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Nearly a century ago, a German chemist named Fritz Haber figured out a way to tap into the atmosphere's vast reservoir of nitrogen. That innovation led to nitrogen fertilizer, which transformed world food production. But the discovery has also created one of the world's greatest pollutants. NPR's Dan Charles reports.

British actor Terence Stamp is best known for his roles in the 1960s films Billy Budd and The Collector. He also was in Far from the Madding Crowd. After working with Fellini in Italy and with other Italian directors, he took a nine-year hiatus. He returned to the screen in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and recently in The Limey and Star Wars: Episode One. His latest film is My Wife Is an Actress.

Korva talks with Fred Hay about his new book, Goin' Back to Sweet Memphis: Conversations with the Blues. As a college student in the early '70s, Hay recorded the stories and songs of several Memphis blues legends. All of them have passed on, but their stories remain in Hay's book. (Goin' Back to Sweet Memphis University of Georgia Press; ISBN: 0820323012)

In a series of reports for Morning Edition, NPR Beijing correspondent Rob Gifford profiles five people from across China who symbolize the massive changes the country is undergoing as it makes its transition away from communism. The series debuts with Henry Li, who owns one of Beijing's hippest night spots.

NPR's Ina Jaffe reports on the impact of the immigrant community on the labor movement in California, the state with the largest immigrant population in the country.

Weekend Edition Sunday has been talking with several notables from various professions about their reading habits, their favorite books, and what they are reading this summer. This week: writer/actor/comic Amy Sedaris, lately of the TV show Strangers with Candy.

Guitarist Justin Adams has been called "Britain's answer to Ry Cooder." He played on Robert Plant's new album, and is now touring with the former Led Zeppelin frontman, lending touches of his Middle Eastern and North African influences to Plant's bluesy sound.

Anglers from across the country line up elbow to elbow along the Yellowstone River to celebrate the start of flyfishing season and the search for the elusive cutthroat trout. The river is usually populated with more fish than people. But Opening Day is a major social event. NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports for Morning Edition.

In what could be a crucial test of its authority, Afghanistan's new government is signaling it is prepared to use military force to control the power of one of the war-torn nation's strongest warlords, Padsha Khan Zadran. See NPR reporter Eric Westervelt's photos of the warlord and some of his troops and weapons.

In a series of reports for Morning Edition, NPR Beijing correspondent Rob Gifford profiles five people from across China who symbolize the massive changes the country is undergoing as it makes its transition away from communism. The latest segment features motorcycle magnate Yin Mingshan, who survived the Cultural Revolution and became one of China's wealthiest businessmen.