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The number of teenage drivers involved in fatal car crashes has dropped dramatically in the past decade. But in those wrecks, male drivers still outnumber females by more than 2 to 1. For Basil Rynestead of Fauquier County, Va., it's a battle against peer pressure and inexperience to stay safe on the road.

Our sense of what's dangerous on the road is not always accurate, according to Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic: Why We Drive The Way We Do. Take roundabouts: "People fear roundabouts in America — they've been called 'Circles of Death,' Vanderbilt says. "And nothing could be further from the truth."

A secretive fellowship of powerful Christian politicians includes some names that have recently been prominent in the headlines: Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts. Writer Jeff Sharlet describes the men's involvement with the Family, and discusses recent developments within the group.

Book reviewer Alan Cheuse selects the highlights of this holiday season: futuristic dystopias; things that go bump in the night; portraits from Norman Rockwell's America; gay New York; a celebration of our immigrant adventures; one writer's journey to manhood; and, of course, Long John Silver.

From sensuous-sounding Chopin to a radical remix of Terry Riley's IN C, NPR Music's Tom Huizenga and All Things Considered host Guy Raz spin a wide assortment of new classical CDs.

Europe's Jews began to fight their way out of the ghettos during the tumult of the French Revolution. It's the focus of Michael Goldfarb's new book, Emancipation: How Liberating Europe's Jews from the Ghetto Led to Revolution and Renaissance. Guy Raz talks with Goldfarb about how that liberation paved the way for thinkers like Marx, Freud and Einstein.

The massive reservoir behind China's Three Gorges Dam was supposed to be filled to capacity this month. But landslides on the reservoir and water shortages downstream have delayed the process. Questions have been raised about the dam, which is the world's largest hydropower project, and what it might mean for the Yangtze River.

America's Finest News Source has released a book celebrating its 21 years of satire (with a wink). Onion editors Joe Randazzo and Joe Garden talk with Renee Montagne about the serious business of being funny. Also: See the fun The Onion has had at NPR's expense.

The country's spiraling unemployment rate continues to take a particular toll on men. The "he-cession," as it's sometimes called, has hit African-American men especially hard, increasing their unemployment rate to more than 17 percent last month.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged Thursday to prosecute corrupt officials, and said the country would control it own security within five years. Karzai's comments came in an inauguration speech that kicked off his second term of office amid a growing Taliban insurgency and a cloud of corruption allegations.