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Retailers will soon start selling Lego Friends, the Danish toymaker's latest effort to boost sales to girls. But is Lego encouraging girls to build more, or is it simply reinforcing gender stereotypes?

The funeral of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is expected to begin Tuesday night, East Coast time. NPR's Anthony Kuhn is watching events from South Korea, and speaks to host Robert Siegel from the capital, Seoul.

For poor families in the Philippines, electrical bills are a huge burden. But an old soda bottle, filled with water and bleach, can be turned into a 55-watt bulb with the help of the tropical sun.

Russia's prime minister finds himself in the unusual position of being on the defensive after protests claiming widespread fraud in recent parliamentary elections. But a definat Putin spent more than four hours Thursday responding to critics on a TV call-in show.

All I want for Christmas is some toffee and navel oranges. Dry-aged steaks wouldn't be bad, either. NPR's science desk denizens share the mail-order foods they'd be happy to see land on the doorstep this week, from traditional to outrageous.

The Obama administration is trudging ahead with policies designed to protect the integrity of scientific research. But critics of the process say the policies that have been released so far don't do enough to prevent political manipulation of science.

The opposition is keeping up the pressure on Syrian security forces with repeated attacks, and Syria President Bashar Assad has shown no signs of moving toward a cease-fire. Against this backdrop, the "Friends of Syria" are gathering in Turkey.

Mass disqualifications have thrown Egypt's upcoming elections into turmoil. In a surprise move, Egypt's election commission barred 10 of the 23 registered presidential candidates from next month's election.

Weekends on All Things Considered guest host Laura Sullivan speaks with NPR reporter Joseph Shapiro about the sentence of Shirley Ree Smith's "shaken baby" case. California Gov. Jerry Brown has commuted Smith's sentence. Despite her claims of innocence, Smith was convicted in December 1997, and has been free since 2006 awaiting the results of her appeals.

Known as the Father of Loud, Jim Marshall helped a generation that included Pete Townsend and Jimi Hendrix redefine popular music by turning up the volume.