Consider This from NPR - Half Of Afghanistan’s Population Faces Acute Food Insecurity. Here’s Why.

Afghanistan is facing its worst drought in decades, but that's not the only reason it is on the verge of a hunger crisis. After the Taliban took over, much of the country's international development aid was suspended, and the United States froze $9.5 billion in Afghan government assets. The economy has plummeted.

Richard Trenchard, country director for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Afghanistan, explains what he's heard from farmers and herders.

PBS NewsHour special correspondent Jane Ferguson recently returned from a reporting trip in the country, where she saw hospital wards filling up with malnourished babies and toddlers.

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NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Beautiful Country’ looks back on a young Chinese girl’s undocumented childhood

Living as an undocumented immigrant means living in the shadows, says Qian Julie Wang. Her memoir Beautiful Country tells the story of her family's life in New York after fleeing China in 1994. Her mother worked menial jobs in terrible conditions. Her father struggled with his status as a man in a country that equated being Asian with weakness. They couldn't even seek out regular medical care for fear of being deported. Wang joins NPR's Scott Simon in today's episode to talk about how those experiences shaped and shamed her, even as she became a Yale Law graduate and successful attorney.

Short Wave - One Woman’s Quest For The (Scientifically) Best Turkey

Turkey is the usual centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner, but it's all too easy to end up with a dry, tough, flavorless bird. For NPR science correspondent Maria Godoy, it got so bad that several years ago, her family decided to abandon the turkey tradition altogether. Can science help her make a better bird this year? That's what she hopes as she seeks expert advice from food science writers and cookbook authors Nik Sharma and Kenji López-Alt.

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Consider This from NPR - China Poses A National Security Threat Unlike Any The U.S. Has Seen Before

This week's virtual summit between President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping may have restored a tone of respect between the world's two largest powers, but U.S. intelligence is telling a different story.

NPR's Greg Myre reports on a national security conference held in Georgia last month where former and current U.S. intelligence officers were surprisingly candid about what they see as the biggest growing threat: China.

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NPR's Book of the Day - SJ Sindu makes and unmakes a god in her new novel ‘Blue Skinned Gods’

Questioning religion can be a pretty common identity crisis. But what if your faith is based on... yourself? When Kalki is born with blue skin and black blood, he is believed to be the reincarnation of Vishnu. But when he fails to heal a girl brought to him in distress, he questions his divinity, which means questioning everything. In today's episode, SJ Sindu talks to NPR's Scott Simon about how her novel Blue Skinned Gods was an attempt to better understand her own family's urge to believe.

Short Wave - Parents, We’re Here To Help! Answers To Your COVID Vaccine Questions

Now that the Pfizer COVID vaccine is authorized for children five to eleven years old, a lot of parents are deliberating about what to do next. NPR health policy correspondent Selena Simmons-Duffin answers your questions about vaccine safety for kids, shedding masks at school and how soon you can schedule that long awaited indoor playdate.

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Consider This from NPR - Yeah, The Supply Chain Situation Isn’t Looking Great For The Holidays

The holiday shopping season is basically here. But a lot of things that Americans want to buy are not. Now the race is on to get goods off ships and into stores and warehouses — before it's too late.

NPRs Scott Horsley reports some retailers are already feeling the pinch from less inventory and higher shipping costs.

Even if goods do make it into the U.S., many are sitting in warehouses, which are bursting at the seams. NPR's Alina Selyukh explains why.

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NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Hail Mary’ sets the record straight on the history of the women’s football league

You're probably at least a little familiar with the WNBA, and even if you never actually seen A League of Their Own, everyone knows there's no crying in baseball. But did you know there was a whole professional women's football league in the 1960's? NPR's A Martinez spoke with Britni de la Cretaz about their book Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League, which they co-authored with fellow sports writer Lyndsey D'Arcangelo. And, disappointingly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, de la Cretaz says it was homophobia and sexism that undermined the league's success.

Short Wave - Experiencing The Emergence, Life And Death of A Neuron

A new exhibit in Washington, DC, mixes science and technology for an immersive art experience — taking visitors not to a distant land, but into their brains. This installation is a partnership between the Society for Neuroscience and technology-based art space, ARTECHOUSE. Producer Thomas Lu talks to neuroscientist John Morrison and chief creative officer Sandro Kereselidze about the "Life of a Neuron."

You can follow Thomas on Twitter @ThomasUyLu. Email us at ShortWave@NPR.org.

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Consider This from NPR - Young Activists At U.N. Climate Summit: ‘We Are Not Drowning. We Are Fighting’

Thousands of youth activists from all over the world gathered in Scotland this week for the COP26 UN climate summit. They say climate change is already transforming their countries — and that their generation has the most to lose if greater action isn't taken.

This episode contains reporting from Ari Shapiro in Glasgow, with production and editing by Mia Venkat, Noah Caldwell, and Ashley Brown.

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