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Popular Science magazine shut down online comments to stories on its website Tuesday. Robert Siegel speaks with Jacob Ward, the magazine's editor-in-chief, for more on the decision.

Documents leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden indicate the NSA may have installed backdoors on encryption products. It's not clear exactly what's going on but the stories have unleashed plenty of fear and loathing in the closed world of encryption researchers.

A rich documentary looks at an Alabama town where a host of classic R&B tracks were laid down. Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Clarence Carter, Etta James and many more musical legends appear to help tell the story. (Recommended)

Scientists assembled by the United Nations sent out a renewed warning Friday that the planet is warming up and human beings are largely responsible. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released a report that projects more warming air, melting ice and rising seas in this century.

Even as the potential government shutdown drama remains unresolved, House Republican leaders are moving on to the next deadline: the debt ceiling. Economists say defaulting on payments could be catastrophic, but many House Republicans believe the debt ceiling is the best place to take a stand. Some even say the risk of default really isn't all that bad.

Secretary of State Kerry and his counterparts from Britain, France, Russia, China and the European Union met with Iran's foreign minister at the United Nations on Thursday. They left the meeting praising Iran's new tone, but saying there is a lot of work to be done in dealing with Iran's suspect nuclear program. The talks resume in Geneva in mid-October.

As Syria's civil war drags on, the rebels find themselves increasingly divided. This week, about a dozen armed opposition groups broke with the U.S.-backed Syrian National Coalition, a political organization that's been the voice of the rebels in the West. Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep talks to Najib Ghadbian, the coalition's envoy to the United Nations.

Long silky strands were seen falling across the skies of North Texas this week. It turns out, these were web strands as long as 20 feet and floating for miles. The webs were produced by a large cluster of baby spiders that had just hatched. They use the long silk line to migrate.

Saxophonist Gabe Baltazar is one of the last living links to an era when Asian-Americans began to make a name for themselves in jazz. Now, at the age of 83, he's sharing his story in an autobiography.

Kenyans are feeling helpless a week after gunmen stormed a Nairobi mall in a carefully orchestrated terrorist attack. NPR's Gregory Warner looks at what we now know about those terrorists, including claims that a British woman was among the attackers.

Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan star as famous sexologists Masters and Johnson in the new TV series, Masters of Sex. They had to get comfortable sitting around naked together because of the sex scenes.

When we text or email, we can craft a message to get it just right. But researchers say if we get too used to doing that, we may find it hard to have face-to-face conversations.

Sales in commercial real estate in the U.S. have soared over the past year. Asian nations, particularly China, are scooping up trophy properties and investing in some large, long-term development projects at a record pace.

The government is expected to partially shutdown at midnight Monday night if Congress cannot agree on a spending plan. The Senate is expected to reject a House bill passed over the weekend. That bill funds the government, but delays the president's health care law by one year, and repeals a tax that helps pay for it.

This was the final season for New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. His number is being retired by the only team he has ever played for during his 19-year Major League Baseball career. Rivera with his signature pitch, the cut fastball, was one of the most successful closers in baseball history.

Which team looks poised for the best last-minute kick? NPR's Scott Simon talks to Howard Bryant of ESPN about the scramble for a spot in the baseball's American League playoffs.

Rebecca Musser was raised in an extremist, polygamist church. She tells the harrowing story of her childhood, her first marriage, and her escape in her autobiography.

Shirley Hazzard's 1980 novel Transit of Venus tells a sweeping, decades-long tale of two Australian sisters and three men, with a dash of astronomy thrown in. Author Roxana Robinson says the novel entranced her with tragedy, complexity and elegant, arresting prose.

Israel can't intervene without inflaming fundamentalist elements; Syrian refugees have cost Turkey about $2 billion so far; and the civil war has exacerbated political tensions inside Lebanon. Host Rachel Martin speaks with commentators from three of Syria's neighbors.

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after he shot and killed an unarmed man who police say may only have…