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John M. Coski is author of The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem. The book looks at the flag's history and the various meanings attached to it. Some people view it as a symbol of white supremacy and racial injustice; others think it represents a rich Southern heritage. Coski is historian and library director at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va.

In his new book Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods, Michael Wex explores the history and culture of Yiddish: its complaints, curses and codes. A novelist and lecturer, Wex previously translated The Threepenny Opera into Yiddish.

A piece of Detroit music history is torn down to make way for Super Bowl parking. The Motown Center, which once housed the famous record label, had been abandoned for more than 30 years.

Mike Luckovich and Ann Telnaes discuss reactions to cartoon depictions of the prophet Muhammad, joined by Stephen Hess, co-author of Drawn and Quartered: The History of American Political Cartoons.

Novels by Matthew Pearl and Louis Bayard fold elements of literary history into the mystery genre. Fittingly, both feature details from the life of the man who introduced the world to tales of ratiocination: Edgar Allan Poe.

Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s new PBS miniseries African American Lives takes an in-depth look at his own family tree, along with the histories of such luminaries as Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Mae Jemison and Bishop T.D. Jakes. He talks to Robert Siegel with about the project.

Women with a history of major depression who stop taking their medication during pregnancy have a high likelihood of relapse. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association counters earlier thinking that pregnancy protects women from depression.

An emblematic story of the conquest of the West is told in Hampton Sides' new history Blood and Thunder. He focuses on the 20-year battle for control of Navajo country, a tale of bloodshed and deceit.

Harry Elam and Kenny Leon talk about playwright August Wilson's work and his impact on American literature. Elam is the author of Wrighting History: The Past As Present in the Drama of August Wilson. He's also chair of Stanford University's Department of Drama. Leon is artistic director for the True Colors Theater Company in Atlanta, Ga. and Washington, D.C.

On Sept. 11, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police force lost 37 officers at Ground Zero -- more than any police force in a single incident in U.S. history. Six months later, NPR's Chris Arnold reports for All Things Considered that some officers are still struggling -- both at home and on the job -- to put their lives back together.