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Amid prospects of a prolonged economic downturn, startup companies are having far more trouble finding cash. In the first three quarters of 2008, only six venture-backed companies held initial public offerings, compared with 86 IPOs in 2007.

The National Security Agency director made the rounds again on Capitol Hill to defend two surveillance programs leaked to the press. Gen. Keith Alexander appeared before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday, along with other members of the intelligence community and FBI. The government says its Internet monitoring program and the collection of phone logs have stopped more than 50 terrorist attacks.

No two countries are experiencing the global financial crisis in the same way. And author Michael Lewis says you can tell a lot about each country by looking at its problems. To research for his new book, Boomerang, Lewis visited some of the most financially challenged countries in the world.

Host Liane Hansen speaks with Martin Cruz Smith. The author of Havana Bay and Gorky Park now has a new novel of international intrigue, called December 6 (Simon & Shuster, ISBN 0-684-87253-6), set on the brink of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941.

Liane talks with Mark Frost about his latest novel, The 6 essiahs, which continues the fictitious adventures of 19th-century author rthur Conan Doyle. (William Morrow)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is imposing some of the same requirements on prepaid debit and credit card providers as on companies that market standard cards.

A man in Florida bellied up to the bar for a beer at The Clevelander. But when he handed over his card, his credit was no good. Turns out, the card he was attempting to use belonged to the very man serving him his drink.

For those who want to buy bling with bling, a bank in Kazakhastan plans to offer a Visa card made of gold plus a couple of dozen diamonds and mother of pearl. It will require $100,000 upfront, and an annual fee of $2,000 — but there are no late frees and you get a free iPhone.

Top Democrats have said recently that some GOP opposition to President Obama and his agenda is based on race. It's an explosive message that might drive Democratic voters to the polls.

Friday, the MLB debuted its new playoff format: Two wild-card teams from each league played in a high-stakes, single-shot game to advance to the full playoffs. The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Texas Rangers, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves. NPR's Tom Goldman speaks with host Scott Simon about those games and the Rockets' Royce White, who plays in the NBA with a generalized anxiety disorder.