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In Sitka, Alaska, one of the most revered members of the community is the thorny devil's club plant. But the plant's popularity as a medicinal may endanger its sacred role in Tlingit culture.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) reflects on his rise to the top in his new book, Speaker: Lessons from 40 Years in Coaching and Politics. He speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

President Bush is in Dallas to address the Knights of Columbus in Dallas, a conservative Catholic group with 1.6 million members. The visit is part of an aggressive Bush campaign effort to win Catholic voters, who make up one-quarter of the electorate. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Tom Roberts of the National Catholic Reporter.

Harry Stephen Keeler wrote stupefyingly bad mystery novels in the first half of the 20th century. Now he's something of a literary cult figure. Hear "Keeler-head" Paul Collins and NPR's Scott Simon.

As the head pastry chef to five U.S. presidents, Roland Mesnier has dazzled White House visitors for 25 years. Now he's retiring. NPR's Renee Montagne visits Mesnier.

Singer Patti Scialfa's new CD was a long time coming — her previous solo release was in 1993. But she says husband Bruce Springsteen offered this encouragement: "The record will tell you when it's complete."

As Athens prepares for the upcoming Summer Olympics, archaeologists are exploring the thousands of years of history that lie just beneath the city's surface. Chris Joyce reports on findings about the civilization that created the first Olympics.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico places 15 employees on mandatory leave as the FBI investigates the disappearance of two data storage devices containing classified information. The incident raises questions over the balance between protecting top secret research at the nuclear weapons lab and scientists who value working unhindered by elaborate security measures. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl offers some summer reading recommendations, with the proviso that they're not exactly literature. Hear Pearl and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Our summer reading series continues with Jamez Terry and Kelly Costello. Last December, they founded the Denver Zine Library, a collection of almost 5,000 independently produced mini-magazines, or "zines."