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If the tax rate rises for the top 2 percent of wage earners, business owners would generally react by hiring fewer new workers, according to a fundamental Republican argument. But the actual outcome might be a bit murkier, and — in some instances — counterintuitive.

Congress isn't sitting around quietly while commercials get louder. It's actually illegal now for commercials to blast into your ears more loudly than programming. But why stop there? We've got suggested ordinances to reduce noise from construction, bagpipes, and snowblowers.

Some places have banned fracking, a controversial type of natural gas drilling. Critics say the process contaminates groundwater. But proponents say it creates jobs and energy independence. Host Michel Martin is joined by NPR's Jeff Brady and reporter Scott Detrow from NPR's StateImpact project in Pennsylvania. They discuss the boom and bust of fracking.

Maysoon Zayid is a Palestinian Muslim with cerebral palsy. She's turned that identity into a tool for laughter, performing stand-up around the world. She says she doesn't apologize to anyone for her very political and personal jokes. Host Michel Martin talks to Zayid about her comedy and a program she runs in the West Bank.

M75 fragrances for men and women get their name from rockets fired from Gaza into Israel in November. Sales have been soaring, shopkeepers say. No, they don't smell like rocket fuel. They're citrus-scented.

A holiday reminder of how generous many Americans are: More than 64 million people volunteered through a formal organization in 2011, a new report shows. That was up from the year before and part of a trend.

2012 was a very jittery year — what with the presidential election, extreme weather events and the looming "fiscal cliff." Fresh Air critic Maureen Corrigan found that her favorite fiction and nonfiction this year directly confronted the atmospheric uncertainty of the age.

A fresh look at what makes people sick around the world finds that life expectancy has ticked up in the past 20 years. But people aren't necessarily in the best of health during those extra years. Chronic problems, like depression and pain, are on the rise.

Legos often cost twice as much as similar blocks from a rival toymaker. So why are Legos so much more popular than other brands?