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From sporting events to prostate exam results — if there's one thing you'll learn from Beth Raymer's new gambling memoir, Lay the Favorite, it's that some people will bet on just about anything.

Chicago is the best place to have a good laugh, according to a report from the Humor Research Lab in Colorado. But don't be fooled — you can't precisely calculate a city's sense of humor.

NPR's Scott Simon has worms. Hundreds of them. They live in a bin on his balcony and rejuvenate soil for flowers and vegetables. He talks about his admiration for the squiggly things.

A federal judge in San Francisco has given preliminary approval to a multi-million dollar settlement in a class action lawsuit over the cost of LCD screens and monitors. The plaintiffs claim that companies selling liquid crystal displays during the 1990s and 2000s set prices artificially high. Once the judge grants final approval in the price fixing case, consumers will be able to collect.

The Athens, Ala., native's pie-sweet drawl and fondness for Wilson Pickett-style shouts are a perfect fit within the classic soul settings he creates with producer Dave Cobb.

Josh Homme and Jesse Hughes' new album may have taken seven years to make, but it still sounds as if they'd jumped out of a plane and recorded it on the way down.

The skyline of the Chinese city Shanghai will not be lit up for two nights. It's part of a string of measures nationwide as China deals with power shortages caused by its worst heat wave on record.

Maya is the third full-length album by M.I.A., and it rattles with hard-edged and well-produced beats and electronica. Reviewer Oliver Wang says that even if it's not her best work, the record still offers reminders of why M.I.A. is one of the most compelling and unusual artists in pop today.

They run the increasingly influential Merge Records, but Superchunk band mates Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance have still managed to squeeze in some recording time. They've just released Majesty Shredding, their first new album of guitar-fueled rock in almost a decade.

George Frayne, better known as Commander Cody, has been making music with his band, The Lost Planet Airmen, for decades. But beyond the boogie-woogie, swing, country and rock, there's another side to Frayne: He's also a visual artist. His new book contains pop-art portraits of cultural icons, along with personal anecdotes.