Here & Now NPR

"Third Squad" is a new podcast that tells the story of the bloodiest stage of the war in Afghanistan. A decade later, journalist Elliott Woods tracks members of the Third Squad down to talk about how what happened there still affects their lives today. And, a new book tells the story of how Polish and U.S. spy agencies began working together after the fall of the Iron Curtain. John Pomfret joins us to discuss "From Warsaw with Love."

The opera "Sweet Land" incorporates both Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices for a new take on the settling of America. Composer Raven Chacon and Aja Couchois Duncan, who co-wrote the libretto, join us. And, investigative reporter Geoffrey Cain writes about the Chinese surveillance of the Uyghur ethnic minority in western China. We revisit our conversation with him about his book "The Perfect Police State."

For Native people, Thanksgiving is not a day to rejoice. It's a day of mourning. We revisit our conversation with Kisha James, the granddaughter of one of the founders of the National Day of Mourning, which is honored every Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts. And, we revisit Robin Young's trip to see the snow geese in Vermont with her now late uncle Lachlan Maclachlan Field — a Here & Now tradition.

Here & Now's Scott Tong sat down with author Kat Chow to dive into the family histories and personal reflections that characterized their respective books, "A Village with My Name" and "Seeing Ghosts." And, chef and author Gyulshat Esenova describes how the desert climate of her native Turkmenistan shaped traditional Turkmen food, such as lamb cutlet. Here & Now's Lynn Menegon has the story.

NASA researchers found that climate change may affect the production of rice as early as 2030. Among those trying to mitigate the losses is Pamela Ronald, who helped develop a new strain of rice that can survive weeks of flooding. She joins us. Film critic Ty Burr shares a list of film recommendations for films (and one TV show) that are available via streaming.

Last spring, the New York City's Tenement Museum added the Reclaiming Black Spaces walking tour, visiting important Lower East Side Black historical sites. Host Robin Young visited the museum to find out more. And, a single equation has been used for decades in the U.S. to determine whether you're eligible for a kidney transplant. Now, a task force has mandated the elimination of race as a variable. Sojourner Ahébée of WHYY's The Pulse reports.