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In Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, the latest collection of personal essays from Anne Lamott, the author picks up where her last book, the bestselling Traveling Mercies, left off. She talks with NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates.

The rocker has released a two-volume set of recordings. Volume one was out in February, with material from the 1980s. Volume two includes four albums he turned out between 1988 and 2002 and four bonus CDs of new material.

Jim Ruland explains how an obscure Irish novel called The Third Policeman recently earned some new fans after the book made a very brief appearance on the hit ABC drama Lost. The book's cover appeared in a scene in a darkened room for about one second — but it was enough.

The New York Times reports Monday that a confidential memo detailing a conversation between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair shows the president was determined to go to war with Iraq even without evidence of weapons of mass destruction.

Today's many Latino baseball stars owe a debt to Roberto Clemente, the first Latino ballplayer to rise to U.S. stardom. Clemente died at 38, delivering supplies to earthquake survivors in Nicaragua. His life is the subject of a new biography by Pulitzer-winner David Maraniss.

Nigerian-born novelist Chris Abani stunned critics with his debut novel Graceland. His follow-up novella tackles questions of identity and nationality — this time, from a female perspective.

Space historian Michael Neufeld talks about his new biography of scientist Wernher von Braun, chief rocket engineer of the Nazi Third Reich. After the war, von Braun became a key player in the development of the U. S. space program. Neufeld discusses von Braun's life and his influence on space exploration.

McSweeney's, the publishing enterprise behind several humor journals, has a new book out — a collection of its often absurd "lists" that readers send in to McSweeney's Web site. Editor John Warner talks with Madeleine Brand about the new collection.

How did Louis the XIV manage all of his kingly duties — from invading the Spanish Netherlands to engineering the extraordinary gardens at Versailles — when he was always in the bedroom?

In 2005, The New York Times published a story that exposed a secret NSA program to eavesdrop on Americans without obtaining a warrant. Investigative reporter Eric Lichtblau explains how the wiretap story made it to the front page after being held for a year.

Men's Fitness magazine tackles a sensitive subject that is not often discussed: depression and men. In this week's Behind Closed Doors segment, Chris Strauss of Men's Fitness, mental health writer John Head, and Nathaniel Reynolds, who suffered from depression, explain why depression seems to be rising among men, and why it can be challenging for men, especially black men, to accept help.

White House reporter and columnist Helen Thomas has covered every president since John F. Kennedy. Thomas talks about her 60-year career in journalism, and offers presidents advice in her new book, Listen Up, Mr. President.

In his new book, The Stuff of Thought, psychologist Steven Pinker sorts through some of the paradoxes of profanity. He points out that in a society that prides itself on free speech, certain words pertaining to sex and excretion remain off-limits.

In 2004, Wangari Maathai became the first African woman and the first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai talks about her memoir, Unbowed, and why she believes protecting the environment has everything to do with world peace.

Author and NPR sports show host Bill Littlefield reminds his readers to remain calm while they watch and play sports. His new book is a collection of essays, articles and poems about everything from Major League Baseball, to women's soccer, to Alistair Cooke's love of games.

Life for the character Frannie in Jacqueline Woodson's new novel, Feathers, takes a bit of a turn when a new kid who looks like a white Jesus joins her predominately black sixth-grade class.

Eating disorders have long been considered more common among women than men, but a new study from Harvard shows that a number of men suffer from eating issues, as well. We examine how eating disorders affect men, and why men are less likely to seek help.

Author Jane Schoenberg teamed with her musician husband Steven to create a book and CD aimed at teaching children about their bodies. My Bodyworks offers a brief anatomical overview, and 12 songs.

In The House At The End Of The Road, W. Ralph Eubanks tells the story of his white grandfather, Jim, and black grandmother, Edna. Jim and Edna Richardson raised a biracial family in spite of living in Jim Crow, rural Alabama.

NPR religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty spent a year exploring the emerging science of spirituality for her book, Fingerprints of God. She talks with Weekend Edition Sunday host Liane Hansen about what she discovered while writing the book.

These days some shoppers are looking at more than the price of their groceries; they're also considering "food miles" — how far the grapes or pork chops traveled to get to the store. But some experts say eating food grown locally isn't necessarily the best way to go green at the grocery store.

Carla Harris broke through the glass ceiling on Wall Street. The financial services veteran offers career advice and strategies for success in her new book, Expect to Win: Proven Strategies for Success from a Wall Street Vet. Harris talks about her book, the financial crisis and challenges she faced as a woman of color on Wall Street.

Americans adopt thousands of children from other countries every year. The process can be tricky, and would-be adoptive parents often face the question "Why not adopt an American kid?" If you've adopted internationally, or are considering it, tell us about it.

The 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard drew new attention to hate crimes targeting people who are gay. But more than a decade later, Shepard's mother believes the national gay rights picture is not much better. Judy Shepard tells Neal Conan about her new book, The Meaning of Matthew.

Why don't woodpeckers get headaches? Why don't people like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard? And what happens when you break a piece of raw spaghetti? Those are big questions, and solving them would be worthy of an award — well, at least an Ig Nobel award.