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Michael Chabon's eighth novel, Telegraph Avenue, delves deeply into issues of art, race and sexuality. The book started with a "very tiny world," Chabon says, a vinyl record shop not unlike a Berkeley store that inspired him in the late '90s.

Paul Ryan gained national attention and praise from conservatives with bold proposals to cut the deficit and balance the budget. But critics say the Republican vice presidential nominee's talk doesn't match his record. To others, he is more a small-government conservative than a deficit hawk.

The debate over states' rights versus federal power is as old as our country, but this time the subject of controversy is relatively new. As Americans' views on homosexuality change, more states are stepping up to challenge the federal definition of marriage.

One overlooked part of the convention frenzy was the party platforms. They seemed to cause more embarrassment than excitement at the DNC, where party leaders fumbled at reinserting clauses about Jerusalem and God into their platform. And at the RNC, Rep. John Boehner admitted he'd never even read his party's platform. NPR senior Washington editor Ron Elving joins weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz to talk about the platforms and what — if anything — they mean in 2012.

For more than 40 years, Pablo Picasso's Seated Woman with Red Hat went unnoticed in the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science's storage area. Now that it's resurfaced, the Indiana museum says it can't afford to insure the multimillion-dollar artwork.

In The Knockoff Economy, Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman say that in the world of fashion, copycats make styles go in and out of vogue faster. Copying breeds competition, Raustiala says, and that makes clothes cheaper for consumers.

A recent study found 1 in 10 American men and 1 in 14 women has had a kidney stone. Being obese or diabetic seems to raise the risk of getting them. Now lasers are becoming the treatment-of-choice for kidney stones in academic medical centers.

Last month, a confrontation between the police and striking platinum miners turned deadly when police killed 34 people. The incident, and the fallout, have sent shock waves across South Africa, with people saying that the violence harks back to the bad old days of apartheid, repression and white minority rule.

A recurring debate in the presidential contest is who's responsible when a business succeeds. The candidates' arguments have stirred a debate within the business community itself.

Peyton Manning led his new team, the Broncos, to a season-opening win. Meanwhile his Colts replacement, Andrew Luck, lost.