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In November, NPR's Backseat Book Club is reading Matilda by Roald Dahl. It's the story of an exceptionally gifted girl who outsmarts her cruel parents and the brutish school headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, with the help of her magical abilities and her kind teacher Miss Honey.

New businesses normally create many of the new jobs in the American economy. But since the financial crisis, the pace of business formation has slowed sharply. Some economists worry that with fewer companies forming for five years now, that's going to stunt job growth for years to come.

Several Marines were disciplined after a videotape surfaced showing them urinating on dead Taliban members in Afghanistan in 2011. The case seemed to be over, but now there are allegations that the top Marine officer, Gen. James Amos, intervened in an attempt to get a harsher punishment.

The last issue of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics came out a decade ago. Now, the author returns to Dream's world with a prequel series, The Sandman: Overture. Gaiman speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the freedom of starting something new and why he, like all writers, is a Sandman himself.

An important step has been taken in the quest to rid Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime of its lethal weapons. Next, an agreement must be finalized on a plan to destroy tons of toxic agents and munitions.

The Boston Red Sox are world champions after beating the St. Louis Cardinals. Here's a cheat sheet about the World Series.

In this final round, led by puzzle guru Art Chung, contestants are given the names of two actors who have played the same role in different movies, and they must name the character. For example, Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro both played Vito Corleone from The Godfather trilogy. Who was a more convincing mob boss? We'll let you figure that out on your own.

India plans to launch a satellite to Mars in November. The mission is budgeted at less than $80 million — a real bargain when it comes to space exploration. The mission fills many Indians with pride, but there's still a debate on whether this is a good investment for a poor country.

Most parents admit they take treats from their kids. That's just one of the stories in our treat bag. Also in there: the weird ways people like to eat candy corn; a beautiful shot from space of a "witch head"; and this year's "au courant costumes."

Members of the Oneida Nation met with representatives from the NFL on Wednesday to discuss the growing call to change the Washington Redskins name. Host Michel Martin finds out how the meeting went from the Nation's representative, Ray Halbritter.