The first major operation of the new counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan is underway. About 4 thousand Marines fanned out across the poppy fields and valleys of Afghanistan's Helmand province just after midnight local time in an operation called "Strike of the Sword." We touch base with Rob Watson, the BBC's defense correspondent in London.

Did you know that the first Protestants to come here seeking religious asylum were French Huguenots, who beat the Pilgrims by decades?  The first European-born American was a baby boy named Snorri, born one thousand years ago?   And the first trans-continental trek was by Cabeza de Vaca, centuries before Lewis and Clark?  We reprise our conversation with Tony Horwitz, author of the book "A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering The New World."

We take a look at Wimbledon, the Tour de France, and the rest of the world of sports with "Only a Game" host Bill Littlefield.

President Obama's energy secretary faces a fight against Big Coal in his effort to stop or at least curb global warming.  So says journalist Jeff Goodell, who profiles Steven Chu in the new issue of Rolling Stone.  Goodell, author of "Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future," joins us for a conversation about the challenges Chu faces.

When he hit the indie music scene in the early 1990s, Freedy Johnston quickly earned critical acclaim.  His 1992 release "Can You Fly" was called a "perfect album" by New York Times critic Robert Christgau, and Johnston's 1994 follow up recording "Perfect World" earned him the "singer-songwriter of the year" award from Rolling Stone magazine.  After a long hiatus, Johnston is back with a new collection of original songs called "Rain On The City."