Commentary

Melissa Block talks to regular political commentators E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks of The New York Times. They discuss new jobs numbers, Chuck Hagel's Senate confirmation hearing, immigration reform and the legacy of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.

Along the East Coast, wild oysters have been decimated over the years by man and nature. Food commentator Bonny Wolf says oyster farming is exploding, and raw oyster bars are all the rage.

A recent report from the Department of the Interior suggests that the Colorado River is drying out. But commentator Craig Childs says sometimes the answers are simpler than they seem.

Many teenagers are living half their lives on social media sites, and they're writing the rules as they go. One online trend 16-year-old Temitayo Fagbenle finds disturbing is something she calls "slut shaming" — using photos and videos to turn a girl's private life inside out.

NPR food commentator Bonny Wolf dishes out predictions for hot foods in the new year. She says Asia is the new Europe and that healthy, farm-to-table trends will even make it into your cocktails.

Something remarkable happened in 2012.

As the year ends, commentator Ben Dolnick reflects on what he thinks is the most spurious bit of news from the world of American writers.

Commentator Bonny Wolf opines on a winter culinary classic: the American chestnut.

Robert Siegel and Melissa Block talk with our regular political commentators, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks of The New York Times. We get their take on President Obama's victory, as well as what it means for the direction of the GOP.

NPR's Jacki Lyden grew up with the Bark River in her backyard. She left the Wisconsin waterway unexplored, until recently. Floating down the river in a canoe with a historian, Lyden discovered a story that stretches from the Ice Age and the Black Hawk War to churning 19th-century mills.