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Scientists are trying to figure out how chemicals in the air interact with each other to make people sick. So they're building an instrument — a "lung in a box" — that goes way beyond the usual chemical monitors.

Next week, President Obama will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at an estate in California. Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon speaks with Ken Lieberthal of the Brookings Institution about what issues the two world leaders are likely to discuss.

Does the kind of charcoal you use really make a difference when it comes to grilling up a tasty steak or other food on the grill? Yes — but deciding which one to use depends on what you're after. Both briquettes and lump charcoal — aka "natural" hardwood charcoal — have their advantages and disadvantages.

Journalism can be a dangerous profession in any war-torn country. And in Somalia, the youth and inexperience of many reporters can make it even more so. A dozen Somali reporters were gunned down last year, including four at a single organization, Shabelle Media.

In his new book, Washington Post correspondent Dan Balz offers an insider's account of the forces that shaped the political strategies of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, and the flaws and misfires that led to Romney's defeat. He discusses the 2012 campaign and the future of the Republican Party.

Even as Detroit files for bankruptcy protection, Bruce Katz says many American cities are showing promising signs of renewal. In The Metropolitan Revolution, he writes that, together, cities and suburbs have the power to take on the challenges Washington won't.

The drug war was in full swing in the '80s, and cocaine was practically everywhere. But use of the drug has fallen by almost half since 2006, and production is also down significantly. How did the U.S. kick the habit? Experts say cocaine has lost its luster — oh and policy may have made a difference, too.

We take a look at what the Muslim Brotherhood's fall from grace means for the future of religion and politics in Egypt. Was it tested, failed and now dead?

In the 19th and 20th centuries, nearly every coal mine in the U.K. had a brass band. They were intended to keep workers out of trouble, and were a matter of civic pride for local communities. Today, some say that without funding, the bands could become a thing of the past.

Fast-food workers across the country protested their low pay this week, while President Obama decried the nation's growing wealth gap, calling it "the defining challenge of our time." Meanwhile, the nation's capital city passed a new minimum wage law.