If every conflict has a theme song, then Libya's is as unlikely as it is fitting: "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers. A reporter's driver and her translator reflect on what the song has to teach them in a country caught between hope and a mounting despair.

It's been a particularly bloody week in Syria, especially in the north, where as many as 200 died in clashes between army troops and defectors. Friday, two explosions in Damascus killed more than 40. Amid the escalating violence, the Arab League sending in monitors to oversee a peace plan. NPR's Deborah Amos speaks with host Scott Simon.

The Cape Race Lighthouse has warned boats off Canada's rocky coast for more than a century. It lies just south of the eastern-most point in North America. On the kind of stormy day the lighthouse was built for, its keeper talks about hanging on in one of the farthest corners in North America.

Latin America has hundreds of interpretations of this Christmas Eve treat – tamales vary not just by country but often by region. So whose version is best? That's a question likely to elicit a fiercely partisan response.

Japan says its damaged nuclear plant has been stabilized. But the threat of exposure to radioactivity, particularly in the food supply, remains a very real concern. And radioactive "hot spots" crop up in places far from the site of the accident.

Nuclear power had enjoyed 25 years of relative quiet, but the Fukushima accident reminded people that despite improvements in safety, things can still go horribly wrong. The accident is unlikely to affect U.S. nuclear policy, experts say, but countries like Germany and Japan are looking to alternatives.

When a Mumbai hotel was besieged by terrorists in 2008, something extraordinary happened: Workers didn't flee. They stayed behind to help save guests at the risk of their own lives. What could possibly explain it? A new study attempts to answer that question.