Dec 31st, 2008 · Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Led by a young Fidel Castro, the revolution wrenched power from the American-backed Batista regime. Today, Cuba remains the only communist nation in the Western hemisphere, making Castro one of the most polarizing figures of modern times. NPR's Tom Gjelten, who spent decades reporting on Cuba, takes a look back.
Dec 9th, 2008 · In 1984, author Peter Godwin began a series of pilgrimages to Zimbabwe. He started to chronicle the nation's downward spiral in the hands of Robert Mugabe's regime. Godwin talks about his new book, When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir Of Africa.
Oct 30th, 2008 · At Airway Heights Corrections Center in Spokane, Wash., prison officials are trying to change prison culture — instead of a regime of punishment and incarceration, they're turning the prison into something called a therapeutic community. If successful, the program may spread to prisons across the country.
Aug 24th, 2008 · The Bush administration has accused Russia of trying to reassert its sphere of influence and says the U.S. won't tolerate it. Russia, in turn, has accused the U.S. of arming and whitewashing what it calls a "criminal regime" in Georgia.
Jul 22nd, 2008 · With little education, and training regimes that impose lifelong damage on their bodies, athletes from China's national sports system frequently find disability, poverty and unemployment in retirement.
Jun 6th, 2008 · Some Afghan-watchers worry that the West is repeating mistakes that the Soviet Union made in the 1980s when it sent troops there to prop up a communist regime. Among other issues, they say it is focusing too much on a military approach and not enough on reconstruction.
May 23rd, 2008 · Sen. John McCain has been stepping up the attacks on Sen. Barack Obama, criticizing the Democrat's willingness to open a dialogue with Iran, talk to Cuba's President Raul Castro, or meet with other hostile leaders. Obama's supporters have fought back, with video of a McCain supporter, former Secretary of State James Baker, saying that "talking to an enemy is not in my view appeasement." Recently Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) said, "The worst nightmare for a regime that thrives on isolation and tension is an America ready, willing and able to engage."
May 19th, 2008 · Myanmar's military government is allowing United Nations officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to tour this week the southern delta region flooded by a devastating cyclone. However, the regime continues to resist large-scale foreign aid for the hundreds of thousands of survivors.