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NPR Music remembers the singers, instrumentalists, songwriters and personalities who died in 2012. Explore their musical legacies.

You may not know that the traffic signal, the firehouse pole, and instant coffee were all invented by people of color. The stories behind those inventions and many more are included in the new book, Mad Science. Editor Randy Alfred speaks with guest host Celeste Headlee.

Lawmakers and President Obama are expected to return to Washington Thursday to resume efforts at averting the fiscal cliff. Lawmakers failed to reach a deal late last week and went home for the holiday break. Guest host Celeste Headlee talks with Bloomberg Businessweek contributor Roben Farzad for a look at the last-minute options.

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.

The city of Taranto is heavily dependent on a steel plant, the largest in Europe, which provides some 20,000 jobs. A court has ordered a partial shutdown because the factory spews carcinogens into the air, but the government has rejected the court's ruling, saying the economy needs the jobs.

Fresh Air's television critic says there weren't any new shows this year that wowed him and that all the shows he watched and loved this year were ones that have been on for at least a season. His No. 1 favorite remains Breaking Bad.

Fresh Air's movie critic does not think any masterpieces were made this year, but he does compare Daniel Day-Lewis to Julius Caesar and have some choice thoughts on the movie version of Les Mis.

There's going to be more snow in California and then over the Rockies and into the Plains. But it's parts of the Gulf Coast and Southeast that could see the most severe storms on Christmas Day.

Milk and cookies might be the traditional Santa offering on Christmas Eve, but in at least one household, St. Nicholas will be getting smoked salmon and scotch.

Say the words "high-tech startup" and chances are you picture a world that's mostly white, male and set in Silicon Valley. Now, a group in Nairobi, Kenya, is working to get more female entrepreneurs into the male-dominated world of tech.