood and the Golden Gate Bridge, there is another California -- the Central Valley, where farmers grow one-quarter of the food America eats. In the third of a four-part series on the future of the valley, NPR's John McChesney reports on how some organic farmers struggle while others thrive.

On Capitol Hill today, politicians are holding yet another hearing about the risks of mercury. It's part of the latest wave of concern about mercury, which also turns up in fish, air pollution and in some vaccines. As NPR's Jon Hamilton reports, these fears have been around for hundreds of years.

New York City is going to court in a bid to evict homeless people from shelters if they fail to find their own apartments quickly enough. It's a reaction to severe overcrowding at facilities where people wait for beds at shelters to open. NPR's Nancy Solomon reports.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) joins the race to become House minority leader, emphasizing campaign finance reform. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) appears to be the frontrunner in a competition that also includes Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN). NPR's David Welna reports.

Women's equality has made slow progress in South Korea. Some South Koreans want to bring about change starting at the country's cultural roots by reinterpreting Confucius.

It turns out the Jedi Archives depicted in the latest Star Wars film bear a striking resemblance to a storied library far, far away.

Phoenix is more than happy to pass along some holiday cheer to Tucson.

For families in the New York City homeless system, the first stop is the EAU, the Emergency Assistance Unit. It is supposed to be the place families go to get paperwork processed and be placed in a shelter. Fourteen-year-old Herbert Bennett Jr. came into the EAU with his father in June, and spent some of his time there writing in his notebook. Hear some excerpts. (2:30)

U.S. Rep. John Thune (R-SD) will not contest his narrow loss in a bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson. Thune says a recount would be "painful for the state." The margin of Johnson's victory was just over 500 votes. Curt Nickisch of South Dakota Public Radio reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears cases from Alaska and Connecticut as it reviews statutes based on "Megan's Law." Justices are considering whether alerting communities to a convicted sex offender's whereabouts is constitutional. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.