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The second law of thermodynamics is a kind of warning to cities and civilization. No matter how clever we are, disorder, waste and pollution will always follow from our work organizing societies into cities.

Some critics are puzzled by Mitt Romney's opposition to the Affordable Care Act because the law is a close cousin of the measure he signed while governor of Massachusetts. But others counter that the private sector is best left to make the changes imposed by President Obama's signature achievement.

It's been more than three months since rebels in Syria launched an offensive to take the northern city of Aleppo. In the early days of the offensive, the rebels took about half the city. But since then, neither the rebels nor government forces have managed to gain the upper hand.

Adding a foreign word to your vocabulary is like adding foreign attire to your wardrobe. Sometimes you do it because it's practical and sometimes just because you think it looks cool. Linguist Geoff Nunberg says Americans' use of "spot on" falls somewhere between affectation and flash.

The famed neurologist talks to Fresh Air about how grief, trauma, brain injury, medications and neurological disorders can trigger hallucinations — and about his personal experimentation with hallucinogenic drugs in the 1960s.

With the election settled, Washington and Wall Street are focused on whether Congress and a re-elected president can avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff." Renee Montagne talks to David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, about the automatic budget cuts and tax hikes that would happen if an agreement can't be reached by early in the new year.

Two authors and former members of the U.S. military tell their stories. Benjamin Busch remembers his grandfather's silence about serving in World War II, while David Abrams reflects on the terrifying beginning of his deployment to Iraq.

Remember the command from TV ads through the spring and summer? "Tell President Obama to" stop spending, or increase oil production, or whatever. Those three little words are now largely gone, and for the same reason they were ever used: so groups running the ads can keep their donors secret.

Tesla Motors is an automotive rarity — a startup, and a car company that comes out of Silicon Valley, not Detroit or Japan or Germany. Tesla hopes the technology it uses to make electric cars will upend the industry.

The website Iodine has collected data about consumers' experience with prescription drugs that show generics scored highest among people who take medicines in three popular categories.