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By some estimates, more than half the languages spoken in the world today will be gone by the end of the century. For Morning Edition, NPR's Joe Palca reports on one attempt in Alaska to slow the extinction process.

Retired General Carl Stiner. With Tom Clancy, He co-authored of the book, Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces. General Stiner was commander in chief of the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) from 1990 to 1993. SOCOM is responsible for the readiness of all special operations of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

More than 4,300 U.S. and allied soldiers are now stationed at the airport in Kandahar, Afghanistan. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports for Morning Edition that the air war may be over, but soldiers are still on high alert and working overtime to keep air traffic moving and the runway in one piece.

When Enron said it was seeking a new name, listeners of NPR's All Things Considered came to the rescue. The show asked listeners for suggestions and today announced the most popular: "End-Run." Read some of the other suggested names, and submit your own to NPR's online discussion board. (3:00)

Journalist Martin Meredith's new book is called Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe (Public Affairs). Later this week, Zimbabwe holds presidential elections, which means Mugabe's presidency is in jeopardy. The book chronicles Mugabe's transformation from political visionary to violent dictator. Meredith has now spent many years writing about Africa -- first as a foreign correspondent for the London Observer and Sunday Times, and now as an author and commentator. His other books include, In the Name of Apartheid: South Africa's New Era and Nelson Mandela.

A lot of people are talking these days about how religiously diverse the United States is becoming. Commentator Gustav Niebhur says the U.S. has always been religiously diverse.

At the height of the Great Depression, a government economist named Roy Stryker sent some of America's best photographers to document farm life. The result is one of the greatest collections of photographs ever -- and the book Children of the Depression highlights the most memorable images.

His book is called Them: Adventures with Extremists. (Simon and Schuster). He traveled around the world interviewing different types of extremistsfrom Islamic fundamentalists in a Jihad training camp, to Ku Klux Klansmen at rallies. Them was first published in the U.K. in the spring of 2001.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is featuring a broad survey of art made by artists who called themselves surrealists -- and by many who didn't. David D'Arcy reports that the art movement itself defied rigid definitions, but curators keep trying.

During the Great Depression, the U.S. government began an unprecedented effort to record the sights and sounds of American folk life. Producer Barrett Golding uncovered a wealth of music and interviews from Florida in the 1930s, reflecting the culture of the Jim Crow South.