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The son or daughter who can't get away. A nephew who is serving in Afghanistan. Perhaps, the favorite aunt who passed away. Guest host John Donvan talks with listeners about the people missing from their Thanksgiving table, and how they remember absent family and friends.

StoryCorps is asking people to take a few minutes to thank a favorite teacher — with a tweet, a Facebook post, a call, a card or a face-to-face interview. Guest host John Donvan calls his ninth grade biology teacher to offer thanks, and talks with StoryCorps founder Dave Isay about the National Day of Listening.

For her annual Thanksgiving tale, commenter Bailey White tells the story of a painter who moves from Florida to Vermont, where he decides to raise a dozen turkeys.

In Latvia, a country haunted by its Soviet past, the rise of a Russian political party seemed unthinkable. But the global economic crisis hit the Baltic nation so hard that voters turned to Harmony Center, a party with Russian ties, promises of government help and a socialist economic platform.

Tax evasion is a long tradition in Italy. But with the country facing a crippling debt crisis, the new prime minister hopes to convince markets that he can get tough on those who refuse to pay up, and perhaps change Italian attitudes about tax avoidance as well.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that 24 percent of people it surveyed expressed a negative view of the religion, with white evangelical Protestants most likely to characterize Mormonism as "non-Christian." That's a key part of the GOP base.

Transforming traditional songs — and writing new ones — makes both money and good times.

NPR correspondent John Burnett's high school English teacher, Christine Eastus, may have been demanding, but she encouraged his interest in writing. Burnett is thankful that Eastus gave him the boost he needed as a teenager. You can thank a teacher, too, on Twitter with #thankteacher, or on the StoryCorps Facebook page.

If a fly walked into a bar, he'd chose beer, and scientists think they've figured out why. The secret? A molecule that tastes sweet but isn't sugar. The research could help create more powerful insect repellents.

For the past week, New York Police and the FBI have been at odds over a terrorism case which involves an American of Dominican descent named Jose Pimentel. New York police say he was an al-Qaida sympathizer planning to bomb targets in the city. The FBI declined to get involved with the case because it didn't see him as threat. Law enforcement officials on both sides have been airing the dispute over the case publicly, and that could help Pimentel build a defense.