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Over the past three decades, the U.N. says Afghanistan's forest cover has decreased by about 50 percent — to just about 2 percent of the country's land. The main reason is the illegal harvesting and trade of timber. A visit to Kunar province, near the Pakistan border, reveals that many people, from top officials down, are involved.

So you know how, if someone comes by and taps the top of your open beer bottle, a volcano of brewski will explode? Well, it turns out that the physics involved are the same as what causes an atomic bomb to form a mushroom cloud. A scientist explains how it works.

The Winter Olympics bobsled, luge and skeleton track was designed with safety in mind, not just speed. It was constructed after an athlete died in a violent crash, and others complained of out-of-control speed, at the Olympics four years ago.

What does the growing income gap between the richest and poorest Americans mean for social mobility? An academic study published last week found that, contrary to popular perception, it has not gotten harder to climb the income ladder in the U.S. in the past two decades.

David Greene talks to NPR's Mike Pesca about this year's World Series, which starts Wednesday night in Boston.

Are federal prosecutors gearing up to file more big mortgage fraud cases? Bank of America was targeted recently, and JPMorgan Chase has disclosed that it is under investigation. Now that banks have returned to profitability, regulators may be more willing to take action. But time may be running out in some cases.

The premise of the Netflix game show may be simple, but the gurgling goop is not. The magma is the result of months of work by Hollywood's top slime manufacturers. Fun fact: It smells like bubble gum.

Roger Bennett of NBC's "Men in Blazers" gives Rachel Martin the lowdown on a good underdog story, that of Britain's Leicester City football club.

"The books on this list have transcended generations and, much like the Library itself, are as relevant today as they were when they first arrived," the library's president said.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Andrea Williams about why country singer Morgan Wallen's album still sits at the top of the Billboard 200 days after he was captured on video saying a racial slur.