International affairs

Dexter Filkins recently broke the story that top Afghan officials have been receiving bags of cash from Iran. The New York Times foreign correspondent tells Terry Gross that the situation in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly dire for both soldiers and journalists.

Investigative journalist Jeff Sharlet traveled to Uganda to meet with the man who wrote an anti-homosexuality bill that calls for life imprisonment and the death penalty for gay Ugandans. Sharlet explains how U.S. religious leaders have encouraged the anti-gay sentiment in Uganda.

In Crude World, journalist Peter Maass argues that our relentless pursuit of oil has created a host of problems in the world — particularly in the countries that hold the most deposits. He explains why our dependence on the fossil fuel is not without social and environmental costs.

The East Africa bureau chief for The New York Times talks about reporting from what he considers the most dangerous place in the world: Somalia -- and why he continues to go back.

After journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained in North Korea in 2009, Laura's sister, fellow journalist Lisa Ling, worked tirelessly to bring them home. In a conversation with contributor Dave Davies, the sisters detail the incident that ended with former President Bill Clinton bringing them home.

Writer John Seabrook was in the process of adopting a baby girl from Haitin when the country was hit by the massive earthquake in January. He writes about his own experience with international adoption -- and the history and perils of the practice -- in The New Yorker.

American journalist David Rohde escaped last year from a Taliban stronghold in northern Pakistan after being held for seven months. It's the same region where the suspected Times Square bomber reportedly trained. Rohde, who is currently on leave from The New York Times, explains the conflicted history of the region.

Richard Clarke, the former anti-terrorism czar, has now turned his attention to a new national security threat: cyberwar. In a new book, Clarke details what a full-scale cyberattack could look like, how the United States is particularly vulnerable, and what measures can be taken to ensure our networks remain safe.

Last April, Merchant Marine Capt. Richard Phillips became the first American seaman to be captured by pirates in two centuries. After attempting to escape, Phillips was beaten and bound by his Somali captors. Five days later, Navy SEAL snipers killed the pirates and rescued Phillips. His new memoir, A Captain's Duty, recounts the ordeal.

Until his arrest in 2004, nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan -- the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb -- ran a vast smuggling network that sent nuclear material to Iran and Lybia. In his book Peddling Peril: How the Secret Nuclear Trade Arms America's Enemies, weapons expert David Albright explains how Khan's network continues to threaten global security.