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NPR's Scott Simon talks to writer Peter Ackroyd about his new book, Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination. Ackroyd discusses some of the defining features of English literature and culture, such as a reverence for nature, privacy, and squeamishness about sex.

The White House has asserted that most of the terrorism currently undermining U.S. efforts in Iraq is perpetrated by non-Iraqis. Terror analysts and Middle East experts differ in their opinion of the nature of the attacks -- and who is behind them. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen and Rand Corporation policy analyst John Parachini.

Researchers have put a theoretical height limit on the world's tallest trees. According to an article in the science journal Nature, it's difficult for California redwoods to drag water up much higher than 426 feet. NPR's Ketzel Levine reports.

An exhibit called "Petra, Lost City of Stone" is opening at the American Museum of Natural History. The city of Petra, cut into the cliffs of what is now Jordan, was a great trading crossroads of the ancient world. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Craig Morris, co-curator of an exhibit.

Steven Spielberg takes a new crack at the classic H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds. Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins and the talented child star Dakota Fanning lead the cast. The film emphasizes the power of evil and highlights the volatile nature of human fear.

Successful artists are creative by nature, but validation can also be a powerful motivator.

Fracking is a way of bringing up natural gas by pumping water and chemicals into the ground. Germany's powerful beer industry is worried that fracking would pollute groundwater.

- Daniel speaks with investigative reporter Scott Armstrong about the nature of FBI background checks. The FBI has over 3 million files on a wide range of people from top presidential aides to low level workers who have access to certain government offices. Armstrong argues that the creation of these files is a waste of money and time, particularly considering that very little relevant information is uncovered by background checks.

After careful study of preserved specimens and observing individual birds in the wild, Dr. Bob Kennedy of the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science has identified a new species of bird. Lina's (LEE-nuhz) sunbird is a brightly colored bird that lives in an isolated region on the Phillipine island of Mindanao (MIN-duh-now). Noah talks with Dr. Kennedy about his expeditions to the Phillipines, and the process of capturing and preparing specimens.

Storms and towering sea swells continued to stymie the clean-up today of an oil spill that has spread along Japan's rugged west coast. NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that the operation to mop up the more than 1 million barrels of oil that a Russian tanker spilled when it split in two earlier this month has suffered both natural and man-made setbacks.