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John Lawton's Cold War spy novel, Old Flames, is set in England in l956, during Nikita Khrushchev's first visit to Great Britain. In this story, as Lawton makes clear, the spy is anything but a hero. Lawton speaks with NPR's Scott Simon.

The Handmaid's Tale, an opera based on Margaret Atwood's novel of the same name, makes its North American debut at the Minnesota Opera in St. Paul. The opera tells of a world where religion is used to justify political agendas and women are stripped of their rights. Minnesota Public Radio's Marianne Combs reports.

Like an actor who refuses to watch his own movies, author Michael Chabon says he can't stand to read his books. On Morning Edition, Chabon and fellow writers Jane Smiley and John Edgar Wideman share their thoughts about the nature of writing in a virtual "salon" styled after the Algonquin Round Table. Hear a longer version of their discussion online.

Art Spiegelman won many awards for his comic book Maus, based on his father's experiences during the Holocaust. His latest work is an autobiographical comic based on his own post-Sept. 11 life. This book is not finding the same success. David D'Arcy reports.

During World War II, American soldiers suspected of being Jewish were captured by the Nazis and sent off to a German slave labor camp. Berga: Soldiers of Another War was the final project for famed documentarian Charles Guggenheim, who lost an Army buddy in the camp. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Grace Guggenheim about her late father's last film.

Journalist David Brinkley, whose career paralleled much of the evolution of American television news coverage, dies of complications from a fall at age 82. Brinkley first gained fame in the 1960s co-anchoring NBC's evening news program with Chet Huntley; he later hosted ABC's This Week with David Brinkley. Brinkley won 10 Emmys and three Peabodys during his career. Hear NPR's Cokie Roberts.

From the Maori culture of New Zealand comes Whale Rider, a film with an appealing 11-year-old central character. She's seeking to follow in her father's footsteps as tribal chieftain. Her grandfather is skeptical. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a review.

Actor Buddy Ebsen, best known for his role as Jed Clampett on the TV series The Beverly Hillbillies, dies at age 95. Ebsen, who started his career as a dancer on Broadway shows and MGM musicals in the 1930s, also starred as a private investigator in the 1970s TV show Barnaby Jones. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

How I Learned What I Learned is the latest from playwright August Wilson. He's won two Pulitzer Prizes for Fences and The Piano Lesson. This time Wilson makes his acting debut in a one-man show. Marcie Sillman of member station KUOW reports.

As baseball celebrates its midseason All-Star break, NPR's Bob Edwards talks to Jeff Campbell, the producer of a series of baseball music CDs, called Diamond Cuts. The latest album features songs about Mickey Mantle, Dizzy Dean and Shoeless Joe Jackson. Hear selections from Top of the Sixth.