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Spies spend their whole careers hiding secrets from family and close friends. Yet, when they retire, they don't necessarily disappear into history. Many of them turn around and publish memoirs. We discuss what's behind the urge to spy and tell. Is it bad for sources — or the agencies?

Sixty years ago, the German army tried to push the Allies back one last time, as World War II neared its end in Europe. Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite was with Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army that Christmas. Cronkite reflects on the Battle of the Bulge, which remains the largest pitched battle in U.S. history.

This was supposed to be a great year for Major League Baseball. Attendance was up, and the Boston Red Sox finally won the World Series. But now baseball's making headlines for the biggest drug scandal in its history. Revelations regarding Yankees slugger Jason Giambi's use of steroids may have stern implications for homerun legend Barry Bonds and others. Sport officials are meeting in Phoenix to discuss the issue; Congress has warned that if changes don't come soon, they will pass laws to require higher standards.

StoryCorps, the oral history project, opens a new recording booth in New York, at the site of the World Trade Center. An initial piece of the planned memorial, the booth will provide a way for those who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001, to share their stories.

The Filbert Steps create a steep spine that runs up and down San Francisco's historic Telegraph Hill, leading visitors past some of the city's oldest houses and most sublime, secret gardens. The gardens are heavy with blossoms -- and local history. NPR's Ketzel Levine reports.

Some of the first truly American music was created by Black voices. In this playlist, pianist Lara Downes offers a broad range of songs that speak to the irrepressible, irresistible sound of hope.

It was around midnight 75 years ago that Southern California suffered one of the worst disasters in the state's history -- the collapse of an immense dam that sent a deadly wall of water in a 54-mile swath to the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 500 people died, and it ended the career of one of the architects of the modern city of Los Angeles. See photos of the dam before the disaster and the ruins after the walls fell.

The case stumped law enforcement for years, despite conducting multiple interviews and identifying suspects. The pair of shoes now rests in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Pilot Steve Fossett is scheduled to attempt a solo flight around the world next week without refueling. He's launching his bid from Salina, Kan., where residents are hoping the flight will put them into the history books.

Broadway has been a showcase for controversial political themes for generations. With the GOP convention only blocks from the Great White Way, NPR's Bob Mondello looks at the history of politics in Broadway musical theatre.