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The last time the federal government closed down, some 800,000 federal workers were told to stay home and millions of Americans were shut out of everything from their national parks to small-business loans.

The players are accused of fixing matches in four contests, including in a loss against the U.S. in 2010 and a 5-0 loss against Mexico in the 2011 Gold Cup.

Every year, the Journal of Improbable Research gives out its IgNobel Prizes, for groundbreaking scientific research into important but neglected areas of knowledge. We'll ask Garlin about three of those winners.

Germany's government has not legalized gay marriage or adoption, a position that could cost it votes in Sunday's election.

In Blue Caprice, the onetime Grey's Anatomystar portrays a man modeled on one of the 2002 Beltway snipers. He talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the challenges of humanizing a character capable of the inhuman.

Dick Biondi, a radio DJ since the 1950s, has worked for 28 stations and has been fired 25 times, and may have been the first person to play the Beatles on the radio in the U.S. Host Scott Simon asks Biondi about those days, and what keeps him in radio at age 81.

The Cubs and the White Socks are both in last place in their divisions. How can one major city have two teams in a race to the bottom? Host Scott Simon asks former Weekend Edition Saturday sports commentator Ron Rapoport, editor of a new anthology, From Black Sox to Three Peats: A Century of Chicago's Best Sportswriting.

The online magazine Ozy launched Monday, offering readers a streamlined site with original reporting and a look at trends on the horizon. Co-founder Carlos Watson talks about his vision for the site.

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt appeared at three Los Angeles library branches Saturday to read aloud from Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and discuss its complexities with audience members. Host Arun Rath talks to Oswalt about his obsession with the white whale.

West Hollywood's Sunset Strip used to be the home of the city's hottest music venues — places that launched the careers of everyone from The Doors to Jane's Addiction — but has lost a lot of its influence over the years. NPR's Arun Rath visits the Strip with L.A. Times writer August Brown.

History is making headlines and conversation this weekend. A new book says North Carolina and the eastern United States narrowly missed a major nuclear…

In Germany Sunday, exit polls show that Chancellor Angela Merkel has won a third term, with her political party getting the most votes. But one of the key members in her ruling coalition appears to have been voted out of parliament, leaving it unclear who Merkel will partner with in her next government.

In Nairobi Sunday night, Kenyan government forces appear to be preparing for a major push to end the standoff in the Westgate Mall. The government says it has cornered the gunmen who stormed the mall Saturday. NPR's Gregory Warner tells host Arun Rath at least 68 people have been killed.

David Saltzberg makes sure those equations splashed all over CBS's hugely popular sitcom make sense. Saltzberg reviews scripts that arrive with unfinished dialogue and brackets reading, "Insert Science Here."

India's politics and history play a central role in Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland. In the Booker Prize-nominated novel, an Indian radical is killed, and his wife and brother start over in America. Lahiri tells NPR's Lynn Neary that the story was inspired by true events, but very unlike her own life.

The video streaming service Netflix claimed a victory at the Emmy Awards Sunday night as David Fincher took the Best Director prize for his work on the political drama House of Cards. It was the first time an online video distributor won in a major category.

David Greene talks to IMF chief Christine Lagarde, who has advocated for what some people have labeled "harsh" austerity measures that forced struggling European nations to slash government payrolls and reduce public services.

The Little Mermaid Second Screen Live has opened in select theaters across the country. Children are encouraged to bring their iPad to the theater, and during the movie they become part of the story, play games and compete with the audience.

World leaders meeting at the United Nations in New York this week face potentially dramatic changes to arms control in the Middle East. Syria may give up chemical weapons. Iran is signaling it could negotiate with the West over its nuclear plans. How might this affect Israel, and its own weapons programs?

Also: Pope Francis' favorite books; writer Alvaro Mutis Jaramillo has died at age 90; the best books coming out this week.