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Host Scott Simon speaks with Craig Bennett and Michael Miller about being awarded a 2012 Ig Nobel prize for their paper on the brain waves of dead Atlantic Salmon, published in the Journal of Serendipitous and Unexpected Results.

President Obama and Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan spoke Friday at the annual AARP convention in New Orleans, Medicare and Social Security topped the agenda for both. NPR's Ina Jaffe reports the organization represents millions of older Americans, who are among the most reliable voters.

Since 1986, the U.S. has steadily built an infrastructure on its Southern border and inland. All told, the nation has spent nearly $200 billion in today's dollars. Roughly 80,000 government workers depend on immigration enforcement, along with defense contractors large and small. NPR's Ted Robbins reports immigration is down, but there's no end in sight for the border-industrial complex. (This piece initially aired Sept. 12, 2012, on Morning Edition).

Using three keystrokes to suggest a smile may not be a great scientific advance, but the emoticon has been simple, useful and enduring.

With Terraplane, the guitarist transforms from New York avant-garde aesthete to down-and-dirty Chicago bluesman. In an interview with NPR's Jacki Lyden, Sharp remembers Chicago blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin and his "pearls of blue wisdom."

Actor Michael Peña could watch Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose a million times. "You know, you get into the world of what it means to be a comic," he says.

So far in this presidential campaign, the two main contestants have managed to keep details of their plans for the White House remarkably vague. Weekends on All Things Considered guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with James Fallows of The Atlantic about what he'd like to hear once they share the same stage at the first debate.

McDonald's already offers menu items that cater to local tastes in India. But this month, the fast-food chain said it was going a step further by announcing a plan to open its first vegetarian-only restaurants in the country.

Among the thousands of words in the English language, how do you go about choosing the best word ever? One blogger creates a single-elimination word battle, using NCAA-style tournament brackets.

An incident at the end of last week's NFL match-up between the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers has created a fuss about the unwritten rules of the game. Guest host Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Mike Pesca about the violation.