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The Smithsonian Institution's photographs -- all 13 million of them -- are being scoured for historical gems that will tell the country's and the institution's history. NPR's Susan Stamberg reports for Morning Edition.

Filmmaker Jamsheed Akrami is a scholar of Iranian film. His two documentaries are Dreams Betrayed and Friendly Persuasion: Iranian Cinema After the Revolution. Together, they explore Iranian filmmaking before and after the 1979 revolution. In Iranian films, male and female characters are not allowed to touch, ever, and women must be veiled at all times. Despite these and other limitations, Iranian cinema has garnered international critical acclaim. Akrimi is an associate professor at William Paterson University.

A new play tells the story of "Blind Tom" Wiggins, the slave whose ability to play any piece of music after hearing it only once amazed audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Susanna Capelouto reports for Morning Edition.

John McWhorter's newest book is called The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language. He has written on Ebonics, language and African Americans, and the origins of the Creole Language. His other books include Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America and Word on the Street: Debunking the Myth of 'Pure' Standard English. McWhorter is a professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

At Baltimore's "supermax" prison, the warden keeps wayward inmates in line with a bland loaf made from bread, fake cheese, spinach, beans and a host of other unappetizing ingredients. Break the rules, and your menu becomes very simple -- and very tasteless -- for at least a week. Weekend Edition Saturday has the story. (5:00)

Some were world famous, some were anonymous, but all performed hush-hush duties for their country. Female spies are the subject of a new exhibition: Clandestine Women: The Untold Stories of Women in Espionage. NPR's Susan Stamberg reports on Morning Edition.

Master vocalist Bobby McFerrin's new album Beyond Words takes him back to his jazz roots. On Weekend Edition Sunday, host Lynn Neary talks with McFerrin about his new work, his career, and his approach to making music.

The Bush administration announced a new, $345-trillion proposal to extend universal health care to pets — causing the fur to fly on Capitol Hill as fiscal conservatives, animal rights groups and pro-human advocates joined the heated debate. NPR's Julie Rovner reports for All Things Considered.

Two experts -- one Palestinian, one Israeli -- discuss the psychology of suicide bombers. Why would anyone do such a thing, and why would they target civilians? Both men say the motivations are far different, and far more complex, than most people would expect. An in-depth discussion led by Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon.

Their commentaries have taken on the Middle East, the Sept. 11 attacks, Enron, anthrax, global warming and, most recently, pedophilia by priests. They are the Carmelite nuns of Indianapolis, whose opinions appear on a Web site they call Pray the News. NPR's Susan Stamberg interviews two of the nuns on Morning Edition.