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Pundits, reporters and campaigns have put a lot of energy into setting expectations for the candidates' performances. But playing the expectations game doesn't always land you on top or, for that matter, anywhere at all.

It will produce what astronomers clamor for: a detailed map of every square inch of the night sky.

The most elite club in the military, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is set to get a new member: the chief of the National Guard. Congress approved the change as part of the defense authorization bill last week and the president is expected to sign the bill into law.

Australia's Northern Territory is home to the cunning, powerful and deadly saltwater crocodile — the world's largest. And in the territory's capital, Darwin, the crocodile is both feared and beloved.

U.S. oil production has been on the rise, and that's been widely noted. But the same is true throughout the Americas, which are now home to four of the world's top nine producers.

Ashley Dias needs lungs. So do lots of other patients. Scarcity is a problem with organ transplants, and, unlike other scarce resources, organs can't be bought or sold. Here's how doctors decide who gets to be at the top of the waiting list.

Snapping turtles look to suburban New England gardens to lay eggs as their habitats are increasingly threatened. So the next time you're checking the progress of the peas and lettuce this spring, beware.

As the debate over the political calculations behind President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage continue, Host Scott Simon checks in with acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Armistead Maupin to talk about this as a cultural moment.

In recent days, three Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. In the past year, it's been reported that more than 30 people have set themselves on fire and most have died. Renee Montagne talks to Robert Barnett, an expert on Tibet, for more on why Tibetans have been protesting Chinese repression by setting themselves on fire.

NPR's Richard Harris talks with host Scott Simon about the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors, one year after multiple meltdowns there spread radioactive materials across a swath of northern Japan. Huge technical challenges remain and prospects for resettling the area are uncertain.