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Two things make for great years in pop music: variety and shared pleasure. After a handful of years when four-on-the-floor dance beats dominated radio, 2012 had both in spades.

Peter Sokolowski is a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster. He speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about some of the Words of the Year, based on searches of the website, and the news events behind them.

Robert Siegel previews the Supreme Court's arguments over affirmative action at the University of Texas with legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.

Bushwacker is retiring at the end of October. There have been a lot of top bulls in the sport, but none has reached Bushwacker's level of superstardom.

It's not often that you hear of a record company being destroyed by success, but that was the fate of one of America's most prominent soul labels, Vee-Jay Records. They recorded John Lee Hooker, the Four Seasons and Betty Everett, but the music has been unavailable for decades. A new box set ends the wait.

The Italian crostata balances a simple, seasonal filling with the sweet dough that encases it — unlike many pies, which make the filling the star. For fall, try a lattice-topped crostata filled with tender apple and pear chunks, or sweet squash mixed with delicate ricotta and spiked with cinnamon.

Morning Edition spoke to a couple of barbers about the trendy haircut with shaved sides and signature high-volume curly top that many young men are donning these days. Here's what we learned about it.

The president's record on keeping his campaign promises over the last four years: 47 percent, according to the watchdog PolitiFact. A boon to Obama's promise-keeping came from the passage of big-name programs like the economic stimulus package and the education program Race to the Top.

A note written by a 13-year-old Boy Scout 40 years ago was recently found on top of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. Weekend Edition host Rachel Martin talks with the former Boy Scout Tim Taylor, who is now a superior court judge in San Diego.

Combined spending in the 2012 federal election cycle could top a record six billion dollars, according to a recent estimate. Guests also discuss how newly drawn districts altered the dynamics of several congressional races across the country, particularly in California.

When NASCAR's top racers start their engines Sunday for the season-opening Daytona 500 in Florida, young Charlotte-born racer William Byron will be in the pole position.

Hundreds of dogs competed for the top prize at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show this week. Penny the Doberman pinscher was named best in show.

Four of the top 10 companies were American, a slight improvement from the rankings compiled in 2008.

A second top deputy has resigned from the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office in less than a year, accusing Sheriff Garry McFadden of fostering what he called a “toxic and abusive environment.”

The Charlotte Hornets are champions of the NBA Summer league. They won all five games, including the final one Sunday night, downing the Sacramento Kings 83-78. Hornets top draft pick Kon Kneuppel scored 21 points and was named MVP of the Summer League."It's a lot of guys that are gonna be on the roster and we're, you know, you always compete to win, so I think building winning habits, even if it is summer league, is very beneficial," he said. The Hornets' training camp is scheduled for October.

With his latest recording, Bob Dylan has become the first artist to have an album in the Billboard Top 40 in every decade since the sixties. The album Rough and Rowdy Ways came out this month.

The U.S. government has been criticized for many aspects of its handling of the Iraq war. But Douglas Feith, an architect of the war, says one of his biggest regrets is not convincing top Pentagon officials to pay more attention to law and order immediately after the fall of Baghdad in 2003.

European explorers spent centuries searching for a passage through the ice at the top of the world. The Northwest Passage, a shortcut to Asia Europe, proved elusive until about 100 years ago. These days, thanks to global warming and a receding ice cover, the voyage is far easier to complete.

Federal prosecutors said Friday that they will seek the death penalty against a white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at the Tops supermarket in 2022.

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with KPCC listener Seth Bowling of Long Beach, Calif., and puzzlemaster Will Shortz.