Terry Gross

Last year, journalist Rukmini Callimachi found thousands of al-Qaida documents in Timbuktu in Mali. She tells Fresh Air about al-Quaida's strategy of kidnapping Europeans and demanding ransoms.

George Takei is famous for his role as Mr. Sulu on Star Trek. Now a new documentary, To Be Takei, delves into his personal story -- including growing up in internment camps, and coming out.

Letta Tayler recently returned from Iraq, where she documented stories about the militant Islamist group ISIS and abuses by the Iraqi government. She tells Fresh Air what she learned.