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Also: The folly of marathon readings; Tom Wolfe has a new book; VICE apologizes for tasteless photo spread.

The pattern of illness around the world is changing much faster than researchers expected, a series of report finds. The leading causes of death and disability have changed from communicable diseases in children to chronic problems in adults, including diabetes and mental illness.

Friday is Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's last day on the job. She is leaving Washington, and will become president of the University of California system at the end of the month.

Members of the International Olympic Committee will consider Saturday whether to add baseball-softball, wrestling or squash to the 2020 Olympics. Host Scott Simon talks to former world champion squash player Jonathon Power, who feels squash is a lifetime sport with a fanatic following.

Feral hogs have been a growing problem in Texas for years now. The 300-pound animals contaminate the water and ruin the parks, so Dallas is bringing in Osvaldo Rojas to keep the city pig-free.

In his new book, The Woman Who Lost Her Soul, Bob Shacochis returns to Haiti, but also takes the reader across continents and generations. The 700-page book has been compared to the work of Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene and Norman Mailer.

Tamu Massif, first thought to be perhaps dozens of individual volcanoes, turns out to be just one — but it's really big. It's about the size of New Mexico.

A nine-year study has tracked more than 800 of the massive and largely mysterious whale sharks. For the first time, researchers have tracked the sharks' far-flung migration and where they may go to give birth. (This piece initially aired Aug. 22, 2013 on Morning Edition.)

A report from the International Labor Organization details "deceptive and coercive" labor practices — and even forced labor within the industry. The allegations aren't new, but increase pressure on the Thai government to better regulate the $7 billion industry.

There was a spruce tree in Stanley's garden, and when September rolled around, a family of garden snakes used it to sunbathe. They'd squiggle out on a branch, flop down and warm themselves in the sunshine — sometimes dangling in braided pairs. Stanley, envious, decided to join in ... and here's what happened next.