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Spc. Justin Cliburn was in his 20s when he trained Iraqi police in Baghdad. During his deployment, he made friends with a teenager that he says "made every day something I looked forward to." But even their friendship could not escape a violent reality.

The country is disputing a new report that names it as the world's leading jailer of journalists, with scores behind bars — ahead of Iran, China and other authoritarian states. Ongoing international attention to Turkey's treatment of the media has raised hope that reforms could be forthcoming.

Serena Frome is more bookworm than spy, but her bosses at MI5 have the perfect mission for her: to cultivate and fund British writers whose politics align with those of the government.

Approximately three-quarters of the world's population now have access to a mobile phone, and the majority of those subscriptions are in developing countries. But those phones don't usually have data plans. Now, Google and Facebook are offering free apps on these devices to get users hooked on social media.

Host Scott Simon talks with New York Times op-ed columnist Joe Nocera about the efforts to overhaul America's tax system and prospects for reaching a compromise before the end of the year, when automatic tax hikes and spending cuts are set to go into effect.

Host Scott Simon talks with John Podesta about the transition from the first Obama administration to the next. Podesta served as co-chair of President Obama's 2008 transition team. Podesta, who currently chairs the Center for American Progress, says first terms always emphasize big building blocks of legislation, whereas second terms focus on implementing good management.

Host Scott Simon catches up on the week in sports with Howard Bryant of ESPN: A surprise contender out of Chicago is taking on a well-funded operation with a mighty offensive attack and an NBA firing that surprised exactly no one.

Photographer James Balog has spent the last several years recording global warming in its coldest regions. NPR's Scott Simon talks with Balog about the new documentary, Chasing Ice, which follows Balog on his quest to document the planet's vanishing glaciers.

In The Entertainer, Margaret Talbot chronicles her family history and the rise of popular American entertainment. Her father, actor Lyle Talbot, "loved to work," the author says. "He was somebody who felt very lucky that he was able to make a living doing what he loved in a creative field."

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin is the first openly gay candidate to be elected to the U.S. Senate. But advocates say the fact her sexual orientation wasn't part of the campaign is the real signal of change.