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Historians have long struggled to explain how the West became the preeminent political and economic force in the modern world. In Civilization, historian Niall Ferguson credits six "killer apps" and explains how China is quickly catching on — and catching up.

In What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, Nathan Englander writes about his own faith — and what it means to be Jewish — in stories that explore religious tension, Israeli-American relations and the Holocaust.

In his new book, Heaven on Earth, English barrister Sadakat Kadri describes how early Islamic scholars codified — and then modified — the Shariah laws that would govern how Muslim people lead their daily lives. He then reflects on the present day, describing how today's religious scholars interpret the Shariah.

Fallon is thankful for slow walkers, people named Lloyd and the word "moist." The comedian and host of Late Night collects more than 100 nuggets of gratitude in his book called Thank You Notes. He talks with Terry Gross about giving thanks and doing impressions.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently told constituents under 65 not to take the new COVID-19 vaccines, despite CDC and FDA recommendations that everyone older than 6 months get the shots. DeSantis's statement is not based on science or data.

Technologies like GPS and social media are posing new challenges to interpreting the Constitution's guarantees of privacy and free speech. Law professor and journalist Jeffrey Rosen says we're now in an era the Founding Fathers could never have imagined, in which private companies are determining the rules for what can be shared.

Farmers in the eastern Indian state of Orissa are at risk of losing their land to a growing steel industry. The Indian government says the steel plants will bring jobs and tax revenue, but critics say the poor won't benefit.

A man calling himself Gaddar makes no secret about his ideology: He sings it from the rooftops. The Indian man can barely finish a sentence without bursting into song, often describing the oppression of the masses. Gaddar was once a foot soldier in the jungles of India with the People's Army, a Maoist insurgent militia. Maoists are active in nearly half of the country's states; hundreds have died in recent violence between the Maoist militias and Indian security services. Years ago, Gaddar turned from violence to music, becoming a revolutionary balladeer and writing hundreds of popular songs. The authorities are taking notice of the power of Gaddar's music.

Mayawati Kumari is the chief minister of one of India's largest and poorest states. She's also the richest woman in India and one of the best known. Now there's talk about her possibly becoming the country's next prime minister.

NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Arwa Damon, former international foreign correspondent for CNN, about the impact of trauma on Israelis and Palestinians as a result of successive eruptions of violence.