Weekend Edition Sunday (National)

From bumbling interviews as Borat to taking off his clothes in front of Rep. Ron Paul as Bruno, there isn't much actor Sacha Baron Cohen won't do for a laugh. The story of his latest persona, Admiral General Hafez Aladeen, might seem inspired by recent revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East, but he insists the character was in development before the Arab Spring.

Host Rachel Martin takes a moment to remember William Henderson Foote, a black federal agent in Mississippi in the late 1800s. He was honored this week by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Many Egyptians believe Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister to be corrupt. Yet Ahmed Shafiq, who is running for president in Egypt's historic elections this month, has climbed to second in opinion polls. Experts say his growing popularity highlights many Egyptians' desires for stability, which, as NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports, is something they believe the retired Air Force general can provide.

Most Greeks want to keep the euro as their currency. Most also want to cancel the eurozone-imposed austerity measures that come with the billions in international bailout loans keeping the country solvent. This dilemma has paralyzed both the country's politics and its people.

U.S. diplomats can breathe a little easier knowing Chen Guangcheng is in the U.S. and the weeks of difficult negotiations and high drama are behind them. Chen arrived Saturday with his wife and two children in New York, where he has a fellowship to study.

On Sunday's Weekend Edition, a discussion about the familiar faces coming to fall television, including Matthew Perry, Connie Britton, and Vanessa Williams.

When a bookmobile broke down last winter in rural Vermont, patrons, especially preschoolers, really missed it. Then a donor, who heard an NPR story about the rolling library's demise, came up with over $100,000 for a replacement. The town can't believe its good fortune. Vermont Public Radio's Charlotte Albright reports.

Long years of civil war, exile and displacement as refugees have disrupted South Sudan's education system. They're still catching up nearly a year after independence from — and renewed conflict with — Sudan.

Host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Julie McCarthy in Islamabad and Quil Lawrence in Kabul about the situation on the ground in that region of Afghanistan.

World leaders are gathered in Chicago for a two-day NATO summit starting Sunday morning. This is the third time the U.S. has hosted a NATO summit since the alliance was formed, and the first time it's being held in a city other than Washington, D.C. As NPR's Jackie Northam reports, the agenda will center on a theme: Afghanistan.

The hero and the heroine of Peter Carey's new novel are separated by 150 years — and are brought together by an enormous, 19th-century, mechanical duck. The Chemistry of Tears is the 12th novel by the Australian-born, two-time Booker Prize-winning author.

On a recent trip, Weekend Food Commentator Bonny Wolf was taken by surprise by Australia's stunningly diverse cuisine, especially the dizzying array of exotic seafood like yabbies and marron at the Sydney Fish Market.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she plans to get off the high-wire of politics after she wraps up her tenure as secretary of state, but she's still questioned about her political future wherever she goes. NPR's Michele Kelemen gives a behind-the-scenes account of Clinton's most recent swing through Asia.

In Egypt, a one-time leader of the Muslim Brotherhood is emerging as a leading candidate in this month's presidential election. He's considered a moderate Islamist who appeals to secular and religious Egyptians. But, as we hear from reporter Merrit Kennedy in Cairo, the candidate is walking a tightrope trying to stay true to his agenda.

Terrorists are still targeting the U.S., as demonstrated by the news that al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen plotted to blow up a plane headed to the U.S. What's also clear, NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports, is just how aggressively the U.S. is targeting the terrorists in Yemen.