Davar Iran Ardalan, Danyell Irby, Tony Marcano, NPR News

Next week, we'll bring you a series of stories focused on the impact of war on people thousands of miles from the battlefield -- military families struggling to cope and the unique network of supporters who are dedicated to helping.

The series begins on November 7th with the story of the wife of a Navy Petty officer -- a mother of three children, all under the age of 7, including one who is developmentally disabled. Also, NPR's Daniel Zwerdling will talk to us about legislation pending in Congress to assist caregivers of military families.

Our series will be produced in cooperation with NPR's Impact of War Project. The collaboration is an outreach effort to NPR member station reporters around the country to aid in increasing their local coverage of the experiences and sacrifices of US troops and their communities. Links to many of these stories examining how community attitudes, public policy, military strategy, medicine and technology are altered by the wars can be found on npr.org.

Feel free to tell us your story -- how have the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq affected your family?

Thomas Pierce, Weekend Edition

It wasn't even 6 a.m., and I knew I might be in trouble when Captain Wayne Magwood turned to me and said if you're ever going to get sick on a boat, this is where it will happen. There's the seafood smell, he explained, plus the fact that shrimp trawlers have a particularly hard roll in the waves.

I sat down in the deck house kitchen, gazing out the window where the lights on shore moved up and down as we rocked. I had to lean back and close my eyes. I'd been deep-sea fishing before but never experienced anything like this. I watched the crew at work, smoking cigarette after cigarette, and wondered at their fortitude.

This was my first hour on the Winds of Fortune, a shrimp boat based on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. We had a long day ahead of us. Captain Magwood -- mustached, dressed in two flannel shirts, his hair curled by the salty air -- sat in the captain's chair, guiding his boat through the dark, twinkling lights bobbing on the waves.

But Captain Magwood's work doesn't begin and end on the boat. Competing with a huge supply of overseas, farm-raised shrimp, Magwood is leading the way to market his shrimp -- both on the docks and online. His market recently created a Facebook fan page for his shrimp, which, at the time of this post, has almost 600 members.

They keep it updated with the size of each day's catch. On September 28, for instance, they wrote: "anyone wants large heads off 50lbs or more 5.50 per lb. today only." And on October 2: "Capt. Wayne got 1,000lbs today! Awsome day. We needed it."

Of course, they haven't given up on more traditional means of spreading the word about their product. These stickers have been around for a number of years and show up on bumpers all over the state -- and beyond:

There's been another development in swine flu news -- so-called "swine flu parties" where people supposedly expose themselves to the virus on purpose. While the evidence is anecdotal, and this may just be a false rumor spreading on the Internet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking it seriously. It has issued a recommendation on its website to avoid such gatherings.

Do you know someone who has held a swine-flu party? Have you held one? To tell us what you think, join our discussion group on facebook. Or you can post your comments below.

Activists concerned about climate change have planned more than 4,000 events around the world this weekend to draw attention to global warming. The group's organizers argue that we need rapid and radical changes in the world's energy sources and forestry practices. So why 350? According to the group's website, scientists say that 350 is the highest amount of carbon dioxide (measured in parts per million) that can safely exist in our atmosphere. Their goal is to reduce the atmosphere's carbon dioxide back to that level.

Click here to see American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan:

Watch children in rural Kenya

And students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:

Should the healthcare overhaul include federal funds for abortion services? Join the conversation by posting your comments below. Check out comments already posted on our facebook page.

Kimberly Adams, Production Assistant

I recently visited the Zabaleen neighborhood of Minsheyet Nasr in Cairo, Egypt, and met with Hana Fathy. Weekend Edition Sunday host Liane Hansen, senior supervising producer Davar Ardalan, and senior producer Ned Wharton met Hana when they visited Cairo last year. The reporting trip was part of an NPR series, in collaboration with National Geographic, called "Climate Connections."

Continue reading "Solar Cities And Enviornmentalism In Egypt: An Update" >

Thomas Pierce, Weekend Edition

Root of the ginger. Some say it cures upset stomachs, nausea, colds, and motion sickness. (Flickr user heymrleej)

Alton Brown, host of the Food Network's Good Eats, told us this week that nothing tastes like ginger but ginger. "Ginger is one of the most powerful ingredients that there is," he said, "from a flavor standpoint and a chemical standpoint and a pharmacological standpoint. It is unique in a way that most foods aren't. It's one of my top 10 ingredients."

Our host, Liane, couldn't agree more. When we told her that she got to pick the key ingredient for our latest recipe contest, she paused for maybe two seconds before saying ginger and enumerating each of the forms it takes at her house -- crystallized, ground, fresh, jellied, syrup.

We'd like you to send us your ginger recipes -- to recipes@npr.org. You have until October 22nd. NPR's food essayist Bonny Wolf will pick her favorite three, and then resident ginger-aficionado Liane Hansen will lead the Weekend Edition staff in picking a favorite dish.