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Peter Jackson takes his audience back to Middle-earth in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, set in a time before the Lord of the Rings films. NPR's Bob Mondello says that where the Rings films struggled with what to omit, The Hobbit labors to justify its three-hour running time.

Legos often cost twice as much as similar blocks from a rival toymaker. So why are Legos so much more popular than other brands?

It can be lonely being a Democrat in the Deep South. In the reliably Republican region, even recruiting viable Democratic candidates can be a challenge. But strategists are looking to nearby states to learn how the party might start to make inroads in such red territory.

With Election Day just over a week away, NPR politics editor Charlie Mahtesian and NPR congressional reporter Juana Summers join us for a look at the state of play in pivotal races across the country.

Electrician Victor Shevchenko, who ran under the name Darth Vader, was barred from voting in Ukraine's election Sunday when he refused to remove his mask at the polls.

The British producer, who has been obsessed with Jamaican dub music since he was a teenager in the '70s, has forged a career of working with his idols and extending their influence to other genres.

The so-called Islamic State is raking in millions selling oil to smugglers. The U.S. is working to undermine the militant group's finances by interrupting oil sales and punishing companies that purchase crude from them.

From post-apocalyptic character studies to speculative paleontology, reviewer Annalee Newitz says this year's best science fiction stretches boundaries and crosses genres. She also sees a strong resurgence in political themes, with a focus on civilizations on the brink of transformation or collapse.

Audie Cornish speaks with Jill Lepore about her latest New Yorker piece, "The Lie Factory," about the origins of the political consulting business in the United States.

Robert Siegel speaks with Elaine Pagels, religion professor at Princeton University, about the discovery of an ancient papyrus fragment that suggests some early Christians believed Jesus had a wife, and possibly a female disciple.